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Some grasslands resilient against climate change, according to 13 year study Jeremy Hance, mongabay.com July 7, 2008
Long-term drought did affect the study plots, though the grasslands were unchanged by temperature increases of 3 degrees Celsius in the winter and increases of precipitation in the summer. Drought caused a shift to less-productive, more drought-tolerant plant species. Some species could not survive the drought climate and disappeared from those sites. Yet even the changes in the drought-plots were not drastic, being described by the researchers as "marginal". These findings are consistent with the long term ecological changes--or, rather, lack thereof--in the area, the researchers write: "most evidence suggests that, since forest clearance, these grasslands have persisted in their basic form and composition over several centuries through periods of considerable climate variation". But research from another site has shown that not all grasslands are created equal in their resiliency against climate change.
The grasslands of Buxton are more vulnerable to other changes, such as the artificial addition of nutrients (like those found in fertilizer), overgrazing, and fire. Therefore, ecosystem modification by humans through agricultural, fire, or cattle, in this case, proves a greater threat to these grasslands than global warming. Despite the fact that Buxton grasslands are resilient to climate change, the authors make it clear that many other ecosystems have shown drastic changes to increased warming and precipitation shifts, citing studies done in the Arctic, the alpine region, Mediterranean grasslands, and, of course, their study of cultivated grasslands in Wytham. News index | RSS | News Feed Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
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