ABOVE: Aspen forest with drought-induced leaf die-off, which could happen more frequently if drought increases due to climate change and trees can’t adapt
MARTIN D. VENTURAS
Climate change could be good news for plants due to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide, which encourages photosynthesis. But it could also lead to higher temperatures and dried-out soil—conditions that hinder plant growth. The degree to which climate change helps or hurts plants depends in part on whether forests can acclimate to shifting conditions, according to a study published Monday (November 25) in PNAS.
Researchers led by ecologist John Sperry at the University of Utah created models of how groups of trees in 20 forested areas across the US would respond to climate change. They focused on regionally abundant types such as birch, spruce, aspen, poplar, and pine. In some of the simulations, the team enabled forests to acclimate to climate change by balancing their density ...
