Study Sees Risk to California Plants From Climate Change (1/2)

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California has more than two thousand kinds of plants that are not found anywhere else. A new study says climate change could severely affect these plants by the end of the century. Many could move northward" class="hjdict" word="northward" target=_blank>northward and toward the Pacific coast in reaction to rising temperatures and changes in rainfall. Others might climb up mountains to find the cooler climates they like.

But David Ackerly at the University of California, Berkeley, says the speed of climate change is greater than during ice ages in the past. He says plants that cannot move fast enough are in danger of getting killed off before they can relocate. Changes in plants could also affect animals that depend on the plants for food.

About forty percent of all native plants in California are endemic, meaning that they are found only in that state. The new study says that for two out of three endemic plants, the areas where they are found could shrink by more than eighty percent. That, they say, is the worst possible case.

The researchers point out that there are many things they cannot be sure about. That includes how much warming to expect in the future from releases of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. Also, they cannot be sure what will happen to individual species" class="hjdict" word="species" target=_blank>species of plants.

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