Climate Change Linked To More Flowery Forests: Study

Florida State University researchers have revealed a surprising relationship between surging atmospheric carbon dioxide and flower blooms in remote tropical forests

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Feb, 2018 ) :Florida State University researchers have revealed a surprising relationship between surging atmospheric carbon dioxide and flower blooms in remote tropical forests.

Studying the rich tropical forests of Panama's Barro Colorado Island, the researchers found that climbing rates of carbon dioxide have set the stage for a multi-decade increase in overall flower production.

Lead author Geography Stephanie Pau said, "Over the past several decades, we've seen temperatures warming and carbon dioxide increasing, and our study found that this tropical forest has responded to that increase by producing more flowers." "Tropical forests have evolved in generally stable climates.

So while they may not be warming as much as some higher-latitude ecosystems, these tropical species appear to be much more sensitive than we might have expected," Professor Pau added.

The team evaluated a record of plant material collected and archived by researchers on the island for over 28 years, Science Daily reported.

They then examined a host of climatic drivers -- temperature, rainfall, light and carbon dioxide - that affect the annual flowering activity and flowering duration of the different species present in the forest.

Plants convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into energy in the form of sugars, which they can use to fuel any number of vital life processes. As more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, plants have an opportunity to produce a bounty of new energy.

As atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations keep climbing and as the global climate changes accordingly temperamental tropical forests may continue to experience new and surprising ecological shifts.