Trees Sleep Longer During A Warmer Winter
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - 11:20
in Earth & Climate
People who live in regions where there is a real change of seasons know that plants go 'dormant' in the winter and then spring to life again as the weather warms. But a new study found a counter-intuitive effect; instead of a colder winter causing trees to hold off growth for a longer period of time, that happens during a warmer winter, according to an examination of 36 tree and shrub species. The colder the winter, the earlier native plants begin to grow again. If global warming occurs and we get warmer winters, the spring development phase for typical forest trees might start later and later, which gives an advantage to shrubs and invasive trees that aren't as impacted by the cold. read more