May 13, 2013
"From New York City’s Central Park to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, America’s urban forests store an estimated 708 million tons of carbon, an environmental service with an estimated value of $50 billion, according to a recent U.S. Forest Service study."

—

That’s the estimate published in a new study in the journal Environmental Pollution. All the more reason for cities to stem the tide of urban tree cover decline that these same researchers from the U.S. Forest Service found in a 2012 study.

US urban trees store carbon, provide billions in economic value

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Filed under: Urban Trees Cities Trees forests climate change carbon sequestration 
May 12, 2013
So the headline on this story is indulging in a wee bit of hyperbole. Valley Fever, an illness caused by the fungus coccidioidomycosis, isn’t quite ravaging the ranks of Major League Baseball yet (only two players have come down with it), but there is always the possibility that one day it can. Valley Fever is caused when people breathe in the spores of this fungus which thrives in hot, dry areas like the areas in Arizona where many MLB teams have spring training camps. And there’s been a real uptick in cases recently. On the surface it would seem that climate change would be the most obvious reason behind it’s uptick, but some experts think a more likely cause is the Sun Belt’s economic growth. As populations grow and development and building increase, so too does disruption to the ecosystem. ~AR (via Valley Fever Throws Baseball a Curve: Scientific American)

So the headline on this story is indulging in a wee bit of hyperbole. Valley Fever, an illness caused by the fungus coccidioidomycosis, isn’t quite ravaging the ranks of Major League Baseball yet (only two players have come down with it), but there is always the possibility that one day it can.

Valley Fever is caused when people breathe in the spores of this fungus which thrives in hot, dry areas like the areas in Arizona where many MLB teams have spring training camps. And there’s been a real uptick in cases recently. On the surface it would seem that climate change would be the most obvious reason behind it’s uptick, but some experts think a more likely cause is the Sun Belt’s economic growth. As populations grow and development and building increase, so too does disruption to the ecosystem. ~AR

(via Valley Fever Throws Baseball a Curve: Scientific American)

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Filed under: Fungus Fungal Diseases Valley Fever Major League Baseball Sports Botany Science Development Climate Change 
April 23, 2013
Thirsty Trees make Thirsty Sounds The sputter of a straw slurping up the last of your favorite drink is a sound both annoying to your friends and disappointing to you. But, as it turns out,  it’s not something relegated to the human experience. Scientists from Grenoble University in France have discovered that parched trees aren’t quiet about their discontent, either. Quite the opposite, in fact. When the soil underneath runs dry, the specialized “straws” within the trees’ anatomy—known as xylem—make their need known with near-inaudible noises. And with the right acoustic equipment, scientists think groundskeepers and forest rangers will soon have the wherewithal to know when a tree is going thirsty. They’ll just have to listen for that tell-tale sputter. —MN

Thirsty Trees make Thirsty Sounds

The sputter of a straw slurping up the last of your favorite drink is a sound both annoying to your friends and disappointing to you. But, as it turns out,  it’s not something relegated to the human experience.

Scientists from Grenoble University in France have discovered that parched trees aren’t quiet about their discontent, either. Quite the opposite, in fact.

When the soil underneath runs dry, the specialized “straws” within the trees’ anatomy—known as xylem—make their need known with near-inaudible noises. And with the right acoustic equipment, scientists think groundskeepers and forest rangers will soon have the wherewithal to know when a tree is going thirsty. They’ll just have to listen for that tell-tale sputter. —MN

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Filed under: Science Drought trees plants Climate Change 
March 11, 2013
Epigenetics have been in the news a lot. Basically, epigenetics are a newly understood genetic layer that sits on top (epi from the Greek for “on top of”) of the familiar genetic sequence of As, Ts, Gs, and Cs. Epigenetic changes do not lead to permanent changes in an individual’s DNA, but they can be powerful, and may be reversible. Joseph Ecker, a plant biologist at the Salk Institute thinks that epigenetics might be one way for plants to deal with possible effects of climate change. He also thinks that epigenetic changes may be able to help reintroduce diversity into plant species that have had diversity bred out of them through decades of intense homogenization. ~AR (via Can Epigentics Help Crops Adapt to Climate Change?: Scientific American)

Epigenetics have been in the news a lot. Basically, epigenetics are a newly understood genetic layer that sits on top (epi from the Greek for “on top of”) of the familiar genetic sequence of As, Ts, Gs, and Cs. Epigenetic changes do not lead to permanent changes in an individual’s DNA, but they can be powerful, and may be reversible. Joseph Ecker, a plant biologist at the Salk Institute thinks that epigenetics might be one way for plants to deal with possible effects of climate change. He also thinks that epigenetic changes may be able to help reintroduce diversity into plant species that have had diversity bred out of them through decades of intense homogenization. ~AR

(via Can Epigentics Help Crops Adapt to Climate Change?: Scientific American)

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Filed under: epigenetics genetics science plants botany climate change 
March 3, 2013
Phenology is the study of the timing of natural events, like when birds start building their nests or when sugar maples begin running sap. Phenology—as documented in this great piece on lohud.com—is a powerful tool for scientists tracking seasonal changes brought about by climate change. Whether it’s a researcher at Walden Pond using Thoreau’s journals, the long-running logs kept at the Mohonk Mountain House, or our own team of citizen scientists, phenologists are on the front line of monitoring this phenomenon. ~AR (via Season creep: Local data signals climate change | The Journal News | LoHud.com | lohud.com)

Phenology is the study of the timing of natural events, like when birds start building their nests or when sugar maples begin running sap. Phenology—as documented in this great piece on lohud.com—is a powerful tool for scientists tracking seasonal changes brought about by climate change. Whether it’s a researcher at Walden Pond using Thoreau’s journals, the long-running logs kept at the Mohonk Mountain House, or our own team of citizen scientists, phenologists are on the front line of monitoring this phenomenon. ~AR

(via Season creep: Local data signals climate change | The Journal News | LoHud.com | lohud.com)

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Filed under: Phenology Science Climate Change Researchers Hudson Valley Spring Nature Seasons 
February 5, 2013

Climate change and habitat destruction remain at the forefront of the scientific community’s hive mind, and rarely do they go unmentioned among botanists. While our own Dr. Scott Mori tackles the topic of their effects on New World tropical rain forests, it’s not just the well-known environments that are being affected.

Even on relatively desolate volcanic slopes, as with the habitat of the Haleakalā silversword, these catalytic shifts are pushing species to the edge. —MN

rhamphotheca:

Climate Change Threatens Spectacular Hawaiian Plant

by Becky Oskin

One of Hawaii’s iconic plants is again at risk.

The striking and rare Haleakalā silversword, found only on the high volcanic slopes of Maui, is on the decline, scientists report today (Jan. 15) in the journal Global Change Biology. 

First, the plant was nearly killed off by cows and collectors starting in the 1880s, then conservationists made it a success story after the 1930s. Now climate change is bringing about a new collapse.

The culprit is shifting weather patterns, which have made the plant’s environment too dry and warm for new seedlings to survive. Older plants are dying, too, said study co-author Paul Krushelnycky, a biologist at the University of Hawaii, Manoa…

(read more: Live Science)             

(photos: L -  Forest & Kim Starr via BioLib.cz; B - Paul Krushelnycky, Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa)

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Filed under: plants climate change environment botany silversword Hawaii Maui 
January 19, 2013
Fortified by Global Warming, Deadly Fungus Poisons Corn Crops, Causes Cancer: Scientific American

This is one of those stories that I see somewhere and think “wow, this would be great on the Tumblr!” and then I read it and I want to run home and hide and never eat anything but food I have grown myself ever again. Aspergillus flavus is a mold that thrives in hot, dry weather, just like last year’s epic drought in the U.S. It has rendered huge portions of corn crops unsaleable; just the equivalent of 100 kernels per truckload of corn turns the whole lot into garbage. This is a very real and very scary threat. Read at your own risk. ~AR

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Filed under: Corn Aflatoxin Food-Borne Illnesses Global Warming Science Climate Change Food Chain Developing Nations Drought Agriculture 
September 30, 2012
How do you predict what nature will look like should global warming continue apace? In New Mexico, Nathan McDowell, a researcher in climate sciences at Los Alamos National Laboratory has set-up a research center focusing on what effect climate change may have on the region’s plant life. In a chamber simulating even more arid and torrid temperatures than already exist in this desert, McDowell is studying the effect on two trees common to the area, the pinyon pine and junipers. “We need to understand why and where trees die. When we can do that accurately, we’ll have a shot at knowing the broader effects,” he said. McDowell monitors how the trees deal with the intense heat and lack of water, watching the trees get sicker and sicker, until they are nearly dead and highly vulnerable to invasion by insects and diseases. A landscape littered by massive amounts of dead plants can act as accelerant to already devestating wildfires in these fragile landscapes, so learning how and why these trees are dying may be an integral step in attempting to save them And they say economics are the dismal science … ~AR (via Experiments Suggest Grassland May Replace Forest in U.S. Southwest: Scientific American)

How do you predict what nature will look like should global warming continue apace? In New Mexico, Nathan McDowell, a researcher in climate sciences at Los Alamos National Laboratory has set-up a research center focusing on what effect climate change may have on the region’s plant life. In a chamber simulating even more arid and torrid temperatures than already exist in this desert, McDowell is studying the effect on two trees common to the area, the pinyon pine and junipers. “We need to understand why and where trees die. When we can do that accurately, we’ll have a shot at knowing the broader effects,” he said. McDowell monitors how the trees deal with the intense heat and lack of water, watching the trees get sicker and sicker, until they are nearly dead and highly vulnerable to invasion by insects and diseases. A landscape littered by massive amounts of dead plants can act as accelerant to already devestating wildfires in these fragile landscapes, so learning how and why these trees are dying may be an integral step in attempting to save them And they say economics are the dismal science … ~AR

(via Experiments Suggest Grassland May Replace Forest in U.S. Southwest: Scientific American)

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Filed under: Environmental Sciences Climate Change Global Warming Wild Fires Plants Botany Science 
March 12, 2012
Plants Boldly Go Where They've Never Gone Before

The PBS NewsHour blog takes a look at what may (or may not) be the effects of a changing climate on gardens across the United States, including at NYBG’s own Ladies’ Border. Why the hedged language? Because some of the changes outlined in the USDA’s new plant hardiness zone map have been brought about by better technology.

But, anecdotally, it really does feel like weather patterns are changing, from the southwest to the northeast. What do you think? Have you noticed any changes in the plants you can grow in your garden? ~AR

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Filed under: USDA Plant Hardiness Climate Change Weather Plants Gardening Ladies' Border The New York Botanical Garden 
January 3, 2012
Out of Season

Friend of the Garden, Karen, the writer behind the wonderful Brooklyn-based gardening blog Outside Now has a magnolia branch blooming in her apartment. She also reports that, just like NYBG blogger Sonia, she has seen Kousa Dogwoods in bloom at odd times in the past. I’m going to look into whether or not Kousas are especially sensitive to warmsnaps and I’ll report back if I find anything interesting. Thanks for the info Karen! ~ AR

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Filed under: Kousa Dogwoods Climate Change Weather Gardening The New York Botanical Gardne 
November 14, 2011
It's Mad Max out of Africa

After a decade of drought, the location picked for filming the latest Mad Max movie in  New South Wales, Australia, has suddenly become a blooming wonderland. Literally. Rain has turned the once-barren wasteland into a wildflower fantasia, and forced the production to leave the country that launched Mel Gibson and Mad Max onto the world stage. The movie will now film in Namibia.

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Filed under: Climate Change Movies Wildflowers People and Plants 
October 7, 2011
Indian Summer Confuses Plants in the U.K.

After a cool, wet summer, the United Kingdom is being treated to a spate of late warm weather, which is causing severe confusion among the island’s plants. According to the Royal Horticultural Society, blooms have been seen on azaleas, magnolias, strawberries, and apple trees. Here’s a slideshow of reader-submitted photos of unusual blooms from the BBC.

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Filed under: Global Warming Climate Change Nature Plants 
October 4, 2011
Beautiful post from our friend Karen of the blog Outside Now about her trip to the Garden to possibly join our Citizen Scientist Phenology program.

Beautiful post from our friend Karen of the blog Outside Now about her trip to the Garden to possibly join our Citizen Scientist Phenology program.

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Filed under: Citizen Science The New York Botanical Garden Phenology Climate Change NYBG Citizen Scientist Phenology Program Nature Trees 
February 14, 2011
Changing Times: History and Botanical Science in America

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Filed under: The New York Botancial Garden Bronx Science Scientists Ecology Climate Change In the Field 
December 23, 2010
Generations of scientists and amateur wildlife enthusiasts have collected plants, fungi, and algae and mounted them onto sheets of paper to preserve them. Many of these sheets now serve as historical records in vast archives called herbaria. Some herbaria hold specimens gathered more than 200 years ago; most started with the personal collection of one dedicated person who amassed thousands of plants. Carl Linnaeus, the 18th-century botanist who created the scientific naming system of species we use today, collected 14,300 specimens that are still kept in The Linnean Society of London’s herbarium. Scienceline - A new use for 200-year-old pressed plants

Generations of scientists and amateur wildlife enthusiasts have collected plants, fungi, and algae and mounted them onto sheets of paper to preserve them. Many of these sheets now serve as historical records in vast archives called herbaria. Some herbaria hold specimens gathered more than 200 years ago; most started with the personal collection of one dedicated person who amassed thousands of plants. Carl Linnaeus, the 18th-century botanist who created the scientific naming system of species we use today, collected 14,300 specimens that are still kept in The Linnean Society of London’s herbarium.

Scienceline - A new use for 200-year-old pressed plants

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Filed under: The New York Botanical Garden Herbariums Pressed Plants Climate Change Science 
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