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When you think about climate change, you probably think of disastrous floods, wildfires and dry land. Many people wouldn’t associate climate change and the vibrant wildflowers that bloom in nearby meadows. Recent research published in Frontiers in Plant Science indicates that these lovely blooms could be in peril due to global warming.
This groundbreaking study, which was conducted in the United Kingdom found that Northern Europe’s wildflowers would likely be less than 40%. The experimental study simulated warmer, wetter conditions that could be expected for the region by the researchers.
Research findings:
This new scenario resulted in some plant species producing flowers with 60% less nectar, and fewer or more light-colored seeds. These changes required pollinating insects to visit more flowers in order collect the nectar and pollen. They also had to visit each one more often.
“Our findings indicate that climate change could have severe consequences for some wildflower species as well as their pollinators in agricultural system and that their community composition will likely change in the future.”Ellen D. Moss is the lead author and a research associate at Newcastle University in England.
Previous Climate changeResearch has tended to focus on a few plants or pollinating bugs in a particular region rather than on the effects on a larger community.
“This study adds to evidence that pollinators are at risk from multiple stressors,” Jane Stout, a Trinity College Dublin ecologist, said Jane Stout. Jane was not part of the study.. “They are losing their breeding and feeding grounds, and they are stressed due to pesticides, disease and climate change.”
The researchers planted spring wheat and some native wildflowers, which are grown on wheat farms, in small agricultural plots on a North Yorkshire farm. They then heated some of these plots with infrared heaters to raise the soil temperature by 1.5° Celsius (2.7° Fahrenheit), and they increased the water supply by 40% to simulate the wetter conditions predicted for Northern Europe as a result of future climate change. They also used the non-heated plots as a control for their experiments.
The researchers followed the growth of two different plant species in the plots during the 2014 and 2015 flowering seasons. They also tracked the number of flowers produced, the amount of nectar in them, as well the weight of the dried seeds.
They also collected data about visiting insects. pollinators, such their visitation patterns to both experimental and control plots.
The study discovered 25 plant species and 80 insects in 2014. In 2015, it found 19 plant and 69 insect species. Higher temperatures and greater precipitation did not affect the species found on the plots. Common field-speedwell (Veronica Persica), cornmarigold (Glebionis Segetum), cornflower, Centaurea cyanus), common fields-speedwell (Veronica persica), shepherd’s purse (Capsella Bursa-pastoris), chickweed and red dead-nettle were the most abundant (Lamium Purpureum).
The heated plots also showed significant changes in pollinator feeding behavior. The most abundant insects, honeybees, bumblebees and hoverflies visited more flowers and returned to the same flower more often to collect nectar.
Gloomy Future for the Blooms
Two out of five plants, which include wildflowers, are in danger of extinction because of land-use changes, such as those for housing and agriculture. California is experiencing increasingly hotter, drier winters due to climate change. Studies have shown that wildflower species have declined 15% in the past 15 years.
Wildflowers are endangered and thousands of insects suffer. This includes bees and other herbivores, such as grasshoppers, aphids, and caterpillars. It also affects natural pest control species such as ladybirds and spiders that find refuge in meadows. Studies show that 25% of all known bee species have disappeared since the 1990s. Habitat loss is one of the main causes of this decline.
“Climate Change Threatens” Crop pollination“ Stout explained.
Although rapid emission reductions would be a good way to reduce climate change, there are other options that can be taken to protect wildflowers from a disaster.
Moss explained that habitat quality, quantity, and connectivity are the key factors that will improve ecosystem resilience for wildflowers, pollinators, and other species. “We must leave more wild spaces for native insects and plants, and we must try to connect these areas to ensure that these high-quality habitats are not too small or far apart.”
