Study: Climate Change Putting Crimp On Growing Seasons
July 23, 2010 According to University of Central Florida researchers, the Sunshine State’s winters are getting more extreme, causing plants to flower later and potentially shrinking the growing seasons for some of the state’s most vital crops.
Betsy Von Holle, assistant professor of biology who led the study, said if this recent trend continues – more frequent freezes and larger temperature swings between winter and spring, followed by hotter summers – it could threaten oranges and other crops. “The weather in Florida has been getting wacky,” said Von Holle. “And that’s definitely having an impact beyond simple temperature changes.”
The UCF team studied more than 50 years of data on seasonal and regional changes in climate and the flowering times of 70 native and non-native plant species throughout all of Florida’s counties. The researchers found an overall rise in Florida’s average annual temperatures. Their work focused on a more limited geographic region, allowing for a better understanding of regional trends that differ by season.
Click here to see the entire UCF research findings as published in PLoS ONE, a peer-reviewed journal from the Public Library of Science.
Source: University of Central Florida news