Forest plants in Europe are changing their habitats, and theoretically it can be said that this is mainly related to human activity and the warming climate. A group of experts, including from Poland, decided to look into the matter and examined numerous species found in the forests of the Old Continent. It was found that the shift amounts to several kilometers in one year.
A group of researchers analyzed 266 European forest plant species from a period of 84 years. As many as were taken into account 3 thousand positionsincluding those located in the Białowieża Forest and German forests located in Brandenburg. The results obtained in the research are at least very interesting.
Researchers have determined that forest plants in Europe they change their ranges by an average of 3.56 km per year. You might think that as a result of climate change, this is mostly moving northwards. There too, but it turns out that it is not dominant.
Experts noticed that the main direction chosen by forest plants in Europe is west. This has been observed in the case of as many as 39 percent examined flora species. However, only 15% are heading north. of them. As it is easy to notice, migration takes place mainly (2.5 times more often) towards the west of the Old Continent.
However, the group of researchers has no illusions about the direction chosen by forest plants is also related to human activity. Why is this happening? The answer lies in, among other things, in nitrogen.
The research results are therefore interesting and allow for a better understanding of human impact on the flora surrounding us. The experts published their own observations in an article published in Science.
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Source: geekweek.interia.pl
