[ad_1]
“It’s a popular image of cacti,” said David G. Williams, professor of botany at the University of Wyoming, who was not involved in the new research. “’Oh, we don’t have to worry about cacti. Look, they have thorns, they thrive in this horrible environment.’” But cacti, like most plants, live in delicate balance with the ecosystems around them, he said. “There are many of these tipping points, thresholds and interactions that are very sensitive and sensitive to changes in the environment, land use and climate change.”
Dr. Williams said the new study is “important” as it shows how broadly such changes can affect cactus communities.
About ten years ago, Dr. Goettsch a comprehensive global assessment Among the threats to cacti, he said, there are only a few scientific studies examining the potential effects of climate change on cacti in particular.
However, he said other cactus experts kept telling him during field visits, “You know, we’re going back now and a lot of the plants are dead. There’s no real reason, so we think it could be climate change.” The evidence has only piled up more since then, he said.
Brazil is a hotspot for the cactus variety. as the country northeast arid areas Higher temperatures, more intense droughts and desertification put plant richness at stake, said Arnóbio de Mendonça, a climate and biodiversity researcher at Brazil’s National Institute for Space Studies and not working on the new study.
“Species either adapt or go extinct,” he said. “As adaptation is a slow process and current climate change is occurring rapidly, many species are likely to disappear.”
[ad_2]
Source link