Faced With Global Warming, Plants Are Heading For The Hills

WASHINGTON (AP) – Faced with global warming, plants are heading for the hills.

A study of 171 forest species in France shows that most of them are shifting their favored locations to higher, cooler spots.

The leader of the study says for the first time, research can show the “fingerprints of climate change” in the distribution of plants by altitude, and not only in sensitive ecosystems.

The research reported in the journal Science compares the distribution of species between 1905 and 1985 with their distribution between 1986 and 2005. It shows a shift upward of 95 feet per decade.

Herbs, ferns and mosses with shorter life spans and faster reproduction cycles were the quickest to move. Not surprisingly, woody plants that reproduce more slowly were found to be most vulnerable to climate change.