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| Wed, 8th Jul 2020 13:19:00 |
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'Playing the hand of God': scientists' experiment aims to help trees survive climate change |
There is an impressive array of pine species at the Nature Conservancy’s Plum Creek preserve in Maryland – loblolly, Virginia, shortleaf – creating a landscape that emits the smell of Christmas well into the summer. But a newcomer to the preserve has fueled an ethical debate about the role of conservationists in the age of climate change.
Since 2013, TNC has planted more than 2,000 longleaf pine seedlings in fields not far from the Delaware state line. Today, clumps of longleaf stand together like gangly kids at recess, their eponymous green needles shooting out like pompoms in every direction.
But longleaf is not native to Maryland, and many scientists believe they should not be planted at Plum Creek, or anywhere outside of their natural range. These relatively young trees are part of an experiment to determine if human intervention could help the pines migrate north as climate change alters its natural range.
When left unattended, trees migrate toward more favorable conditions through a process known as seed dispersal, in which seeds are carried by the wind or birds to new places, taking root where the weather and water are right. But it’s an exceedingly slow process, much slower than many trees will need to move in order to avoid major harm from warming temperatures. Scientists are turning to a strategy called assisted migration – planting seedlings in areas they have never grown – in an attempt to rescue tree species from the inhospitable conditions brought on by climate change.
Not everyone’s onboard. Assisted migration has been accused of being expensive and risky, a case of humans playing God.
But “I do not believe longleaf pine could move quickly enough at the rate the climate is changing,” explains Dr Deborah Landau, a TNC restoration ecologist.
Read original full article
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