Jun 25 2008

Climate Change Threatens California's Plant Life

Posted by: Keely Wachs

A new study issued today by UC Berkeley and Duke University provides another grim illustration of climate change's impact on the natural world as we know it.

According to the study, two thirds of the 2,300 plants found only in California could disappear if emissions continue to rise at their current rate and reach 970 million parts per million in the atmosphere by the time period 2080-2099.

Under this scenario, which predicts rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns, the impact would be especially severe in the foothills of the northern Sierra Nevada and less so on the state's central coast from Big Sur to Mendocino County.

To survive, California's plants would have to shift 100 miles or more from their current range - a nearly impossible task given adaptation rates and the boundaries created by urban development. 

Half of the unique plants found on the continental United States only grow in California, so the loss of the country's biological diversity is at stake.   

On the bright side, if emissions drop to below 1990 levels by 2099, researchers predict that carbon dioxide emissions would reach 550 parts per million.  At this level, the impact on plants would be significantly less. 

Currently, carbon dioxide concentrations are 387 parts per million.

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