Researchers examined thermal tolerance data for 1,028 land plant species across the world and found that cold tolerance varied more than heat tolerance for different plants and climate regions, only partly reflecting the local climate where the plants grow; variation in thermal tolerance strongly reflected plants' evolutionary and geographical histories, suggesting that all plants, especially temperate ones, are vulnerable to climate change, according to the authors.
Article #19-18162: "Global variation in the thermal tolerances of plants," by Lesley T. Lancaster and Aelys M. Humphreys.
MEDIA CONTACT: Lesley T. Lancaster, University of Aberdeen, UNITED KINGDOM; tel: +44 (0) 7462261900; email: lesleylancaster@abdn.ac.uk
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences