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Related Concept Videos

What is Climate?01:16

What is Climate?

Climate refers to the prevailing weather conditions in a specific area over an extended period. As the saying goes, “Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.” Climate is influenced by geographic factors, such as latitude, terrain, and proximity to bodies of water.
Global Climate Change01:50

Global Climate Change

Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.
Responses to Heat and Cold Stress02:45

Responses to Heat and Cold Stress

Every organism has an optimum temperature range within which healthy growth and physiological functioning can occur. At the ends of this range, there will be a minimum and maximum temperature that interrupt biological processes.
Responses to Drought and Flooding02:41

Responses to Drought and Flooding

Water plays a significant role in the life cycle of plants. However, insufficient or excess of water can be detrimental and pose a serious threat to plants.
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss01:57

Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss

Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.
Responses to Gravity and Touch02:26

Responses to Gravity and Touch

Gravitropism: Plant Responses to Gravity

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Using Changes in Leaf Transmission to Investigate Chloroplast Movement in Arabidopsis thaliana
07:45

Using Changes in Leaf Transmission to Investigate Chloroplast Movement in Arabidopsis thaliana

Published on: July 14, 2021

Will plant movements keep up with climate change?

Richard T Corlett1, David A Westcott

  • 1Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China. corlett@xtbg.org.cn

Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|June 1, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Plant species face extinction due to climate change. This review compares the velocity of climate change with the velocity of plant movement to assess migration lag and its impact on biodiversity and carbon storage.

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Last Updated: May 11, 2026

Using Changes in Leaf Transmission to Investigate Chloroplast Movement in Arabidopsis thaliana
07:45

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08:39

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Published on: October 28, 2022

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Published on: March 31, 2023

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Climate Change Biology
  • Botany

Background:

  • Anthropogenic climate change necessitates species adaptation, including movement, to survive.
  • Current models inadequately represent plant migration, posing risks to biodiversity and carbon storage.
  • Understanding 'migration lag' is crucial for predicting ecosystem responses to rapid climate shifts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the velocity of climate change with the velocity of plant movement.
  • To assess the potential for plant migration lag under future climate scenarios.
  • To highlight the need for improved representation of plant movement in predictive models.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review comparing climate velocity with plant dispersal velocities.
  • Synthesis of data on plant movement capabilities and climate change rates.
  • Analysis of potential mismatches between climate tracking and plant migration.

Main Results:

  • Significant discrepancies exist between the speed required for plants to track climate change and their actual movement capabilities.
  • Plant migration lag is a considerable threat, particularly for species with limited dispersal abilities.
  • Current vegetation and carbon-cycle models do not realistically account for plant movement limitations.

Conclusions:

  • Failure of plant species to keep pace with climate change (migration lag) poses a substantial risk to biodiversity and ecosystem functions.
  • Urgent improvements are needed in ecological models to incorporate realistic plant movement dynamics.
  • Addressing migration lag is essential for accurate predictions of future vegetation distribution and carbon sequestration under climate change.