Our changing climate has impacted the timing, length, and characteristics of the four seasons. In turn, the shifting seasons create a domino effect that impacts the planet's ecosystems in various ways. A new study published in Nature Climate Change highlights the way this impacts interconnected plant and insect species.
What's happening?
Phenology is the study of the relationships between seasons and plant and animal behavior. One common example of this relationship would be bird migration. This branch of science was the main focus of the study led by University of Arizona ecologist Daijiang Li.
Researchers looked at how increasingly extreme weather events impacted aspects of phenology. They primarily focused on the flowering of plants and flight periods of moths and butterflies that both feed from and pollinate them. What they found was concerning but not necessarily shocking.
The results showed that extreme weather can throw off the delicate phenological balance in an ecosystem. For example, extreme cold in the spring can cause butterflies and moths to go out in search of flowers earlier than usual. However, plants do not flower any differently in these instances, leaving the butterflies and moths without food. Subsequently, the plants may also miss their opportunity to become pollinated.
"Our results provide overwhelming evidence that extreme weather events and the climate context in which they occur are crucial to understanding the phenological response in plants and insects," Li said.
Why is studying the impact of extreme weather on phenological events important?
While we may already understand some of the ways cold snaps, droughts, and heat waves might impact an ecosystem, their impact on phenology is less understood. It's crucial to better understand these nuanced but significant effects of our shifting climate if we want to protect our ecosystems.
"Phenological mismatches are going to have consequences for both the plants as well as for the insects, causing both populations to suffer," Li said.
Ultimately, these issues can impact our food security. With pollinators going without food and plants going without pollen, the ecosystem can be thrown into chaos. From there, we can begin losing some plant and animal life that we depend on to survive.
What's being done about extreme weather?
There's no quick fix to shifting weather patterns, which means that understanding and adapting to them is key. Fortunately, there are plenty of projects out there looking to do just that — including this phenological study.
In China, breakthroughs in vertical farming offer hope for protecting our food supply as extreme weather continues to impact annual crops.
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Definitely 👍 Solar technology is also advancing, which can provide greater energy security in the face of extreme weather.
Meanwhile, Colombia has seen great success in combating extreme weather-causing deforestation. The year 2023 saw one of the lowest levels of deforestation in decades, and the incoming 2024 results should look similar.
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