RRC ID 83471
Author Ramírez-Barahona S, Cuervo-Robayo ÁP, Feeley KJ, Ortiz-Rodríguez AE, Vásquez-Aguilar AA, Ornelas JF, Rodríguez-Correa H.
Title Upslope plant species shifts in Mesoamerican cloud forests driven by climate and land use change.
Journal Science
Abstract Global change drives biodiversity shifts worldwide, but these shifts are poorly understood in highly diverse tropical regions. In tropical mountains, plants are mostly expected to migrate upslope in response to warming. To assess this, we analyze shifts in elevation ranges of species in Mesoamerican cloud forests using three decades of species' occurrence records. Our findings reveal a mean upslope shift of 1.8 to 2.7 meters per year since 1979 driven by the upslope retreat of the less thermophilic montane species. These shifts are mostly accompanied by retreating lower and upper edges attributed to varying degrees of species' exposure to deforestation and climate change. Our results highlight the vulnerability of cloud forests under global change and the urgency to increase monitoring of species' responses.
Volume 387(6738)
Pages 1058-1063
Published 2025-3-6
DOI 10.1126/science.adn2559
PMID 40048523
MeSH Altitude Biodiversity* Central America Climate Change* Conservation of Natural Resources Forests* Plant Dispersal* Plants* Trees* Tropical Climate
IF 41.846
Resource
GBIF AIS Wildtype Populations of Arabidopsis Plant specimens of Kushiro City Museum