What will happen to the trees with the effects of global warming?

[Felipe]

Back to the topic: EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON TREES

IMO many species can adapt to a wide range of conditions, they would still grow if the local climate changes, but it could affect production and maybe also the costs of maintenance/production.

[fruitlovers]

Many plants are very adaptable and can grow in a range of micro climates, but then there are also those plants that are not very adaptabe and those are the ones that will succumb to even very minor changes. It's good to have genetic diversity, and gene banks can eventually supply hardier cultivars. As is usual, the people that will suffer the most are the impoverished, the ones that spend most of their income on food. Climate changes, scarcity of water, and higher fuel costs will make food prices go up. When most of your income is spent on food even a minor increase can be quite catastrophic. A lot of poor people also live at close to sea level. Any minor increase in ocean levels would also be very catastrophic for these people, for example Indonesia, many other parts of Asia, and small islands, especially coral atolls.

[Mike T]

The number of cyclones in my region is expected to decline with warming and there has been a declining trend in frequency in the last 120 years.It is anticipated that the intensity of cyclones will increase.
There are great records of climate for that last 50 000 years with hotter, cooler, wetter and drier climates being experienced. Just about 4000 to 5000 years ago was a hotter period than the present with sea levels 2 to 3m higher than now and temps also 2 to 3c higher than now. It was brief but the existing plants today did not go through the thermal wringer and disappear. It shows greater tolerance of significant temp changes even for restricted mountain top species.
Fruit trees have a fair degree of tolerance as a rule and can be grown over several degrees of latitude.If one degree of latitude is roughly equivalent to 1c change in average temp in mid latitudes or 100m of altitude (big generalization) then the 0.7 increase in av. temps in the last 100 years has not rocked the world of most plants. The temp tolerances of those living on the edge might be tested in the next few decades but wholesale changes in distributions where things can be grown might take longer.
The problem for the natural world is the corridors and refuges don't exist and there is less resilience with weeds,pollution and fragmented habitat stopping natural communities from shifting slowly.

[Saltcayman]

Amen brother! Now, if Almost all of us can agree global warming is happening and try to be part of a solution, maybe we can get somewhere. 

Global warming is a fact. Not a debate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/01/science/earth/climate.html

What gets me is conspiracy groups,  believe in all kinds of conspiracies, I have heard them all, that the moon landing was a hoax, that the Earth is hollow, that Obama is from Kenya, that Nasa is hiding Nibiru.  and dozens more.   usually they believe in one or more of these conspiracies which is not surprising because you have the ability to weed out BS from real science.

Ironically the conspiracies they should believe, are the ones they do not,  take global warming,    a recent survey of climate scientist has 9,135 out of 9,136 agreeing that climate change is real.   now here come common sense,  what do you think is most likely?   that over 9000 scientist from every religion, political background, race, all got together to agree on this hoax,  OR   a few CEOs in a hand full of  corporations that are mainly the cause of global warming pay big money to some non credible news networks like Fox News to spread lies.

I remember not long ago, Fox News put up a chart showing how temps were actually dropping,  the deniers ate it up,  if they looked at the chart closer they would have noticed, that for some reason the chart started in around 1940, and ended in 1978   the whole chart  started in 1880 and ended into the 2005 or so at that time.   the reason of course was, that they cherry picked the data and blocked out some of the data that did not fit their agenda.

Global warming is not linear, you can have a few years of cooler weather in a given location,  its NOT about local weather, but GLOBAL averages over decades, I have seen morons state that its snowing outside, so global warming must be over now.

Many deniers think this is all new, and is something that Gore made up,  take a look at this video from 1958,  even then they knew.

http://youtu.be/m-AXBbuDxRY

Corporations responsible spend millions to dis-inform the public, and create doubt,  so that nothing is done on the matter. and they can continue doing things the same old way.   they make good money doing what they do.

[Saltcayman]

Good point!  But some species will not survive because the rate of climate change may outpace their ability to adapt.

http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/trees-adaptable-climate-change-research-shows-49500/

Back to the topic: EFFECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON TREES

IMO many species can adapt to a wide range of conditions, they would still grow if the local climate changes, but it could affect production and maybe also the costs of maintenance/production.

[fruitlovers]

Amen brother! Now, if Almost all of us can agree global warming is happening and try to be part of a solution, maybe we can get somewhere. 

You're either part of the solution or you're part of the problem. The ones denying the problem do that so they can continue with the exact same opulent and unconscious lifestyle = status quo, aka conservatives. But the deniers should be happy that i am quoting their favorite president: "You're either with us, or you're against us" GWB. HAHA

[GrassFlats]