Julia Turshen / Instagram
By John R. Platt
October arrives with a chill in the air, a touch of color on the leaves, the promise of impending ghosts and ghouls ... and a heck of a lot of new environmentally themed books.
Publishers must love fall as much as I do, because they have a ton of new titles scheduled for this month, including books on climate change, canines and food for your soul.
Here are five of our favorites being released during October:
After the past month of natural disasters, this book couldn't be more perfectly timed—or more necessary. Goodell traveled across the globe to see how climate change and sea-level rise are affecting cities—and the people who live in them—in a dozen countries. He even visited one island nation that may not exist for much longer. This book covers the history of how we have adapted to changing sea levels as well as the science of what's happening now and in the near future. A must-read. (Little, Brown and Company, Oct. 24, $28)
2. Replenish: The Virtuous Cycle of Water and Prosperity by Sandra Postel
If The Water Will Come gets you too depressed, here's the flip side: Postel's examination of water projects around the world that actually work. If safe drinking water, working watersheds, clean rivers and un-floodable cities matter to you, check this one out. (Island Press, Oct. 10, $29)
3. American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West by Nate Blakeslee
The true story of one wolf—Yellowstone's fabled alpha female named O-Six—and her effect on people around the world. Some admired her. Others feared her and her kind. This is not a story that ends well, but Blakeslee tells it marvelously, in a way that will leave every reader thinking. (Crown, Oct. 17, $28)
4. Science Comics: Dogs – From Predator to Protector by Andy Hirsch
Sticking with canines, here's a new graphic novel to help fill kids in on the genetics, evolution and adaptation of mankind's best friend. Make sure to check out other books in this series, especially the ones on sharks and coral reefs. (First Second, Oct. 31, $12.99)
5. Feed the Resistance: Recipes & Ideas for Getting Involved by Julia Turshen
They say an army marches on its stomach. If that's true then the resistance to the current wave of regressive ideas had better be well-fed. Turshen provides a book full of recipes perfect for eating while gathering around to talk about civil rights, environmental justice and other tasty topics. She also provides the ingredients on how to get started in the worlds of "food, politics and social causes." (Chronicle Books, Oct. 3, $14.95)
Scientists believe sharks use bioluminescence to camouflage themselves. Jérôme Mallefet
Scientists have newly photographed three species of shark that can glow in the dark, according to a study published in Frontiers in Marine Science last month.
<p>The sharks were found in the waters of Chatham Rise, off of New Zealand. And one of them, the kitefin shark (Dalatias licha), is now the largest known vertebrate capable of producing its own light, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/03/asia/shark-bioluminescence-research-scli-intl-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>.</p><p>"This first experimental study of three luminous shark species from New Zealand provides an insight into the diversity of shark bioluminescence and highlights the need for more research to help understand these unusual deep-sea inhabitants: the glowing sharks," the study authors wrote.</p>
<p>Bioluminescence is defined as the production of light by living organisms and it is caused by a biochemical reaction. It is common among <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a>, and was first observed in sharks in the nineteenth century. Today, around 57 out of 540 known shark species are thought to be capable of producing bioluminescence, study co-author Jérôme Mallefet, head of the marine biology laboratory at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, told CNN.</p>
<p>However, the study marks the first time this property has been observed in a shark as large as the kitefin, which can grow to be nearly six feet. Researchers had previously thought that kitefins might be bioluminescent, because specimens showed that they were capable of producing light. But they have never before been observed doing so because they live so far below the ocean's surface, at 656 to 2,953 feet deep.</p><p>In addition, the researchers from the Catholic University of Louvain and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand also recorded the phenomenon in two other deepwater sharks: the blackbelly lanternshark (<em>Etmopterus lucifer</em>), and the southern lanternshark (<em>Etmopterus granulosus</em>)<em>.</em></p><p>"The two other Etmopterus sharks were also not documented, so it is the first time," Mallefet told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/02/giant-luminous-shark-researchers-discover-that-three-deep-sea-sharks-glow-in-the-dark" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>The three sharks were collected in January 2020 from a part of the ocean known as the mesopelagic or "twilight" zone, which is between 200 and 1,000 meters (approximately 656 to 3,281 feet) deep. Here, around 90 percent of life is thought to have some form of bioluminescence that it uses for attracting mates, catching prey or camouflage, among other things, according to <a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/three-new-luminous-glowing-sharks-have-been-found-living-in-the-ocean-s-dark-depths" target="_blank">Science Alert</a>.</p><p>In the case of the sharks, scientists think that they use it to camouflage themselves from below. The bioluminescence is concentrated in their bellies and underbellies, and the glow could help them blend in with the light that is visible from the sky. This could protect the smaller two species from predators and help the kitefin shark both illuminate and sneak up on prey, according to The Guardian.</p><p>However, there is one mystery about the kitefin shark that does not fit this hypothesis: Its dorsal fin also lights up.</p><p>"The luminous pattern of the Kitefin shark was unknown and we are still very surprised by the glow on the dorsal fin," Mallefet told The Guardian. "Why? For which purpose?</p>
<p>More research will be needed to understand how and why these species use their self-made light. But the study shines its own light on the unique ecosystems of the deep sea, and the need to both understand and preserve them.</p><p>"I fear that we have done a lot of mistakes throwing stuff in the sea," Mallefet told CNN. "I fear what will happen for the next generations."</p>
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A FedEx truck travels along Interstate 10 by the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm near Palm Springs, California on Feb. 27, 2019. Robert Alexander / Getty Images
FedEx's entire parcel pickup and delivery fleet will become 100 percent electric by 2040, according to a statement released Wednesday. The ambitious plan includes checkpoints, such as aiming for 50 percent electric vehicles by 2025.
<p>To reach this goal, the delivery company will commit more than $2 billion to vehicle electrification, sustainable energy and carbon sequestration, according to the statement.</p><p>"We have a responsibility to take bold action in addressing climate challenges," Frederick W. Smith, chairman and CEO of FedEx Corp. said in the <a href="https://newsroom.fedex.com/newsroom/sustainability2021/" target="_blank">release</a>. "This goal builds on our longstanding commitment to sustainability throughout our operations, while at the same time investing in long-term, transformational solutions for FedEx and our entire industry."</p><p>FedEx will also continue to invest in sustainable fuels to power its planes -- the biggest contributor to its carbon footprint, <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90610719/how-fedex-plans-to-become-carbon-neutral-by-2040" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fast Company reported</a>. But switching to sustainable fuel won't be easy, Mitch Jackson, chief sustainability officer for FedEx Corp, told Fast Company. "The question is, will sustainable aviation fuels be here in sufficient quantities for the aviation industry in the near term?"</p>
<p>The news comes just a week after the United States Postal Service announced a 10-year, $485-million contract for new mail trucks, planning to transform only 10 percent of its fleet into electric vehicles, <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2021/03/fedex-announces-100-commitment-all-electric-fleet" target="_blank">Sierra Club reported</a>. This plan falls short of President Biden's <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/executive-order-on-tackling-the-climate-crisis-at-home-and-abroad/" target="_blank">vow</a> to covert all "Federal, State, local, and Tribal government fleets" to "clean and zero-emission vehicles."</p><p>"From undermining our democracy to delaying climate action, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy continues to fail the United States Postal Service and the American public," Gina Coplon-Newfield, director of Sierra Club's Clean Transportation for All campaign said in a <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2021/02/usps-must-electrify-mail-truck-fleet" target="_blank">statement</a>. "The lack of commitment from the USPS to electrify its fleet directly contradicts the Biden administration's goals and executive order to clean up pollution from the US government's vehicles."</p>
<p>The United States Postal Service has increasingly struggled to outcompete large corporations like FedEx that use the same networks and markets, the Economic Policy Institute wrote in a <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/the-war-against-the-postal-service/" target="_blank">report</a>. This is partly because the USPS is limited in entering new markets and pays its workers with middle-class wages and provides benefits, unlike private competitors like FedEx that cut costs by relying on independent, contract workers, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2021/business/usps-performance-whats-next-biden/" target="_blank">reported</a>. Yet the drastically different de-carbonization goals between USPS and FedEx highlight the necessary role private companies can play in pioneering efforts towards a clean energy future.</p><p>"While we've made great strides in reducing our environmental impact, we have to do more," Jackson <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/fedex-delivery-fleet-all-electric-carbon-neutral-2040-sustainability-2021-3" target="_blank">said</a>, according to Business Insider. "The long-term health of our industry is directly linked to the health of the planet, but this effort is about more than the bottom line – it's the right thing to do."</p>
<p>Included in FedEx's plan is a $100 million gift to Yale University to establish a Center for Natural Carbon Capture to research and develop natural solutions to reduce and sequester atmospheric carbon safely, <a href="https://news.yale.edu/2021/03/03/yale-new-fedex-supported-center-focus-climate-change-solutions" target="_blank">YaleNews reported</a>.</p><p>"My hope is that others will recognize the scale and importance of this problem and the significance of this center's mission by joining in our efforts to address a global challenge," Smith said, according to YaleNews.</p><p>Environmental groups urge other delivery services to quickly follow suit, committing to more sustainable and efficient operations in the face of a rapidly damaging climate. "This is a critical moment to shift the status quo of the US delivery truck. We urge all delivery companies — including USPS — to not let it pass them by," Coplon-Newfield added in a <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2021/03/fedex-announces-100-commitment-all-electric-fleet" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
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Empty freeways, such as this one in LA, were a common sight during COVID-19 lockdowns in spring 2020. vlvart / Getty Images
Lockdown measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic had the added benefit of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by around seven percent, or 2.6 billion metric tons, in 2020.
<p>This is the largest emissions reduction that has ever been recorded. But to reach the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris agreement</a> goal of limiting global warming to well below two degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels, the world needs to reduce emissions by one to two billion metric tons every year for the next decade and beyond, according to a new analysis published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01001-0" target="_blank">Nature Climate Change</a>.</p><p>"We need a cut in emissions of about the size of the fall [from the lockdowns] every two years, but by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/17/what-could-a-good-green-recovery-plan-actually-look-like" target="_blank">completely different methods</a>," Corinne Le Quéré, lead study author from the Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia in England, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/mar/03/global-lockdown-every-two-years-needed-to-meet-paris-co2-goals-study" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p><p>Before the pandemic, emissions were already declining in some countries due to policy changes, the report found. In 64 countries, emissions declined by 160 million metric tons a year between 2016 to 2019 compared to 2011 to 2015. However, that reduction is only a tenth of what is needed worldwide to meet the Paris agreement goals. In 150 countries, emissions continued to increase by 370 million metric tons a year during the four years before the lockdown.</p><p>The concern now is whether countries can build on the reductions caused by the pandemic, or if emissions will increase again as economies reopen. So far, the evidence points toward the latter. The International Energy Agency said this week that emissions had already rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2021/03/03/report-world-needs-equivalent-of-pandemic-lockdown-every-two-years-to-meet-paris-carbon-emission-goals/?sh=2af111536dee" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Forbes reported</a>. Last month, the UN said that countries' existing commitments under the Paris agreement would only reduce emissions by less than one percent by 2030, even though experts say a 45 percent drop is required.</p>
<p>"Emissions were lower in 2020 as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> infrastructure was used less, not because infrastructure was closed down," Glen Peters, study co-author from the Cicero center for climate research in Norway, told The Guardian. "When fossil fuel infrastructure is put into use again, there is a risk of a big rebound in emissions in 2021, as was seen in the wake of the global financial crisis in 2009."</p><p>The report authors noted that policy makers could refer to the lockdowns for guidance on reducing emissions. Most of the reductions were driven by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/transportation" target="_self">transportation</a> decreases, the authors found. They suggested shifting toward <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/electric-vehicles" target="_self">electric vehicles</a> and bike-and-pedestrian-friendly cities, as well as continuing and improving remote business options and encouraging a safe return to public transportation. </p><p>The authors also called for greater investments in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/renewable-energy" target="_self">renewable energy</a> as part of the recovery process. They added that while recovery plans in the European Union, Denmark, France, UK, Germany and Switzerland included minimal fossil fuel investments, investments in most other countries, including the U.S. and China, were still fossil-fuel heavy.</p><p>"Experience from several previous crises show that the underlying drivers of emissions reappear, if not immediately, then within a few years," the authors wrote. "Therefore to change the trajectory in global CO2 emissions in the long term, the underlying drivers also need to change."</p>
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'Damning' Docs Reveal Meatpacking Industry Fought Minimal COVID-19 Safeguards Under Trump
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Health + Wellness
The meatpacking industry pushed back against COVID-19 safety restrictions in spring 2020. Ben Hasty / MediaNews Group / Reading Eagle / Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
Documents obtained from the United States Department of Agriculture by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen and published Wednesday reveal how leading players in the meatpacking industry—one of the hardest-hit by the coronavirus pandemic—fought the minimal efforts imposed by the Trump administration to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in meat processing plants last spring.
<p>As Public Citizen put it, "these docs are utterly damning."</p><p>Responding to Public Citizen's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the USDA handed over <a href="https://mkus3lurbh3lbztg254fzode-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2020-OSEC-04055-F_3rd-interim_Redacted.pdf" target="_blank">documents</a> showing that:</p><ul><li>In April 2020, officials in the North American Meat Institute protested USDA's decision not to send Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) inspectors who were exposed to Covid-19 into other plants. On April 15, 2020, one NAMI official stated that "we can't start sidelining individuals at FSIS or in the industry because they may have been exposed. We all may have been exposed at this point"; </li><li>Later in April 2020, officials at the National Chicken Council complained to USDA that FSIS was asking too many questions about Covid-19 testing at poultry processing facilities, stating the "questions seem to be unnecessary."</li><li>In May 2020, officials at animal processing giant Tyson Foods complained to USDA that the company had to "spend significant resources... each day when reporting positive team members."</li><li>In March 2020, the Food and Beverage Issue Alliance developed guidance for industry members stating that, unless state or local governments required it, "physical (social) distancing should be a tool but not a requirement."</li><li>Industry officials reported FSIS employees who warned their friends and families about plants with cases of Covid-19, specifically forwarding a personal Facebook post and asking USDA to take disciplinary action against the inspectors.</li></ul><p>Adam Pulver, an attorney at the Public Citizen Litigation Group, said in a statement that "it is heartbreaking to see the callousness of the meatpacking industry, pushing back against basic safety measures that could have saved hundreds of lives and helped contain the Covid-19 pandemic."</p>
<div id="38879" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fa8fb1444e4ed26d200a49e324e3f9da"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1367195319922872325" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: New docs we uncovered show the meatpacking industry vehemently fought COVID safety measures, arguing that… https://t.co/HTeX4A9anG</div> — Public Citizen (@Public Citizen)<a href="https://twitter.com/Public_Citizen/statuses/1367195319922872325">1614799740.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"While we knew that meatpacking companies did not take adequate measures to protect their workers and the communities they lived in from the threat of Covid-19, these documents show that the industry actively pushed back against the few steps the Trump administration took to try to ensure the safety of meatpacking workers and federal inspectors," Pulver added.</p><p>As Public Citizen notes, at least 45,000 coronavirus cases and 240 Covid-19 deaths have been linked to U.S. meatpacking facilities.</p><p>In September 2020, Public Citizen and American Oversight <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/15/usda-and-meatpacking-industry-collaborated-undermine-covid-19-response-documents" target="_blank">published documents </a>also obtained via FOIA requests that showed how the USDA and the meatpacking industry worked together to downplay and disregard risks to worker health during the pandemic. The documents revealed that a leading meat industry lobby group drafted a proposed executive order that was strikingly similar to a directive issued a week later by then-President Donald Trump to keep meatpacking plants open against the orders of local health officials. </p><p>Last September's revelations were followed by a November scandal involving supervisors at a Tyson Foods plant in Waterloo, Iowa who <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/11/19/depraved-tyson-food-managers-accused-betting-how-many-their-workers-would-get-covid" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">placed cash bets</a> on how many workers at the facility would contract the coronavirus. More than 1,000 employees—over a third of the plant's workforce—were infected. </p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/03/utterly-damning-docs-reveal-meatpacking-industry-fought-feeble-covid-19-safeguards" target="_blank">Common Dreams.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A late snowfall could set back the growth of this budding lilac. oddharmonic / Flickr, CC BY-SA
By Richard B. Primack
Weather patterns across the U.S. have felt like a roller coaster ride for the past several months. December and January were significantly warmer than average in many locations, followed by February's intense cold wave and a dramatic warmup.
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<p>If you've ever seen lilac bushes crushed by snowdrifts, then budding on a warm day just a few weeks later, you may wonder how plants tolerate such extremes. I study <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XfgB_BUAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">how climate change affects the timing of seasonal events</a> in the life cycles of plants, birds and insects in Massachusetts, so I know that species have evolved here to handle New England's famously changeable weather. But a warming climate is disrupting weather patterns and testing the abilities of many species to adapt.</p>
<h3>Tolerating Cold</h3><p>On brutal winter days when temperatures are far below freezing, <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-winter-miserable-for-wildlife-108734" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">animals hibernate underground or huddle in protected spots</a>. But trees and shrubs have to sit there and take it. The tissues in their trunks, branches and roots are alive. How do they survive the freezing cold?</p><p>In autumn, woody plants in many parts of North America start <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2015.01.004" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">preparing for winter</a>. When their leaves change color and fall, their twigs, branches and trunks start to lose water. As a result, their cells contain higher concentrations of sugars, salts and organic compounds.</p><p>This lowers the freezing point of the cells and tissues, and allows them to survive temperatures far below the normal freezing point of water. The trick has its limits, though, so extreme cold events can still kill certain plants.</p><p>Tree and shrub roots remain largely unchanged and inactive during winter, relying on insulation from snow and soil for protection. For the most part, the temperature of the soil around roots stays at or above freezing. Soil, fallen leaves and persistent snow layers insulate the ground above the roots and prevent it from losing heat.</p>
<h3>The Surprising Danger of Spring Frosts</h3><p>After plants stoically withstand cold winters, early spring brings new dangers. Plants need to leaf out as early as they can in spring to take full advantage of the growing season. But this involves pumping water into their developing leaves, which reduces the concentration of sugars, salts and organic compounds in their tissues and removes their winter protection from cold.</p><p>Each species has a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.12892" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">characteristic leaf-out time</a>. Early-leafing species such as blueberries and willows are the gamblers of the plant kingdom. Later species, like oak and pine, are the cautious and conservative types. For any species, leafing out too early is a risk because late frosts can damage or kill young leaves.</p><p>Flowers are also vulnerable to unpredictable spring frosts because they contain lots of water. If the flowers of fruit trees, such as apples, are killed by frost, the trees won't produce fruit later in the summer. Late frosts also can cause disappointingly short flowering seasons for early-flowering ornamental plants such as forsythias and magnolias.</p>
<h3>Plant Wake-Up Calls</h3><p>To guard against frost and still take advantage of the full growing season, trees and shrubs have developed three ways to know when it is time to start growing in spring.</p><p>First, plants have winter chilling requirements: They hold on to winter dormancy until they have been exposed to a certain number of cold winter days. This trait helps them avoid leafing or flowering during abnormally warm periods in midwinter.</p><p>Second, plants also have spring warming requirements that promote growth after they experience a certain number of warm days each spring. This feature helps them start to grow as soon as it is warm enough.</p><p>Third, some plants also have a <a href="http://www.biologyreference.com/Ph-Po/Photoperiodism.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">photoperiod</a> response, which means they react to the length of time they are exposed to light in a 24-hour period. This prepares them to leaf out as days get longer and warmer in the spring. Beech trees have both a warming requirement and a photoperiod response, but the temperature requirement is much stronger, so they get going after just a few warm days in late spring.</p><p>Interestingly, North American trees such as red maple and black birch are more cautious and conservative than European and East Asian trees. The weather in eastern North America is more variable, and the threat of late spring frosts is higher here than in those regions. As a result, North American trees have evolved to leaf out a few weeks later than comparable trees from Europe and East Asia.</p>
<h3>Climate Change Scrambles the Signals</h3><p>Plants are highly attuned to temperature signals, so warming driven by climate change is making it harder for many species to withstand winter cold and spring frosts. As spring temperatures get warmer than in the past, trees such as apples and pears may respond by leafing out and flowering <a href="https://www.americanscientist.org/article/spring-budburst-in-a-changing-climate" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">several weeks earlier than normal</a>. This can increase their vulnerability to late frosts.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcxNzkwMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDM1MjMwM30.XUMLQZjcTE30X-bZZAI1B5OvhurZh2hYli-R-4QgoRo/img.jpg?width=980" id="444e0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="73aa6aacc888263bd0b73b943d53f60b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1200" data-height="962" />
The leaves on this cherry tree have suffered damage from a late frost. Richard Primack, CC BY-ND
<p>Such late frosts are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13088" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">becoming more common</a> because <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-exactly-is-the-polar-vortex-153958" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate change is destabilizing the jet stream</a>, leading it to dip much farther south, bringing bursts of unusually cold weather.</p><p>In 2007, an exceptionally warm period in March <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03803.x" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">triggered trees to leaf out</a> across the eastern and central United States. A hard frost in April then killed the young leaves and flowers of oaks, hickories and other tree species. The trees were able to produce a second crop of leaves, but could not fully replace the leaves they'd lost, which quite likely stunted their growth for that year.</p><p>Insect pests also pose an increasing threat to plants. Harsh winter weather holds in check many insects found in northern climates, such as <a href="https://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/invasive_species/hwa/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">hemlock woolly adelgids</a> and <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/maps/plant-health/eab-storymap" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">emerald ash borers</a>. As winters become milder, these insects are more likely to survive, move further northward, cause major outbreaks and damage trees.</p><p>Warmer winters also lead to more days when the ground is bare. Cold snaps that occur when there is no insulating layer of snow can <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-shrinking-winter-snowpack-which-harms-northeast-forests-year-round-103410" target="_blank">freeze the soil and kill roots</a>. Tree and shrub branches then die back because the damaged roots cannot supply enough water and nutrients. In extreme cases, the plants may die.</p>
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<p>In coming decades, many cold-loving tree species such as spruces and firs will become less abundant when they are not able to handle <a href="https://www.fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/gtr/gtr_nrs173.pdf" target="_blank">new challenges associated with a warmer climate</a>. In the Northeast U.S., native species such as sugar maple and beech will be gradually replaced by native species from farther south, such as oaks and hickories. And nonnative species, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tps092" target="_blank">Norway maples</a>, are taking advantage of these disruptions to disperse into forests from roadsides and neighborhoods.</p><p>Similar shifts are happening in many places as climate change alters the signals plants rely on to mark the changing seasons.</p>
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<em>Richard B. Primack is a professor of biology at Boston University.<br/>
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Disclosure statement: Richard B. Primack does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/january-warm-spells-march-freezes-how-plants-manage-the-shift-from-winter-to-spring-155343" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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