Discover the influence of climate and soil on plants around the world

Scientists of Moscow University, in cooperation with an international team of scientists, have linked the growth and nutrition of plants with climate and soil properties.

And Nature reports that the international scientific team has discovered how climate changes affect plants around the world. It became clear to them that the properties of the soil determine the storage of nutrients for plants, and that the climate affects the indicators of their growth. In order to reach these conclusions, the scientists studied and analyzed a wealth of data about the functional properties of plants and the associated soil and climate properties. The number of plant species that were subjected to this study was 20,655 species from all over the world with 21 indicators of climate and 107 characteristics of soil.

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The functional properties are divided into two groups: the first group relates to the height of the plant and its leaf area, and to the second group, the content of nitrogen and phosphorous in its leaves, and carbon per unit of dry mass. It turned out that the height of the plants and the area of ​​their leaves is greater in the warm and high humidity regions (the tropics), that is, they are only related to the climatic conditions. The researchers also discovered that some indicators are related to the two groups of factors, and others, including the number of seeds produced annually, are not related to either group.

According to the researchers, these results allow understanding how plants and ecosystems are affected by global climate changes, and help design more accurate vegetation models in global warming conditions.

“Environmental research allows a new approach to solving the main problem in ecology – the answer to the question about the mechanisms of the formation of natural complexes of species, and what is the role of various environmental factors in this. Because Without answering this question, it is impossible to preserve the Earth’s natural ecosystems and their impact in creating a suitable and acceptable environment for human habitation.

Source: poisknews.ru + Lenta. Ro

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