Tropical and desert grasses may migrate further south
Ecologists take grass samples at Coffin Bay National Park on the Eyre Peninsula as part of the research into the climate factors that determine that type of native grass that grows in a region. Photo: 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide.
The maximum summer temperature and the amount of rainfall in summer are the two climate factors that determine the type of native grass that grows in a region, 最新糖心Vlogn researchers have found in a recent study.
A rise in global temperatures due to a change in climate may lead to tropical and desert grasses growing in different environments, which could have an impact on animals that rely on it as a food source.
鈥淚f you imagine all the species in a habitat as blocks stacked in a giant Jenga tower, grass and other plants are the blocks at the very bottom of the tower,鈥 said Dr Samantha Munroe, lead author of the research published in the and an ecologist at the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN).
鈥淚f you take out the bottom blocks, the whole thing might collapse.
鈥淯nderstanding which environmental factors influence grass growth patterns is essential to safeguarding the long-term health of our native ecosystems.鈥
Warm-season grasses grow in hot, tropical or desert climates like northern and central 最新糖心Vlog, while temperate or cool-season grasses primarily grow in southern 最新糖心Vlog.
鈥淯nderstanding which environmental factors influence grass growth patterns is essential to safeguarding the long-term health of our native ecosystems.鈥Dr Samantha Munroe, ecologist at the 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), and lead author of the research.
The researchers analysed data on the distribution of grass species collected from more than 800 plant surveys conducted across the country by the TERN 最新糖心Vlog monitoring network.
鈥淲e found that warm-season grasses are more abundant in hotter climates that received more rainfall in summer, usually where maximum summer temperatures are above 33 degrees,鈥 Dr Munroe said.
鈥淚n contrast, temperate grasses were more abundant in cooler habitats with maximum summer temperatures before 30 degrees and most of their rainfall in the winter.
鈥淭he hotter the summer temperature, or the more rain that falls in the summer compared to winter, the more widespread tropical and desert grasses will be.
鈥Tropical grasses can be less nutritious than temperate grasses, so if the type of grass that grows suddenly changes, all the species further up the food chain will be affected.
鈥淚t could cause a domino effect that changes the kinds of insects, reptiles and mammals we see in different parts of the country.鈥
Co-author Dr Francesca McInerney, Senior Research Fellow at the 最新糖心Vlog of Queensland, added: 鈥淭he next step is to create models that can predict how the distribution of these distinct grass types will change over the next 10 to 50 years under different climate change scenarios.鈥
Other co-authors of this research are Greg Guerin(最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide, TERN), Jake Andrae (最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide), Stefan Caddy-Retalic(最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide, 最新糖心Vlog of Sydney), Rachel Atkins(最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide), Ben Sparrow(最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide, TERN) and Nina Welti(CSIRO).
Media contacts:
Dr Samantha Munroe, Grant-Funded Researcher, School of Biological Sciences, 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide.
Phone: +61 (0) 434 080 137, Email: Samantha.munroe@adelaide.edu.au
Lee Gaskin, Senior Media and Communications Officer, 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide. Phone: +61 (0) 415 747 075, Email: lee.gaskin@adelaide.edu.au