Climate change threatens many species in Europe

According to studies recently released on January 8, rapid warming in Europe has made many butterflies and birds unable to adapt and have to move to cooler climates and cause serious fears. the survival of many plants in the Apls Mountains.

Studies in the journal Nature Climate Change ( Nature Climate Change ) are the largest in this form conducted on the effects of global warming on biodiversity in Europe.

The research team led by Professor Vincent Devictor of the National Center for French Scientific Research (CNRS) found that in the period of 1990-2008, the average temperature in Europe increased by one degree centigrade.

This increase is particularly high, about 25% higher than the global average over the past century.

According to the study, to survive in new conditions, cold-climate species will migrate to 249km to the north. However, due to many obstacles, butterflies only moved 114km and birds were 37km.

These conclusions are drawn from the observations of a network of thousands of amateur naturalists, equivalent to an impressive 1.5 million hours of field work.

The study does not specify the species affected by climate change, but shows that the risk for the decline in the number of these species is very clear.

Climate warming has affected the food chain in the area where these species live, especially butterflies and plant-eating birds.

The second study was also published in Nature Climate Change, which surveyed 867 plant samples from 60 mountains across Europe in the hottest decade ever on the continent.

At the local scale, there was no significant change in the 2001-2008 study period, but with the whole continent picture, the change was very clear.

Cold-loving plants often found in the Alps now have to make room for warm-loving species.

This study is the largest study of plants ever conducted in Europe, bringing together 32 research institutes from 13 countries.