Global warming has changed the flora of France

The study was done with nearly 2,500 different species of plants and found that there was a rearrangement of plant populations in France since 2009.

In less than a decade, climate change has changed the flora of rural areas in France, making some species grow stronger while others cannot tolerate heat gradually narrowed.

That is the result of the study published in Biology Letters on July 10, the first document on the impact of global warming on plant populations in France in the period from 2009- 2017

The study was done with nearly 2,500 different species of plants and found that there was a rearrangement of plant populations in France since 2009.

Hot plants have grown strongly and even invaded new territories.

The co-author of the study, Gabrielle Martin, of the French Museum of Natural History, said: "Hot plants have grown strongly and even invaded new territories."

She took the example of a thin wild oat (scientific name Avena Barbata) overgrown in a large area. Meanwhile, many other plants like lower temperatures, such as wild buckwheat (the scientific name Fallopia convolvulus) has plummeted over the past decade.

The study confirms that climate change is clearly an actor in each case. Research data to confirm the findings were collected in a civilian science project called Vigie-Flore .

More than 300 qualified amateur botanists collected data over a period of nine years, and noted the occurrence or disappearance of many of the most popular plants in France.

About one quarter of the monitored area is artificial land, 29% is cultivated land, 16% is grassland, 22% is forest. More than 3,000 locations have been listed and the development of 550 species of plants has been monitored.

Research shows that the biggest change is the rate of temperature rise. Ms Martin said this was the first time a change in national scale flora was recorded in such a short time. The impact on each species is not the same.

Plants with shorter life cycles, about 1 year, are more adaptable than perennial plants. According to her, "it is difficult to conclude that climate change is good news or bad news".

There is only one observation: "plant diversity is changing. This change certainly affects other environmental organisms such as insects, birds .".

Although biodiversity does not diminish, it will certainly have a major impact on species relations.