Specimens at Denver Botanic Gardens Document Climate Change
Denver Botanic Gardens and University of Denver (DU) are currently collaborating to conduct research that documents climate change effects on native flora in Colorado. We have been using preserved specimens from the Gardens Kathryn Kalmbach Herbarium and other regional herbaria to determine if flowering time has changed over the last 100 years. A preserved plant with reliable label data is proof positive that it existed in a specific place at a specific time in the state it is shown. Such specimens show that some Colorado species were blooming on average as much as three weeks later 100 years ago than today– a reflection of warming temperatures that are causing earlier springs.
Amelia Bowman, ‘09 University of Denver (DU) graduate, first discovered this trend investigating a set of six early blooming species that were collected in Colorado
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Posted in: At the Gardens, Conservation & Ecology - Comments(2)