Trees Migrating North Due to Warming

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090209-trees-migrating-north.html

This article was written by Bruce Dorminey for National Geographic News on February 9, 2009. It is about a new study that was directed by the U.S. Forest Service, determining the fact that, due to global warming, a few dozen of trees found in the eastern United States are migrating north.

At a rate of about 62 miles per 100 years, northern tree species, such as the white cedar, sugar maple, American basswood, big tooth aspen, yellow birch and the black ash, are moving further up north into colder climates. Prior to this new study, research has only been based on computer simulations of migration up hills and mountains. Current studies that look at latitude and use ground-based data samples make the link between the movement of trees and global warming apparent. According to Mark Schwartz, a plant conservation biologist not involved with the study, “this is the first serious attempt at documenting a forest shift for a wide array of species across a broad geographical setting.”