A new study reveals how plants have evolved to cope with the cold, but as VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports, these same mechanisms may not provide the same defense against human-induced climate change in a rapidly warming world.
The Study of Plant Evolution
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Sunrise through an oak-hickory forest canopy at Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. (Jonathan Myers)
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The leaves of a sugar maple start to yellow as winter approaches, Tyson Research Center, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. (Jonathan Myers)
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An ornamental cherry tree loses its leaves in the fall at the Tidal Basin, Washington, DC. (Amy Zanne)
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A frost covered dandelion head spreads as winter arrives at the University of Idaho Arboretum, Moscow, Idaho. (Simon Uribe-Convers)