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Even Cacti Are Threatened by Heat and Drought From Global Warming

Inside Climate News · By Kiley Price · 1h ago

The Brief · written from 4 sources

A study spanning the Americas finds that climate change forecasts underestimate threats to biodiversity by leaving out extreme weather events.
Projections that include severe drought predict severe habitat loss for cacti, even though they are among the most drought-resistant plants.
Inside Climate News reports that heat and drought linked to global warming could shrink the suitable habitat of many cacti species.

Why it matters

Biodiversity forecasts that rely on long-term climate averages may understate risk to species, including very resilient ones, so conservation planning based on them may need to account for extreme droughts.

Who’s affected

conservation biologists and ecologists
climate and biodiversity modelers
land managers in arid regions of the Americas

A new study finds that those factors could shrink the suitable habitat for many of nature’s hardiest plants. By Kiley Price Cacti are among the toughest plants on the planet, withstanding scorching temperatures and parched conditions that would wilt a more sensitive sprout. But…

Read the full story at insideclimatenews.org ↗