De ce înverzesc munții Europei și ce pățesc plantele

Research over 20 years shows that while European mountains are becoming greener due to climate change, cold-adapted species are disappearing from high altitudes. The study analyzed vegetation on 62 peaks, revealing new species emerging and others vanishing. Warmer temperatures allow lower-altitude plants to move higher, but cold-adapted species are losing ground, with local disappearances increasing from 11% to nearly 16%. Each 0.1°C rise in temperature correlates with a 1-1.6% increase in plant losses. The study highlights a potential 'extinction debt' where species may survive temporarily despite deteriorating conditions, with early snowmelt and competition from lower-altitude plants accelerating ecosystem changes.