A new study has found that the growing period of hardwood forests in eastern North America has increased by an average of one month over the past century due to rising temperatures. Researchers compared present-day observations of tree growth in seven tree species to the documentation collected by an Ohio farmer at the turn of the 20th century. They found a clear connection between increased warming during winter and spring and an extended period of tree growth. In addition, the researchers determined leaves stay on trees 15% longer than a century ago. While the implications of the longer growing period remain unknown, the study highlights the need for more species-specific research to predict how forests will respond to climate change. The lead author of this study is Kellen Calinger-Yoak, assistant professor at the Center for Life Sciences Education at The Ohio State University, who completed the research with Peter Curtis, professor emeritus at the Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology. The study was published recently in the journal PLOS ONE.

You can read more online at Ohio State News.