Plant growth patterns changing on much of Earth’s surface

More than half of Earth’s land surface has seen major changes in plant growth patterns such as leaf-on date and how much vegetation grows in a season.

K. Travis

Patterns in when and how much plants grow have changed markedly over the past 30 years, scientists report March 2 in Nature Climate Change.

Researchers looked at satellite data of vegetation on the Earth’s surface from 1981 to 2012. They examined 21 markers of plant growth, including the dates when plants start sprouting and losing leaves each year and how much vegetation grows in a season.

Plant growth patterns have shifted noticeably on 95 percent of Earth’s land surface, the scientists found. In the Northern Hemisphere, growing seasons have generally become longer, while in the Southern Hemisphere some areas had more abundant plant growth over time, and others less.