Researchers at the University of Cambridge have used a citizen science database with records going back to the mid-18th century, to determine that climate change is causing plants in the UK to flower up to a month earlier.

Research shows plants flowering a whole month earlier.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge have used a citizen science database with records going back to the mid-18th century, to determine that climate change is causing plants in the UK to flower up to a month earlier. They warn that the change in average flowering date could have profound consequences for wildlife, agriculture and gardeners. I would disagree that the illustration of the apple is flowering a month early. I would accept that Narcissus seem to be flowering earlier than in the past, while crocus seem totally unaffected and always flower between 16th and 23 of February here in the Midlands.

Analysing more than 400,000 observations of 406 plant species from Nature’s Calendar, maintained by the Woodland Trust, the team found that the average first flowering date from 1987 to 2019 is a full month earlier than the average first flowering date from 1753 to 1986.

The change in timing means that other species that synchronize their migration or hibernation can be left without the flowers and plants they rely on – a phenomenon known as ecological mismatch – which can lead to biodiversity loss if populations cannot adapt quickly enough. The change can also have consequences for farmers and gardeners. For example, if fruit trees flower early following a mild winter, entire crops can be killed off if the blossoms are then hit by a late frost.

“The results are truly alarming, because of the ecological risks associated with earlier flowering times,” said Professor Ulf Büntgen from Cambridge’s Department of Geography, the study’s lead author. “When plants flower too early, a late frost can kill them. But the even bigger risk is ecological mismatch. Plants, insects, birds and other wildlife have co-evolved to a point that they’re synchronized in their development stages. A certain plant flowers, it attracts a particular type of insect, which attracts a particular type of bird, and so on. But if one component responds faster than the others, there’s a risk that they’ll be out of synch, which can lead species to collapse if they can’t adapt quickly enough.”