In The 1970S, Scientists Noticed That Trees In a US Mountain Range Were Migrating. Now They Know Why
Trees are on the move. While they are not exactly uprooting themselves, they are showing remarkable resilience to climate change and shifting their ranges.
As discussed below, "Climate Change" is as old as the earth. Obviously, as climate changes, habitat types are found in different places on the planet. As habitats move around, so do the plants, animals and microorganisms found in them. All of this is interdependent, and normal.
NOTE: this article was originally published to BBC Wildlife's Apple News channel on September 14, 2025. It was written by Richard Pallardy.
Studies of ancient plants have shown that they react to changing climates by moving. While a single plant of course cannot move itself over large distances, seeds are often highly mobile.
They can be carried by wind, water and animals to new locations. And when they put down roots in more hospitable climes, the seeds of these lucky survivors can further advance into that region. This has been going on for millennia and entire ecosystems have shifted their ranges in response to changing environmental conditions.
When studies of living trees in the White Mountains in New Hampshire, USA, first noted this migration in the 1970s, scientists had not yet correlated the movements to a rapidly changing climate. Now, as human activities accelerate climate change, trees appear to be stepping up their game. Across the world, forests are moving away from the heat. Some are moving north, others west and some are even climbing mountains to find more temperate homes – moving upslope from where previous generations established.
As certain forests show signs of stress due to the increasing temperatures, some scientists are advocating for assisted migration – planting tree species in regions outside of their natural range to establish biodiversity reservoirs in case their stranded relatives perish.