Scientists are trying to preserve plants, and to help some species that live near one another migrate to a new location. The pitcher's thistle is pretty much extinct from the shores of Lake Michigan. Seeds were collected and grown at the Chicago Botanic Garden then planted along the lake in Illinois State. Some of the planted seeds from the south are doing well where as others from the north are failing. Scientists are collecting seeds from several different species in the Midwest, West, near the Rocky Mountains and Great Basin. They want to see if the plants will thrive, by moving the thistle to colder territories. But the assisted migration is being debated, because some scientist feel that "tinkering with the complexity of habitats is courting with disaster." This effort is part of a Bureau of Land Management project called "Seeds of Success."
www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science
Brittany Kohler
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment