Plants and trees in the western Alps and northern Pyrenees are running scared from Global Warming according to this article in the The Guardian. With the headline Plants and trees head for the hills to escape global warming, they lead us to understand that trees are climbing mountains in an effort to avoid the rising temperatures.



A long discussion ensues regarding the migration of plant species moving to ever higher altitudes in response to global warming.

But the clincher is in the last two paragraphs:

Not all of the plants included in the study shifted to higher altitudes. Of those studied, 53, or nearly one third moved down mountainsides to lower land, the surveys revealed.

"Our results show that species displayed different rates of movement, behaving in a seemingly idiosyncratic way in response to climate change," Lenoir said.

So the truth of it is that over time, plant species become more and less plentiful at different altitudes. If at least one-third moved to a lower altitude, then they can't be affected by the increase of warmth at lower altitudes.

That of course is why it is then referred to as climate change, and to explain the data so it fits properly, plants are given human qualities such as being idiosyncratic and we are informed they are clambering over mountainsides willy-nilly in a panic over global warming.

Add to that the fact that global temperatures have been decreasing since 2001 and not a lot of this article makes any sense. It does however, catch the eye and convey a sense of panic and fear. Unfortunately, many will read the headline and never notice that the article fails to support the theory.