BOULDER — Gradual warming over the southwestern United States in recent decades is causing a decline in pinyon pine reproduction, with implications for other species sharing their ecosystem, according to a new study led by University of Colorado researchers.
In a paper appearing recently in the journal Ecosphere, published by the Ecological Society of America, the study’s co-authors linked a 2.3 degree Fahrenheit temperature rise over four decades recorded at nine research sites to a decline in pinyon pine seed cone reproduction.
Leading the study were CU doctoral student Miranda Redmond and assistant professor Nichole Barger. Joining them as co-author on the study was Frank Forcella of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, based in Morris, Minn. Their work was mostly funded through a National Science Foundation graduate research fellowship.
The researchers recorded temperatures and precipitation at official long-term weather stations near each of the nine sites over the past four decades.
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