Researchers at Academia Sinica have discovered alarming levels of global warming stress on mountains worldwide. They found that the boundary lines between climate zones, or isotherms, are moving upward at a faster rate than past estimates. FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to lead researcher Shen Sheng-feng to learn more.

To study how temperature boundaries are moving up, Academia Sinica researchers looked at mountain ranges around the world. They found severe global warming stress at 17 mountain ranges, including the Alaska-Yukon area to the highlands of northern Sumatra. In these regions, isotherms are climbing at a rate exceeding 11.67 meters per year, which is much higher than previous estimates. This rapid shift poses a major threat to species inhabiting those areas, researchers say.

Shen Sheng-feng
Academia Sinicia research fellow
We identified 17 regions that are most threatened by the climate warming. Including Northeast Asia and the Mediterranean region and also some mountains in Indonesia. We estimated the increase. They need to move 11 meters every year up.

The study was led by Shen Sheng-Feng, a research fellow of the Biodiversity Research Center at Taiwan’s Academia Sinica. The team utilized empirical data on species movement, satellite data, and thermal dynamic modeling to explore how species relocation is connected to isotherm changes. The study looked into over 8,600 mountain ranges across 17 regions. Although Taiwan’s mountainous regions are warming more slowly than the global average, their isotherms are rising faster than average due to Taiwan’s high humidity.

Shen Sheng-feng
Academia Sinica research fellow
We have been conducting a long-term study on the beetles in Taiwan. So we surveyed every month and we compared it with local climate data to see the seasonal variations and how does these beetles react to the temperature change. In Taiwan, organisms basically need to move about 7 meters a year. So, that means in 10 years, they might need to move 70 meters up. In other words, I think it is important to conserve the mountain region. We should do less developments in these mountain regions.

Researchers hope the study will encourage the public and governments to prioritize the protection of mountain ranges across the world.

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