Autumn ending later in north hemisphere, research shows
Rebecca Tackett
Union Institute and University

March 30, 2014

Autumn ending later in north hemisphere, research shows
Researchers from the University of Southampton are saying that study are showing that autumn is taking place later in the years and spring is starting earlier. Satellites were used over a 25 years period to identify changing patterns in vegetation. They were looking for changes in leaf cover, color and growth.
The study was led by Professor of geography Peter Atkinson who says that there is much speculation about whether climate change is related to the seasonal changes. He believes this study is a significant piece of the puzzle. They believe that the climate change does have an effect of the change in vegetation growth cycles types of vegetation.
The studies looked at several types of vegetation such as mosaic vegetation, broad-leaved deciduous forests, and mixed leaved forests. They analyzed groups of vegetation in which the size has not been affected by human intervention. The biggest change was shown in the broad-leaved deciduous forest and the needle-leaved deciduous forest. This showed that autumn is happening significantly later in the year. The evidence was more pronounced for a later autumn than the evidence for the earlier spring.
Professor Atkinson also says that there have been similar studies done in the past but that have not been as rigorous or accurate as this one. The research shows that even when they are controlling for land coverage changes across the globe, the climate change is significantly changing the vegetation growth cycles.