WHAT IF? Changes in Earth's climate at the end of the last ice age happened gradually, taking centuries to thousands of years. If the current global warminghappens very quickly, as predicted, how may this rapid climate change affect the evolution of long-lived trees compared with that of annual plants, which have muchshorter generation times?

Climate change is attributed to global warming as a result of the burning of fossil fuels and rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.Forest fires, drought, and deforestation are all possible causes and can lead to a long-term shift in the regional climatic patterns.

The long-lived trees such as oaks and maples may reproduce repeatedly and need a long time to reach the reproductive stage.Trees that require a long time to reach the reproductive age are likely to evolve more slowly than annual plants in response to climate change.

Long-lived plants require a long period to reachreproductive age than fast-growing herbaceous plants. This is because woody plants and long-lived plants tend to accumulate genetic changes at a slow rate.

Natural selection leads to the evolution of plants.Theincreased carbon dioxide in the thickening of vegetation has affected plants' community structure and function.Increased CO₂ levels can affect photosynthesis, increase water efficiency, and induce growth in plants.

The high concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere will lead to the faster growth of trees, but these trees may have a short lifespan, decreasing the time they lock carbon away.

Thus, a rapid change affects the evolution of long-lived trees because long-livedtrees take longer to reach the reproductive age and accumulate genetic changes at slower rates.