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Plants Forced To Evolve By Urban Landscapes

Posted by: Nate Berg

8 March 2008 - 7:00am

A team of researchers has shown that in urban landscapes -- such as in the cracks of sidewalks -- plant species must evolve their reproduction habits to stay alive.

"As concrete slabs chop up more and more of our urban landscapes, plants are forced to evolve in ways that may not benefit them in the long run, a new study suggests."

"As a plant or any organism's habitat becomes fragmented — whether by intervening sidewalks and roads in cities or by logging in rain forests — it can be cut off from other members of its species, making reproduction more difficult."

"Ecologists at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France studied how a weed, Crepis sancta, changed its reproductive strategy when faced with ever-increasing amounts of concrete sidewalks."

Full Story: Urban landscapes force plants to evolve
Source: MSNBC, March 4, 2008
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