Climate Change has reportedly struck wildflowers in Colorado's Rocky Mountains season over a month.
According to Science Codex, over two-thirds of the flowers known as alpines have been sprouting petals sooner than normal compared to the last 39 years.
"Long-term data are essential to understanding every environmental challenge the world faces," Saran Twombly, a program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Environmental Biology told Science Codex.
Biologists Paul CaraDonna from the University of Arizona, and Amy Iller and David Inouye from the University of Maryland examined 60 different plants finding that the flowers petals came out five days earlier over each 10 year period.
"This study relies on long-term data to drive home the fact that species' responses to climate change are complex," Twombly told Science Codex.
"Most studies rely on first dates of events like flowering or migration because they use historical data sets that were not intended as scientific studies," David Inouye, an ecologist at the University of Maryland told Science Codex.
According to Science Codex, 17 percent of flowers pushed up the time they blossom, with the remaining plants enduring more complex modifications.
"First flowering is easy to observe," You don't have to take the time to count flowers. So that's often the only information available," Inouye told Codex.
"It's taken a lot of effort to get the comprehensive insights needed for this analysis, which helps us understand how ecological communities may change in the future," Inouye told Science Codex.
Some of the biologists say they use more information to find out the real answer.
"First flowering isn't always the best predictor of all the changes we find," Paul CaraDonna a biologist at the University of Arizona told Science Codex.
"There's a lot more going on than you can get from this single, simple measure. So, it's important to take a closer look to understand all the ways climate change affects these wildflower communities," Iler told Science Codex.
