When monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico for the winter, they flock to oyamel fir trees which grow on mountainsides at altitudes of 10,000 feet. “These dense, dark-green conifers protect the monarchs from cold and rainy winter nights,” says Yale e360. With climate change, the firs are affected by hotter and drier conditions. “While U.S. biologists urge gardeners to plant milkweeds to help restore the monarchs’ summer habitat, Mexican scientists are pinning their hopes on a plan to move the species progressively higher up local mountains in a race to save these firs and the butterflies that depend on them.” During the past summer, hundreds of seedlings were planted at nearly 11,300 feet, “where habitat suited to oyamel fir trees is expected to be by 2030,” writes Janet Marinelli.
Researchers say trees are the species least able to adapt to climate change. “Once more widespread, the oyamel fir trees are now fragmented into small, widely scattered populations that lack resilience and run a high risk of extirpation from random events,” says Yale e360. “The extraordinary measures being taken on the tree’s behalf are a textbook case of how efforts to save species threatened by climate upheaval are fraught with complexity.”