University of Houston studying how climate change will impact local plants

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A University of Houston researcher recently was awarded nearly $650,000 to study how climate change will impact future plant diversity.

With this money, Kerri Crawford will conduct several studies over the next three years examining how periods of drought and extreme rainfall impact how plants and soil microbes -- organisms living in the dirt such as different types of bacteria and fungi -- interact.

"We are asking if a changing environment will shift the interaction in ways that will change plant survival," said Crawford, a UH assistant professor of biology and biochemistry. "If we understand the basic science of how climate change influences that interaction, then perhaps we can better prepare for and mitigate any changes."

Climate change predictions say that the Earth will experience periods of severe drought and extreme rainfall as the global temperature warms. Crawford will test both these scenarios first in a greenhouse and, later, in the field.

She hopes that her findings will help scientists predict which plants will win and lose as climate change progresses, she said.

Crawford added that her research will not examine food plant species, but rather look at plants native to the coastal prairie, such as black eyed Susans, milkweed and little blue stem.

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or twitter.com/alexdstuckey.