London - A rise in global temperatures could make flowers more fragrant, according to scientists.
Researchers believe that natural scents given out by plants could become up to nine times stronger if the world warms between 1C – 5C.
This is because hotter conditions allow them to produce more terpenes – the chemicals responsible for floral aromas.
The study from the Autonomous University of Barcelona looked at several varieties of plants and found the effect was more pronounced in lightly scented flowers.
In the paper, published in the journal Global Change Biology, the team said: “The species with the highest increases in emissions were those with the lowest [fragrance] rates.
“The increases calculated for floral terpene emissions indicate that significant increases in the amount of floral scents will likely occur in a warmer world. The rates of floral terpene emission by the end of the century could increase 0.34 to 9.1-fold for a 5C increase in temperature.”
Last year, experts from the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change warned the average global temperature had risen by 0.5C in 50 years, and predicted a rise of 3C over the next century.
However, the effect of warmer temperatures on flowers could help bolster struggling bee populations, as stronger scents would make plants easier to find and pollinate.
Guy Barter, a chief adviser at the Royal Horticultural Society, told the Sunday Times that the results were “interesting”. “We think about climate change in terms of rising temperatures and sea levels but there are more subtle potential effects which we haven’t thought about,” he said. - Daily Mail