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Story Publication logo October 5, 2017

What Will Climate Change Do to Peru's Cloud Forests?

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English

An unintended planet-wide experiment is underway–leading to warming temperatures and an acidifying...

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Dan Metcalfe looks out over the Amazon Basin at 10,000 feet above sea level in the Peruvian Andes.
Dan Metcalfe is building the first experiment to remove fog from a cloud forest. He hopes to learn how cloud forests will fare in drier conidtions expected in the future. Image by Dan Grossman. Peru, 2017.

The forests of Wayqecha, Peru rely on moisture from clouds to sustain themselves but climate change is moving that cloud layer higher every year. Plant ecologist Dan Metcalfe is in the midst of a bold experiment: by eliminating the cloud layer from a portion of the forest, he is attempting to see what exactly will happen as the cloud forest dries out.

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