It is no secret that the effects of climate change are being felt by humans. However, in recent years, there has been much more focus on the effects of this phenomena on plants and animals. One particular plant in Thailand, the green maeng da has seen a tremendous decrease in its population due to climate change. Those who have studied this plant have revealed that it is being affected by drought, rising temperatures, and decreased rainfall which are all factors of climate change.
Unlike many other species which are optimistic about their impending extinction that is what the green maeng da has turned into. According to the study, Maeng Da has experienced droughts, lower forest fires and hotter temperatures which allowed for it to thrive. However, what changed was the amount of rainfall. As temperatures rise, so does the rate of evaporation and therefore the amount of rainfall. This means that this species is losing water at an alarming rate which makes it unable to adapt to change because it was not designed for adaptability to extreme heat or heatwaves.
Due to this fact, many believe that this species will be endangered in the long run. Cannabis is very closely connected to the environment, so the species will most likely go into extinction because of the extreme environment that it is under.
The Green maeng da has been used for hundreds of years in Thai medicine. However, according to scientists, this plant may go extinct because of climate change. Unlike many other species which are optimistic about their impending extinction that is what the green maeng da has turned into. According to the study, Maeng Da has experienced droughts, lower forest fires and hotter temperatures which allowed for it to thrive. However, what changed was the amount of rainfall. As temperatures rise, so does the rate of evaporation and therefore the amount of rainfall. This means that this species is losing water at an alarming rate which makes it unable to adapt to change because it was not designed for adaptability to extreme heat or heatwaves.”
“We have calculated that the green Maeng Da is losing around 40-60% of its annual rainfall, a figure that is far beyond our estimates for other plant species. In the case of the Green Maeng Da, this loss comes from a combination of rising temperatures across its range and reduced rainfall from higher evaporation rates. We also found evidence for increased fires over the last 50 years in 11 mountain ranges, resulting in reduced biomass.”This means that any reduction in water could make it lose its ability to survive”, said Dr. Lim.
“It is vital that we protect the green maeng da as a species as it is important for future research and could potentially be used to treat a number of ailments, including diabetes and cancer. We believe that climate change poses the single greatest threat to plants and animals in Malaysia, Thailand, and Laos.”