The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is about to revamp their plant hardiness map to accomodate rising temperatures considered attributable to global warming. If you have looked through seed catalogs you are familiar with "zones." A hardiness zone is a geographically-defined zone in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by temperature.
While the USDA hasn’t released their zone change, experts report that it will show that zones are moving northward as spring starts earlier and fall later as the planet warms up. The zones are being compiled with a large amount of data, which is important, given that if people plant for the wrong zone a frost could kill their plants. As the zones change with global warming, so do the native species. Read more about how climate change is coming to your backyard." The change in the agricultural zone can affect everything from maple trees to spinach.
