The growing season for trees has been extended approximately one month by rising global temperatures, according to a new study out of Ohio State University.

By comparing modern growth rates to detailed notes from a 19th century farmer, researchers found that among hardwoods in the northwest region of the state, leaves are staying on trees 15 percent longer than they did a century ago.

"Things are not the way they used to be. They are profoundly different," the report's lead author, Calinger-Yoak, told the BBC. "An entire month of growing season extension is huge when we're talking about a pretty short period of time for those changes to be expressed."

Calinger-Yoak personally spent Spring and Autumn in Wauseon, Ohio between 2010 and 2014 to monitor the growth of the species. She compared her notes to those of Thomas Mikesell, an local farmer who tracked tree growth, precipitation, and temperature between 1883 and 1912, whose research Calinger-Yoak praised as "near unique."

Since the start of the industrial revolution, average global temperatures have increased by 1.1C. Calinger-Yoak noted that trees now bud earlier, and do not change color until later in the year, putting a damper on the picturesque Autumn scenes.

Trees are a major source of oxygen, and also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. While a longer growing period extends those abilities, scientists are unaware of the full ramifications, and say that fluctuating temperatures of climate change could damage them in the long-term.

To begin combatting rising temperatures, an easy solution is planting more trees, which can also be initiated by individuals and local communities.

"When we're thinking about a relatively low-cost mitigation strategy, planting a whole bunch of trees that suck CO2 out of the air is a really good strategy," Calinger-Yoak said. "But to promote those activities you also have to have evidence of the level of benefit you'd derive from it."