Mark D. Schwartz, UW-MilwaukeeWith contributions from: Julio L. Betancourt (USGS & U. Arizona),Jake Weltzin (USGS), & almost 100 others USA-NPN Plant Phenology Programs:http://www.npn.uwm.eduUSA-NPN National Coordinating Office: http://www.usanpn.orgBuilding a USA National Phenology Network that Includes Citizen Scientists

Phenology is an essential component of the biosphereAdapted from Bonan (2002) Ecol. Climatology

PREAMBLE: Phenology is a far-reaching component of environmental science but is poorly understood. Critical questions include how environmental factors affect the phenology of different organisms, and how those factors vary in importance on different spatial and temporal scales.

We need to know how phenology affects the abundance and diversity of organisms, their function and interactions in the environment, especially their effects on fluxes in water, energy, and chemical elements at various scales.

With sufficient observations and understanding, phenology can be used as a predictor for other processes and variables of importance at local to global scales, and could drive a variety of ecological forecast models with both scientific and practical applications.

USA-NPN Implementation Team 4/16/06

The predictive potential of phenological phenomena requires a new data resource - a national network of integrated phenological observations and the tools to analyze them at multiple scales.

This network is essential to evaluate ongoing environmental changes. It will capitalize on integration with other observation networks and remote sensing products, emerging technologies and data management capabilities, myriad educational opportunities, and a readiness of the public to participate in investigations of nature on a national scale.

USA-NPN Implementation Team 4/16/06

USA-NPN Vision Statement

USA-NPN will provide phenological information that can be used to understand the role of thetiming of life cycle events in the biosphere.

It will establish a nationwide network of phenologicalobservations with simple and effective means to input, report, and utilize these observations,including the resources to provide appropriate and timely information for a wide range of decisions made routinely by individual citizens and by the Nation as a whole.

USA-NPN Implementation Team 4/16/06

Joe Caprio Agricultural Climatologist at Montana State Univ., started Western Regional lilac network in 1956; added honeysuckles in 1968 Climatological observers, agric. & forest stations, garden clubs Grew from 1000 observers in 11 states in 1956 to 2500 observers by 1970 WRPN terminated when Caprio retired in 1994 Dan Cayan & Mike Dettinger contacted Caprio in late 1990s & reactivated network at two dozen sites

Eastern US Network started by W.L. Coville 1961, lost funding 1986, but continued since by Mark D. SchwartzHISTORY OF USA PHENOLOGY NETWORKSJoseph M.CaprioBy

Aug. 24-26, 2004, Tucson, AZ, NEON Ecological Responses to Climate AIBS Workshop, (recommends formation of a USA-NPN).December 13-17, 2004 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, session on Phenology and Global Change: Patterns, Processes, and DynamicsJune 16 and 17, 2005, Lincoln, NE, High Plains Initiative for Integrated Phenology, Phenology and Environmental Change: Challenges and OpportunitiesAug. 24-26, 2005, Tucson, AZ, NSF & Agency-Sponsored Workshop to Develop Implementation Plan for a National Phenology NetworkDecember 5-9, 2005, AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, CA, Land Surface Phenology: Characterization, Modeling, and Analysis of ChangeMarch 22-24, 2006, Tucson, AZ., USA-NPN Implementation Team MeetingOctober 9-13, 2006, Milwaukee, WI, 2nd USA-NPN Planning WorkshopDecember 11-15, 2006 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, CA, session on Land Surface Phenology, Seasonality, and the Water CycleApril 12, 2007 Phenology Session, Interntl. Assoc. Landsc. Ecologists, TucsonAug. 27-29, 2007, Milwaukee, WI, 1st RCN USA-NPN conferenceKey U.S.A. Phenology Meetings since 2004

Decreasing Spatial CoverageIncreasing Process KnowledgeNPN NetworkStructureAdapted from CENR-OSTP

NPN NetworkStructureAdapted from CENR-OSTPTier 4: Remote SensingTier 1: Intensive Science SitesTier 2: Extensive Science SitesTier 3: Volunteer and Education Networks

NPN NetworkStructureAdapted from CENR-OSTPTier 4: Remote SensingTier 1: Intensive Science SitesTier 2: Extensive Science SitesTier 3: Volunteer and Education Networks

BLM

N ~ 700(as of 6/3/07)Observers that have registered to make phenological observations for USA-NPN

NPN NetworkStructureAdapted from CENR-OSTPTier 4: Remote SensingTier 1: Intensive Science SitesTier 2: Extensive Science SitesTier 3: Volunteer and Education Networks

Community Colleges in the United States

Educational Goals:Increase awareness of climate changeEducate about the impacts of climate change on plants and the environmentIncrease science literacy by engaging participants in the scientific process.Why phenology? Phenology is visible and comprehensible in demonstrating the effects of climate change, People already notice the timing of events such as when plants bloom and the seasonal onset of allergies. Plants are readily accessible in nearly every neighborhood, park, and wild areas allowing for most everyone to make observations Engaging in phenology studies provides the opportunity to learn more about native plants and ecosystems in local environmentsProject BudBurst is expanding in 2008 to allow for phenology data collection all year long!

NPN NetworkStructureAdapted from CENR-OSTPTier 4: Remote SensingTier 1: Intensive Science SitesTier 2: Extensive Science SitesTier 3: Volunteer and Education Networks

provide ground truth to make the most of the public investment in remote sensingrelate remote sensing estimates to meaningful biophysical attributesallow detailed biophysical inputs into a variety of models (move from on/off parameters to nuanced values)fill gaps between ground observations to produce a continuous surface of phenology estimates at the national scalefacilitate thorough understanding of phenological phenomena, including causes and effectsRemote Sensing ObjectivesOf USA-NPN

Prototype for web-based NPNhttp://www.npn.uwm.edu

Select appropriate native species

Submit data over the Internet

USA-NPN Plant Phenology Program3 Indicator (clonal) species [Syringa chinensis, Cornus florida, Fouquiera splendens]18 Calibration species [Allergy, Coniferous, Crops, Deciduous, Herb]Other species as determined by abundance and observer preferences

National Phenology Network CyberInfrastructure (Phase III)Mapping Services

ArcIMSWMSWFSLogging Services

Usage Stats Collection &AnalysisData Services

Data Registration Services

Indexing Services

SpatialTemporalConceptualData Integration Services

Ontology Enabled IntegrationComputational & Modeling Services

Modeling, Analysis ToolsRegistrationNPNsearchNPNworkbenchworkflow, visualization, HPCWeb/Grid Services Interfaces (WSDL)Physical Grid (Including UWI, SDSC, ORNL)RedHat Linux, ROCKS, OGSIOther Core Services

Data Transfer Tech.Portal Postgres, MySQL, etc.Researchers Educators Students Citizen Scientists Public VisitorsNPN Websitewww.geongrid.org

USA-NPN National Coordinating OfficeJoint Venture of theU.S. Geological Survey & Univ. of Arizona,housed at Office of Arid Lands StudiesJake Weltzin, USA-NPN Executive Director