UW-Milwaukee Geography Progress in Phenological Measurements at the at the National and Local Scale National and Local Scale UW-Milwaukee Geography Research Collaborators u National Phenology Network (NPN) projectJulio Betancourt and Steve Grey u Spatially Concentrated Phenological Measurements projectBrent Ewers and Scott Mackay UW-Milwaukee Geography Definition of Phenology u Phenology which is derived from the Greek word phaino meaning to show or to appear, is the study of plant and animal life cycle events, which are triggered by environmental changes, especially temperature. Thus, timings of phenological events are ideal indicators of global change impacts. u Seasonality is a related term, referring to similar non-biological events, such as timing of the fall formation and spring break-up of ice on fresh water lakes. UW-Milwaukee Geography Phenological Research u Traditional approach: agriculture-centered, and local-scale events u New approach: Earth systems interactions, and global-scale events UW-Milwaukee Geography Decadal Averaged Cherry Bloom in Kyoto, Japan Data Source: web file (no longer available) UW-Milwaukee Geography Mean onset of spring phenophases in the International Phenological Gardens (Europe) Source: Menzel et al. 2001, Global Change Biology, Figure 1 UW-Milwaukee Geography Cloned lilac first leaf and first bloom dates at a single station in Vermont UW-Milwaukee Geography Simulated phenology developed from lilac and honeysuckle data combined with climate data Source: Schwartz and Reiter 2000, Plate 4 (updated) UW-Milwaukee Geography USA National Phenology Network (NPN) u a continental-scale network observing regionally appropriate native plant species and cloned indicator plants (lilac) u designed to complement remote sensing observations u data collected will be freely available to the research community and general public UW-Milwaukee Geography Prototype for web-based NPN UW-Milwaukee Geography Select appropriate native species UW-Milwaukee Geography Submit data over the Internet UW-Milwaukee Geography What might be possible with 20 years of phenological data? u Evaluate lengthening growing season impacts u Evaluate differential impacts of climate change on different species groups/ecosystems u Co-evaluate large area response and enhance continental carbon balance estimates Evaluate success of evolving global program to curb global greenhouse gas emissions UW-Milwaukee Geography Proposed NEON Regions UW-Milwaukee Geography James S. Clark, Duke University Clifford M. Dahm, Univ. New Mexico Christopher B. Field, Stanford Univ. Catherine A. Gehring, N. Arizona Univ. Paul J. Hanson, Oak Ridge Natl. Lab. John Harte, Univ. California, Berkeley Bruce P. Hayden, Univ. of Virginia Alfredo R. Huete, Univ. of Arizona Travis E. Huxman, Univ. of Arizona Stephen T. Jackson, Univ. of Wyoming Linda A. Joyce, U.S. Forest Service Alan K. Knapp, Colorado State Univ. W. Arthur McKee, Univ. of Montana Steven J. McNulty, U.S. Forest Service James A. MacMahon, Utah State Univ. John M. Melack, Univ. Calif-SB Barbara J. Morehouse, Univ. of Arizona Richard J. Norby, Oak Ridge Natl Lab. Dennis J. Ojima, Colorado State Univ. Jonathan T. Overpeck, Univ. of Arizona Debra P. Peters, USDA ARS, Jornada N. LeRoy Poff, Colorado State Univ. Eric Post, Penn State University. Hank J. Shugart, Univ. of Virginia Stanley D. Smith, Univ. Nevada-LV Robert G. Striegl, USGS Thomas W. Swetnam, Univ. of Arizona Susan L. Ustin, Univ. California-Davis Thomas G. Whitham, N. Arizona Univ. Xubin Zeng, University of Arizona Convened by Julio Betancourt Pat Mulholland Dave Breshears http//www.neoninc.org UW-Milwaukee Geography Status of Planning for NPN Implementation u NSF has funded a workshop proposal with additional funding contributed by EPA, NPS, USDA-FS, and USGS u Workshop will be held in Tucson, AZ, August 23-25, 2005 with participants u NEON Design Consortium has committed to incorporating a phenological component in their measurements and cooperating with NPN u Goal is to have a blueprint completed along with necessary interagency agreements by November 1, 2005 UW-Milwaukee Geography u Which indicator and native species to monitor? u Which phenological events should be monitored? How often? Questions about Species and Phenological Measurements UW-Milwaukee Geography Key Challenges to Network Development u u How can a sufficient density of long-term stations be established? u u What types of cooperative agreements and funding arrangements are needed? (especially NWS-COOP) u u Integration of automated with traditional methods? u u What role should volunteer observers from the general public serve? What type of station metadata is needed beyond that typically recorded at a NWS station? UW-Milwaukee Geography ChEAS Project: Spatially Concentrated Phenological Measurements u Collect a spatially concentrated sample of tree phenology in the vicinity of the WLEF tall tower u Collect associated microclimate, plant physiological, and leaf area measurements u Establish level of phenological variability as determined by environment and genetics, and gauge the impact on water flux UW-Milwaukee Geography Uses of spatially concentrated phenological measures u Calibration and better understanding of remote sensing measurements u Improved accuracy of flux measurements scaled-up to larger areas u Improved accuracy of downscaling of regional scale atmospheric circulation models u Improved understanding of plant growth impacts on lower atmospheric processes u Improved understanding of connection between phenology and plant physiological processes UW-Milwaukee Geography Sampling Strategy UW-Milwaukee Geography Phenological Variability UW-Milwaukee Geography Phenological Variability UW-Milwaukee Geography Phenological Variability