Meta-analysisMost phenological studies have focused on how individual phenological event responds to climate change. However, our current understanding of how the entire phenological sequence, from leaf out to leaf coloring, responds to altered precipitation remains incomplete. Synthesizing 63 manipulative precipitation experimental studies worldwide, we found that early-and late-season phenological events shifted in opposite directions in response to precipitation changes. Additionally, plant phenology responded more significantly to altered precipitation in drier regions than in wetter ones. These findings will help incorporate precipitation representations into next-generation phenological models.
Shifts in plant phenology influence ecosystem structures and functions, yet how multiple global change drivers interact to affect phenology remains elusive. We conducted a meta-analysis of 242 published articles to assess interactions between warming (W) and other global change drivers including nitrogen addition (N), increased precipitation (IP), decreased precipitation (DP) and elevated CO 2 (eCO 2 ) on multiple phenophases in experimental studies. We show that leaf out and first flowering were most strongly affected by warming, while warming and decreased precipitation were the most pronounced drivers for leaf colouring. Moreover, interactions between warming and other global change drivers were common and both synergistic and antagonistic interactions were observed: interactions W + IP and W + eCO 2 were frequently synergistic, whereas interactions W + N and W + DP were mostly antagonistic. These findings demonstrate that global change drivers often affect plant phenology interactively. Incorporating the multitude of interactions into models is crucial for accurately predicting plant responses to global changes.
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