Advancing to full bloom: planning phenological research for the 21st century

Abstract

Phenology has emerged recently as an important focus for ecological research, primarily because of its considerable promise to address important questions in global modeling, monitoring, and climate change. Remote sensing technological developments have also contributed to phenology's resurgence, by generating extensive biosphere-related databases that require careful calibration and interpretation. This article reviews the major objectives, accomplishments, and challenges of contemporary phenological research, concentrating on papers presented in this thematic issue of the International Journal of Biometeorology and other recent venues relevant to global change. Strategies for the continued advancement toward global change-related goals are also presented. The crucial catalyst to this potential contribution will be the systematic development of observation networks on a national and global scale during the next decade and beyond.& k w d : Key words Phenology · Global change · Remote sensing& b d y :Prepared in conjunction with a presentation made at the ISB

Trends of the thermal growing season in China, 1951–2007

“…In addition, increases in the photosynthetic activity of terrestrial vegetation from 1981 and onwards, as seen in satellite data, have also been associated with a lengthening of the GS (Myneni et al, 1997) In particular, evidence for changes in the timing of the GS start and end come from phenological studies * Correspondence to: Yanling Song, National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Zhong-Guan-Cun-Nan-Da-Jie 46, Haidian, Beijing, 100081, China. E-mail: songyl@cma.gov.cn (Schwartz, 1999). Species whose phenophases (e.g.…”

Analyzing the time-course variation of apple and pear tree dates of flowering stages in the global warming context

“…As plant phenology is mainly influenced by temperature, climate 47 warming has caused renewed interest in phenological methods and observations. Long-term 48 phenological records at specific sites provide useful measures of species-level biological 49 responses to climate changes according to Schwartz (1999). A lot of phenological studies 50 focused on changes in natural systems (Parmesan and Yohe, 2003), while few studies dealt 51 with phenological changes in perennial horticultural crops (Schultz, 2000).…”

Changing Phenology of Potato and of the Treatment for its Major Pest (Colorado Potato Beetle) – A Long-term Analysis

“…Worldwide there are many phenological data but the main problem is interpretation of the results in a regional and ecological context. While there are many papers showing how climate change is affecting phenology, a realization that species respond at different rates and that climate change varies regionally is necessary (Schwartz 1999).…”