Multi-species, ecological and climate change temporalities: Opening a dialogue with phenology

Abstract

Many scholars have argued that climate change is, in part, a problem of time, with ecological, political and social systems thought to be out of sync or mistimed. Discussions of time and environment are often interdisciplinary, necessitating a wide-ranging use of methods and approaches. However, to date there has been practically no direct engagement with the scientific field of phenology, the study of life-cycle timing across species, including plants, animals and insects. In this article, we outline how phenology can offer novel inroads to thinking through temporal relations across species and environments. We suggest that greater engagement with this field will enable scholars working across the humanities and social sciences to incorporate detailed studies of environmental timings which shed light on individual species, as well as wide-ranging species interactions. Following an overview of phenological research from both western scientific and indigenous knowledge perspectives, we report on a scoping exercise looking at where phenology has appeared in environmental humanities literature to date. We then offer an illustration that puts phenological perspectives into conversation with plant studies in order to indicate some of the useful affordances phenological perspectives offer, namely those of comprehending time as co-constructed across species and as flexible and responsive to environmental changes. We conclude by offering a number of further potential connections and suggestions for future research, including calling for more exploration of how environmental humanities approaches might produce critical contributions to phenology in their turn.

The Entangled Phenology of the Olive Tree: A Compiled Ecological Calendar ofOlea EuropaeaL. Over the Last Three Millennia With Sicily as a Case Study

“…Moreover, even though sprouts pruning takes place annually, in some years it is not done integrally but some sprouts are left with the intentional purpose to be constituent of the tree in the future years (Palladius, 11.8.2; Ibn al‐‘Awwām Yaḥyá ibn Muḥammad, 1983, p. 473; Ferrara, 2022). This last practice shows how human agricultural time is cognitively co‐constructed (Bastian & Bayliss Hawitt, 2022), since it takes into account the present and, furthermore, future phenological cycles of the plant. Following the same relational logic, cultivation and transplanting practices are usually done in October or March, in a process lasting a few years at least: “ during the first year the nursery ought to be hoed over (…).…”

“…rather than arbitrary fixed dates (Bastian & Bayliss Hawitt, 2022). In other words, human communities integrate their practices into the rhythms and seasons of the cross-species ecological relationships they observe, while being at the same time an integral and entangled part of them.…”

“…Phenology spans over a range of analytical approaches at different spatial scales, from macro level (landscape) to meso (ecological communities) and individual level (stands), including statistical methods, interpretation of long-term phenological data, modeling and physiological analysis, with many different forms of data collection (e.g., using remote sensing with satellites and/or phenocams, analysis of time-series photos). An important focus in phenological studies is recording dates of typical conventional phenophases, such as flowering or bud burst in plants, conducted via long-term observations (Bastian & Bayliss Hawitt, 2022).Humans, to plan what to do next, have always used phenological indicators. Phenological times of plant and animals are connected with the local environmental context, and key timings of human activities, such as the best time for harvest, planting, or pruning for instance are always decided taking into consideration such aspects…”

Between ambitions and actions: how citizens navigate the entrepreneurial process of co-producing sustainable urban food futures

“…Yet, these authors also state the negotiation between converging actors and their different temporal structures can be time intensive (Geiger et al 2020 ) and does not always lead to organizational change, sometimes it can be obstructed by inertia (Kaplan and Orlikowski 2013 ). One cause of inertia can be the existence of multiple temporalities between social actors (Bastian and Bayliss Hawitt 2022 ) which leads to “contradictory expectations about how to temporally structure their activities” (Orlikowski and Yates 2002 , p.687). According to Geiger et al in that situations temporal autonomy is required, which they describe as looking ahead in time.…”

Shifting Seasons and Threats to Harvest, Culture, and Self‐Identity: A Personal Narrative on the Consequences of Changing Climate

“…This story provides an example of local impacts observed within a lifetime, in Gwich'in territory in the Mackenzie River watershed, but many examples exist elsewhere, on different landscapes across different social‐ecological systems (e.g., Kassam et al., 2021 ). Further documentation and research will continue to enhance a comprehensive understanding of local impacts to habitats, organisms, and cultures, and will provide important insights into decision‐making (Bastian & Bayliss Hawitt, 2022 ).…”