Phenology research for natural resource management in the United States

Abstract

Natural resource professionals in the United States recognize that climate-induced changes in phenology can substantially affect resource management. This is reflected in national climate change response plans recently released by major resource agencies. However, managers on-the-ground are often unclear about how to use phenological information to inform their management practices. Until recently, this was at least partially due to the lack of broad-based, standardized phenology data collection across taxa and geographic regions. Such efforts are now underway, albeit in very early stages. Nonetheless, a major hurdle still exists: phenology-linked climate change research has focused more on describing broad ecological changes rather than making direct connections to local to regional management concerns. To help researchers better design relevant research for use in conservation and management decision-making processes, we describe phenology-related research topics that facilitate "actionable" science. Examples include research on evolution and phenotypic plasticity related to vulnerability, the demographic consequences of trophic mismatch, the role of invasive species, and building robust ecological forecast models. Such efforts will increase phenology literacy among on-the-ground resource managers and provide information relevant for short- and long-term decision-making, particularly as related to climate response planning and implementing climate-informed monitoring in the context of adaptive management. In sum, we argue that phenological information is a crucial component of the resource management toolbox that facilitates identification and evaluation of strategies that will reduce the vulnerability of natural systems to climate change. Management-savvy researchers can play an important role in reaching this goal.

Phenocams Bridge the Gap between Field and Satellite Observations in an Arid Grassland Ecosystem

“…While the value of phenological information is increasingly realized, there remains a lack of research-supported knowledge on specific approaches for incorporating phenological information in management decision making [10,11]. This may be for lack of understanding how phenological data can support natural resource management [12].…”

Anticipatory natural resource science and management for a changing future

“…Despite growing knowledge about future global change drivers, increasing awareness of impacts to ecosystems, and emerging ideas about potentially effective management practices, the adoption and implementation of anticipatory natural resource management has been sluggish (Enquist et al . ; Kemp et al . ).…”

Synchronous species responses reveal phenological guilds: implications for management

“…Recognition of phenology as an integrative metric of ecosystem response to climate is evident as a growing field of study (Donnelly and Yu ), but application of new knowledge gained to inform management and decision‐making is slow to follow pace (Enquist et al. ). We aim to strengthen links between phenology, resource management, and decision‐making with a long‐term perspective on desert plant phenology.…”

“…Species‐level phenology can inform natural resource management decisions such as timing the application of herbicides to target invasive species, optimizing water allocations for crop rotations to sustainably increase agricultural production, and managing livestock to more equitably distribute grazing pressure in large pastures with spatially and temporally variable forage production (Enquist et al. , Wheeler et al. , Browning et al.…”

“…Plant phenology influences both storage and uptake of carbon, land-atmosphere interactions, surface hydrology, and important ecosystem services such as pollination (Parmesan and Yohe 2003, Sherry et al 2007, Richardson et al 2013. Recognition of phenology as an integrative metric of ecosystem response to climate is evident as a growing field of study (Donnelly and Yu 2017), but application of new knowledge gained to inform management and decision-making is slow to follow pace (Enquist et al 2014). We aim to strengthen links between phenology, resource management, and decision-making with a longterm perspective on desert plant phenology.…”