pwbg science plants notes2

							National Phenology Network Workshop
Science Breakout
Native and Indicator Plants
Notes by Abraham Miller-Rushing, Aug 23, 2005

Criteria ideas:

Plants easy to find
Sharp phenophases
Ecological significance
Natives and invasives
        Buffelgrass—short phenophase in regards to control
Use of collections
        Herbariums, arboretums
Linkages to weather stations
Seedling emergence (germination)
Wind pollinated plants
        Hay fever
Plants dependent on photoperiod in addition to those dependent on temperature
Agricultural crops
        Long-term data sets like at Madison State College and Nebraska
        Wheat and corn
        Flowering in corn
        Complexity because farmer behavior is a factor with crop phenology
                Time of sowing
        Additional complexity with varieties within each crop species
        End of season is largely human determined
        Difference between backyard gardens and field crops
        Advantage of huge body of phenological research
                Models sophisticated but simple
        Potential criteria:
                Planting date records
                Tillage records
                Fertilization records
                Leaf phenology (emergence, stem establishment)
                Flowering, anthesis
                Decadal time period of current data
                Black layer (final maturation point for corn)
        Focus on perennials, annuals too difficult
Agricultural weeds
        Drive agricultural decision-making, especially when herbicides are not used
Species range
        Incorporate other variables into phenology—e.g., nitrogen deposition, ozone,
        drought
Functional groups – taxon free
        Meadow annuals and desert annuals
        Riparian species – indicators of hydrology
        Pollination mechanism
        Fungal relationships
Media potential
        Fall color
        Cherry tree flowering
        Lilac flowering
        Peach tree and other orchard crops flowering
        Pollen counts
        Sugar maple sap flow
        Norway maple
Roadside species
Species from long-term studies, not necessarily on short list of species
        LTREB and LTER
        SEEK database
Maintain flexibility in species
Tap into other monitoring groups
        Monarchs, birds
Need for local species in addition to wide ranging species
Collections—herbaria, photographs
        Opportunity for historical information
        Limitations—timing of collections
        Flowering, fruit, leafout, leaf drop
Good fall foliage
        Is it hopeless?
        Color change, not drop (drop is affected by wind and rain)
Genetic diversity, mating systems, selection
        Advantages of using species with extensive genetic manipulation to make
        phenophases very obvious
Early flowering – for climate signal
Wild species with horticultural cultivars
        Possible confusion
Age of individual, lifespan
        Long lived may be better
Species that will be here over long period of time
        Maybe not sugar maple
Region specific species vs. wide ranging
        Local interests may vary, e.g., papaya in Hawaii
Evolutionary/taxonomic representation
Local / regional / national range for species
Conspicuous flowers
Grow in disturbed habitats (schools, suburban areas)
Species that address specific hypotheses
        Are local species more sensitive to climate change?
        Are species more sensitive to climate at edges of range?
Edible fruit
Masting
Pollen records
Ecotones/edge of range
        Mountain slopes
        Short and tallgrass prairie in Great Plains
Aquatic species

Native species with wide ranges
Clonal species
Agricultural/horticultural species
Weeds


Potential species in the South:

Bradford pear
       Short flowering period
       Wide range
       Ornamental
Flowering dogwood



Other potential species:

Edible fruits
       Blueberries

Weeds
      Box elder
      Ragweed
             CO2 gradients in cities
Dandelions
      Milkweed
      Wild radish

Fall color change
        Red maple
        Trembling aspen
        Bradford pear
        Cherries




Other concerns:
Scientific or public purposes
Misidentification
Focus on leaf fall for autumn end of growing season
        Avoid oaks, lilacs
        Look at Fraxinus, Bradford pears, Red maple
Complications of other factors besides temperature
        Nitrogen, ozone
Current models have problems with speed of development in warmer environment


In addition to plants:

Insect phenology also important
        Honeybees
        Butterflies
        Mosquitoes (bites)
        Aquatic invertebrates
        Outbreaks
Root phenology
Frogs
Earthworms


Method:

Create grid and check criteria