Phenology is an integrative science that comprises the study of recurring biological activities or events. In an era of rapidly changing climate, the relationship between the timing of those events and environmental cues such as temperature, snowmelt, water availability, or day length are of particular interest. This article provides an overview of the observer-based plant phenology sampling conducted by the U.S. National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), the resulting data, and the rationale behind the design. Trained technicians will conduct regular in situ observations of plant phenology at all terrestrial NEON sites for the 30-yr life of the observatory. Standardized and coordinated data across the network of sites can be used to quantify the direction and magnitude of the relationships between phenology and environmental forcings, as well as the degree to which these relationships vary among sites, among species, among phenophases, and through time. Vegetation at NEON sites will also be monitored with tower-based cameras, satellite remote sensing, and annual high-resolution airborne remote sensing. Ground-based measurements can be used to calibrate and improve satellite-derived phenometrics. NEON's phenology monitoring design is complementary to existing phenology research efforts and citizen science initiatives throughout the world and will produce interoperable data. By collocating plant phenology observations with a suite of additional meteorological, biophysical, and ecological measurements (e.g., climate, carbon flux, plant productivity, population dynamics of consumers) at 47 terrestrial sites, the NEON design will enable continental-scale inference about the status, trends, causes, and ecological consequences of phenological change.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/617002 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Elmendorf, Sarah C., Jones, Katherine D., Cook, Benjamin I., Diez, Jeffrey M., Enquist, Carolyn A. F., Hufft, Rebecca A., Jones, Matthew O., Mazer, Susan J., Miller-Rushing, Abraham J., Moore, David J. P., Schwartz, Mark D., Weltzin, Jake F. |
| Contributors | Univ Arizona, Sch Nat Resources & Environm, The National Ecological Observatory Network; 1685 38th St. Boulder Colorado 80301 USA, The National Ecological Observatory Network; 1685 38th St. Boulder Colorado 80301 USA, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; 2880 Broadway New York New York 10025 USA, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences; University of California; Riverside California 92521 USA, USA National Phenology Network; National Coordinating Office; 1955 E. 6th Street Tucson Arizona 85719 USA, Denver Botanic Gardens; 909 York Street Denver Colorado 80206 USA, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society; Oregon State University; Corvallis Oregon 97331 USA, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology; University of California; Santa Barbara California 93106 USA, National Park Service; Acadia National Park and Schoodic Education and Research Center; Bar Harbor Maine 04660 USA, School of Natural Resources and the Environment; University of Arizona; 1064 East Lowell Street Tucson Arizona 85721 USA, Department of Geography; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; PO Box 413 Milwaukee Wisconsin 53201 USA, US Geological Survey; 1955 East 6th St. Tucson Arizona 85721 USA |
| Publisher | WILEY-BLACKWELL |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article |
| Rights | Copyright: © 2016 Elmendorf et al. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Relation | http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/ecs2.1303 |
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