Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Leaf Emergence and Fall (LEaF): A Pardee Center Initiative

Posted by Richard B. Primack and Amanda Gallinat

“All change is a miracle to contemplate; but it is a miracle which is taking place every instant.” 
-Thoreau in Walden

In the autumn of 2016, the three-year project known as Leaf Emergence and Fall (LEaF) was initiated with funding from Boston University's Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. The goal of LEaF is to organize workshops for New England scientists who are studying the impacts of climate change on spring and autumn leaf phenology. Understanding how climate change affects the timing of the start and end of the growing season has implications for forestry, the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the movement of water into streams, the water table and the atmosphere, land use policy, and the ecology of many animals.

Alyssa Rosemartin (USA National Phenology Network) and Lucy Zipf (BU) talking at the recent LEaF meeting on March 17th

LEaF workshops provide opportunities for researchers, especially graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, to exchange ideas and develop new collaborations. The most recent LEaF meeting was held at the Pardee Center on March 17th. A total of 18 people attended, including researchers from Harvard University, the University of Massachusetts at Boston, the National Phenology Network, and Boston University. People were clearly excited to meet each other and exchange ideas, and many people began to develop ideas for new collaborative projects!

Pamela Templer (BU Biology) exchanges ideas with Eli Melaas (BU Earth & Environment)

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