Siberian plants shift phenology due to climate change

By Tara K. Miller

 
Siberia has undergone dramatic climatic changes due to global warming in recent decades. We used the Russian ‘Chronicles of Nature’ network to analyze the long-term (1976–2018) phenological shifts in leaf out, flowering, fruiting and leaf senescence of 67 common Siberian plant species. We found that plant phenology is changing dramatically in this remote and under-studied region.
 

Figure 1: Location of the study site by Lake Baikal, Siberia

 
Siberian boreal forest plants advanced their early season (leaf out and flowering) and mid-season (fruiting) phenology by 2.2, 0.7 and 1.6 days per decade, and delayed leaf senescence by 1.6 days per decade during this period.
 
Individual species shifted their phenology at different rates, and these results could be used to identify plants particularly at risk of decline due to their low adaptive capacity or a loss of synchronization with important ecological partners, such as pollinators or seed dispersers.
 

Figure 4: Species-specific phenological shifts of 67 Siberian plants from 1976 to 2018.
Dots indicate mean values, and horizontal lines are 95% confidence intervals.
(a) first leaf out, (b) first flower, (c) first fruit, and (d) leaf senescence.

 
 
This article appeared as: Rosbakh et al. 2021. Siberian plants shift their phenology in response to climate change. Global Change Biology. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15744

Confronting ethical challenges in long-term research programs in the tropics

 By Richard B. Primack

“The deepest and most original thinker is the farthest traveled.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

Ecologists and conservation biologists conducting long-term research programs in the tropics must confront serious ethical challenges. In a recent article, researchers share their experiences and perspectives.  Four key points are made:

 

The first and primary responsibility of anyone visiting and working in another country and culture is to understand cultural differences and adapt to them as much as possible. 

 

Local field assistants working with BU Professor Chery Knott (center) in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. (Photo © Tim Laman)

 

A second obligation is ensure that the research project brings added value to the local community, beyond simply paying for accommodation and support as would any other visitor (although that is important too!). 

 

Research Associate Poonam Rai discusses research project with community members outside Singalila National Park, in the Darjeeling Himalaya (India).  (Photo © Reinmar Seidler) 

 

A third responsibility among research programs is to share the resulting information and knowledge with local people, students, the scientific community, and government agencies. This often requires extra time and effort, yet it is imperative from both ethical and utilitarian viewpoints. 

 

Finally, researchers need to recognize that for the people who live in the midst of it, “biodiversity” is not always an unalloyed good. Researchers need to be empathetic concerns from the local community. 

 

This article appeared as:  Seidler et al. 2021.  Confronting ethical challenges in long-term research programs in the tropics. Biological Conservation https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108933 

A Network of Tropical Forest Plots

By Richard B. Primack 

“In the summer we lay up a stock of experiences for the winter, as a squirrel of nuts. Something for conversation in winter evenings.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal. 

Tropical forests are the most diverse and productive ecosystems on Earth. To investigate these forests, three networks of long-term forest plots have been established for South America (RAINFOR), Africa (AfriTRON) and Southeast Asia (T-FORCES). As described in a recent article, these initiatives are now integrated via ForestPlots.net cyber-infrastructure, linking colleagues from 54 countries across 24 plot networks. 

Tropical Forest plots in ForestPlots.net are widely distributed across the globe with the greatest abundance in South America. 

These networks are transforming our understanding of tropical forests and their role in the global environment. For example, there is no apparent relationship between tree species richness and carbon storage either within continents or across continents. 

There is no obvious relationship between species richness and carbon storage.

Also, tropical forests are responding to climate change by increasing their biomass; that is, they are acting as sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide. 

Tropical forests are increasing in biomass, Asian forests (gray), increasing faster than South American (blue) and African (orange) forests.

This network of forest plots has the potential to utilize an old technology to gain important insights into the future of these diverse forests and their role in addressing global climate change. 

This article appeared as: ForestPlots.net et al. 2021. Taking the pulse of Earth’s tropical forests using networks of highly distributed plots. Biological Conservation https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108849

July Rainstorms Change the Woods

By Richard B. Primack 

“To see wild life you must go forth at a wild season. When it rains & blows keeping men in-doors then the lover of nature must forth.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.
 
The heavy rains of the past two weeks have created unusual sights in the Webster Woods.  The outlet from Bare Pond is normally a gentle seasonal flow that is mostly below ground. However, during recent heavy thunderstorms, the stream became a surface torrent whipping the tannin-rich pond water into masses of foam. 
 

Foam stranded in the woods

 
 As the water receded, some of the foam was stranded in the woods.
 

A mass of foam looking like an octopus.

 
The foam sometimes took on animal-like shapes.
 

A sea-serpent of foam floats on a woodland pool.

 
 In other places the foam floated on quiet pools left behind by the flood.
 

Water spurts out from the ground.  

 
The rain was so intense that new springs started flowing.  In one place, water jetted out of the ground.

Biodiversity Science in China

By Richard B. Primack

“Almost all our improvements, so called, tend to convert the country into the town.”

 Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.

 

Over the past 35 years, China’s massive economic transformation has come at a significant cost to the environment, in terms of air and water pollution, habitat loss, and threats of species extinction  

 

China has also emerged as a leader in biodiversity conservation and research. This is important because China’s enormous human population depends on ecosystem services and because of its astonishing richness of species. 

 

A strong centralized funding and political structure in China allows national scale biodiversity projects to be organized more effectively than most other countries. For example, the Chinese Academy of Sciences organized 850 universities to assess the natural resources and biodiversity of China.  

 

Between 1980 and 2005, the number of national nature reserves (similar to national parks elsewhere) in China went from virtually none in 1980 to over 400 parks protecting close to 100 million hectares. China moved people out of these newly protected areas, and gave them economic alternatives.  

Figure 1. The area under protection in nature reserves and national nature reserves increased from 1980 to 2005, but has been stable or even declining since then (from Li and Pimm 2020).

While the capacity of China’s academic and research communjty to investigate and protect its astonishing biodiversity is increasing each year, the threats to biodiversity caused by China’s expanding economy is also increasing. Reconciling these two opposing trends is the crucial challenge faced by China’s expanding community of biodiversity scientists. 

 

To find out more, read these two references:

Primack, R. 2021.  Biodiversity science blossoms in China.  National Science Review, in press.  doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwab058 

Mi, Xiangcheng, Gang Feng, Yibo Hu, Jian Zhang, Lei Chen, R.T. Corlett, A.C. Hughes, S. Pimm, B. Schmid, Suhua Shi, J- Christian Svenning, & Keping Ma. 2021. The global significance of biodiversity science in China: an overview.  National Science Review  

doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwab032

Declining phenology observations in Japan

By Richard B. Primack 

“Do your work, and finish it. If you know how to begin, you will know when to end.”
Henry David Thoreau in Reform Papers.
 
The phenology observations being recorded by the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) represent one of the most outstanding phenological data sets in the world and is certainly the best in East Asia. Since 1953, the JMA has been gathering data on over 100 phenological events (involving 34 plant species and 23 animal species) at 105 weather stations spanning Japan’s large latitudinal and climatic range. 
 

Monitoring of first flowering times of Japanese cherry trees (Prunus x yedoensis, Someiyoshino) in Tokyo will be continued.

Unfortunately, in November 2020 the JMA announced plans to dramatically reduce monitoring to just 6 plant phenology stages at 9 sites and eliminating animal observations altogether.   

First singing of bush warblers (Cettia diphone), which will be discontinued if the proposed cuts are implemented.

In a recent article, we describe a new approach to maintain the program, shifting the monitoring responsibility to citizen science organizations and other government departments. Some of the phenology observation sites could be moved to nearby parks and nature reserves.  
 
Doi, H., Higuchi, H., Kobori, H. et al. Declining phenology observations by the Japan Meteorological Agency. Nat Ecol Evol (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01459-3

Botanical gardens in climate change research

 By Richard B. Primack, Amanda Gallinat, Libby Ellwoood, and Abe Miller-Rushing 

“Do I not live in a garden – in paradise?  I can go out each morning before breakfast & do & and gather flowers, with which to perfume my chamber where I read & write all day.” 

- Henry David Thoreau in his Journal 

In a recent article published in the New Phytologist, we describe the vital and growing contribution of botanical gardens to climate change research, conservation, and public engagement. Botanical gardens host unique resources, including diverse collections of plant species growing in natural conditions and historical records. 

Amanda Gallinat recording fruiting times at the Arnold Arboretum

Researchers utilize networks of botanical garden networks to assess the phenological (timing) responses to climate change of hundreds of plants species. Associated studies include anatomical and physiological  characteristics. 

Launching a drone to monitor leaf out of trees at the Arnold Arboretum

New methods enhance the pace and impact of this research, including phylogenetic analyses that include evolutionary relatedness. Remotely controlled drones are used for monitoring the tree canopy.
 

Students recording phenology at the Chicago Botanic Garden

Botanical gardens have grown their citizen science programs, informing the public about climate change and monitoring plants more intensively than previously possible.