Phenological Shifts of the Deciduous Forests and Their Responses to Climate Variations in North America

Li, Zixuan; Fang, Husheng; Tu, Jianguang; Li, Xiaolei; Sha, Zongyao

doi:10.3390/f13071137

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…The phenological advance of both deciduous tree and spring-flowering understory plants is supported by previous studies and suggests that rising spring temperatures could increase the length of the growing season in temperate deciduous forests (Monahan et al 2016; Melaas et al, 2018; Seyednasrollah et al, 2020; Moon et al, 2021; Li et al, 2022). However, while our finding that understory spring phenology is advancing faster than deciduous canopy trees under warmer temperatures at northern latitudes (42–46°N) agrees with a recent study (Alecrim et al, 2022), it is at odds with other studies conducted within the same region (Heberling et al, 2019; Lee et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Distinct latitudinal patterns of shifting spring phenology across the Appalachian Trail Corridor

Tourville,

Murray,

Nelson

2023

Preprint

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Warming associated with climate change will likely continue to advance the onset of spring phenology for many forest plants across the eastern United States. Understory forbs and spring ephemerals which fix a disproportionate amount of carbon during spring may be negatively affected by earlier canopy closure (i.e., phenological windows), however, information on the spatial patterns of phenological change for these communities is still lacking. To assess the potential for changes in spring phenological windows we synthesized observations from the Appalachian Mountain Club’s (AMC) Mountain Watch (MW) project, the National Phenology Network (NPN), and AMC’s iNaturalist projects between 2004 and 2022 (n = 118,250) across the length of the Appalachian Trail (AT) Corridor (34°N-46°N latitude). We used hierarchical Bayesian modeling to examine the sensitivity of day of year of flowering and leaf-out for 11 understory species and 14 canopy tree species to mean spring temperature (April-June). We conducted analyses across the AT Corridor, partitioned by regions of 4° latitude (South, Mid-Atlantic, and North). Spring phenologies for both understory plants and canopy trees advanced with warming (∼6 days/°C and ∼3 days/°C, respectively). However, sensitivity of each group varied by latitude, with phenology of trees and understory plants advancing to a greater degree in the mid-Atlantic region (∼10 days/°C) than the southern or northern regions (∼5 days/°C). While we find evidence that phenological windows remain stable in southern and mid-Atlantic portions of the AT, we observed an expansion of the spring phenological window in the north where there was greater understory temperature sensitivity compared to trees (∼1.6 days/°C). Our analyses indicate differential sensitivity of forest plant phenology to potential warming across a large latitudinal gradient in the eastern United States. Further, evidence for a temperature-driven expansion of the spring phenological window suggests a potential beneficial effect for understory plants, although phenological mismatch with potential pollinators is possible. Using various extensive citizen-science derived datasets allows us to synthesize regional- and continental-scale data to explore spatial and temporal trends in spring phenology related to warming. Such data can help to standardize approaches in phenological research and its application to forest climate resiliency.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Distinct latitudinal patterns of shifting spring phenology across the Appalachian Trail Corridor

Tourville,

Murray,

Nelson

2023

Preprint

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“…Seven studies analyzed phenological changes as a result of climate change in North America. What they all have in common is the use of multispectral timeseries [106,[189][190][191][192][193][194], while the time periods examined ranged from 10 [194] to well over 30 years [192]. These studies focused on the influence of hydrologic cycles on phenology, which is influenced by precipitation and temperature.…”

Section: Trend Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar results to the Asian studies were found in North America. Friedl et al [189] identified thermal forcing as the main driver of spring phenology, while Li et al [191] found that the phenology of deciduous forests in North America has shown an advanced SOS and delayed EOS over the last two decades, driven by climate variability.…”

Section: Trend Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Potential of Earth Observation to Assess the Impact of Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events in Temperate Forests—A Review

Wegler,

Kuenzer

2024

Remote Sensing

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Temperate forests are particularly exposed to climate change and the associated increase in weather extremes. Droughts, storms, late frosts, floods, heavy snowfalls, or changing climatic conditions such as rising temperatures or more erratic precipitation are having an increasing impact on forests. There is an urgent need to better assess the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events (EWEs) on temperate forests. Remote sensing can be used to map forests at multiple spatial, temporal, and spectral resolutions at low cost. Different approaches to forest change assessment offer promising methods for a broad analysis of the impacts of climate change and EWEs. In this review, we examine the potential of Earth observation for assessing the impacts of climate change and EWEs in temperate forests by reviewing 126 scientific papers published between 1 January 2014 and 31 January 2024. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the sensors utilized, the spatial and temporal resolution of the studies, their spatial distribution, and their thematic focus on the various abiotic drivers and the resulting forest responses. The analysis indicates that multispectral, non-high-resolution timeseries were employed most frequently. A predominant proportion of the studies examine the impact of droughts. In all instances of EWEs, dieback is the most prevailing response, whereas in studies on changing trends, phenology shifts account for the largest share of forest response categories. The detailed analysis of in-depth forest differentiation implies that area-wide studies have so far barely distinguished the effects of different abiotic drivers at the species level.

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“…Temperature, precipitation and their interaction determine vegetation productivity of boreal forests [6,7]. In northern high latitudes, climate warming has been shown to advance spring budburst and delay autumn senescence, thereby increasing vegetation productivity [8][9][10]. The growth of coniferous trees is also precipitation-dependent, with enhanced aboveground biomass under increased precipitation [11,12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distance to a River Modifies Climate Legacy on Vegetation Growth in a Boreal Riparian Forest

Li,

Sun,

Zou

et al. 2023

Remote Sensing

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Inter-annual variability in growing season temperature and precipitation, together with snow coverage duration, determine vegetation growth in boreal ecosystems. However, little is known about the impact of concurrent and antecedent climate, particularly snow cover duration, on vegetation growth in a boreal riparian forest. Additionally, significant uncertainty exists regarding whether the distance to a river (as a proxy of groundwater availability) further modifies these climatic legacy effects on vegetation growth. To fill this knowledge gap, we quantified the responses of different vegetation types (shrub, deciduous coniferous and broadleaf forests) to concurrent and antecedent climate variables in a boreal riparian forest, and further determined the magnitude and duration of climate legacies in relation to distance to a river, using MODIS-derived NDVI time series with gridded climate data from 2001 to 2020. Results showed that higher temperature and precipitation and longer snow cover duration increased vegetation growth. For deciduous coniferous forests and broadleaf forests, the duration of temperature legacy was about one year, precipitation legacy about two years and snow cover duration legacy was 3 to 4 years. Further, distance to a river modified the concurrent and antecedent temperature and snow cover duration legacy effects on vegetation growth, but not that of precipitation. Specifically, temperature and snow cover duration legacies were shorter at the sites near a river compared to sites at greater distance to a river. Our research highlights the importance of snow cover duration on vegetation growth and that closeness to a river can buffer adverse climate impacts by shortening the strength and duration of climate legacies in a boreal riparian forest.

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Phenological Shifts of the Deciduous Forests and Their Responses to Climate Variations in North America

Cited by 6 publications

References 59 publications

Distinct latitudinal patterns of shifting spring phenology across the Appalachian Trail Corridor

Distinct latitudinal patterns of shifting spring phenology across the Appalachian Trail Corridor

Potential of Earth Observation to Assess the Impact of Climate Change and Extreme Weather Events in Temperate Forests—A Review

Distance to a River Modifies Climate Legacy on Vegetation Growth in a Boreal Riparian Forest

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