donsutherland1 Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 From PLOS One: Flowering times are well-documented indicators of the ecological effects of climate change and are linked to numerous ecosystem processes and trophic interactions. Dozens of studies have shown that flowering times for many spring-flowering plants have become earlier as a result of recent climate change, but it is uncertain if flowering times will continue to advance as temperatures rise. Here, we used long-term flowering records initiated by Henry David Thoreau in 1852 and Aldo Leopold in 1935 to investigate this question. Our analyses demonstrate that record-breaking spring temperatures in 2010 and 2012 in Massachusetts, USA, and 2012 in Wisconsin, USA, resulted in the earliest flowering times in recorded history for dozens of spring-flowering plants of the eastern United States. These dramatic advances in spring flowering were successfully predicted by historical relationships between flowering and spring temperature spanning up to 161 years of ecological change. These results demonstrate that numerous temperate plant species have yet to show obvious signs of physiological constraints on phenological advancement in the face of climate change. http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action;jsessionid=DC82D778C287097D82F272789B9BF72A?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0053788&representation=PDF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WXheights Posted January 17, 2013 Share Posted January 17, 2013 "Forward...March" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaJohn Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 NPR had a story about this today. See here: http://www.npr.org/2013/01/17/169636357/understanding-climate-change-with-help-from-thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslkahuna Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 OTOH, it's going to be a long time befroe we se any flowers from our plants in AZ in the wake of a record cold snap that has just ended. Just your typical Western trough/Eastern Ridge pattern with strong amplitude. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blizzard1024 Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 OTOH, it's going to be a long time befroe we se any flowers from our plants in AZ in the wake of a record cold snap that has just ended. Just your typical Western trough/Eastern Ridge pattern with strong amplitude. Steve Spring bird migrants are also arriving 2-3 weeks earlier than 30 years ago too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aslkahuna Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 The Sandhill Cranes arrived on schedule in the wintering home near Willcox. That said I am aware, having grown fruit trees in Sierra Vista of a slow arlier blooming trend over the yars. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottmartin49 Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 +1; I've been watching this for thirty years now- everything spring is advancing/everything fall is extending. More events of higher 'strength', with bigger swings. New plant disease and insect impacts carrying from the south, etc., etc.,.... Have verified this with those older than myself with anecdotal (familial) data going back to the 1880's, and with their memories and data faithfully following objective climate data relating to 'hot years' and cold. That's why I started following this stuff- 100 day corn and dead Hemlock trees in Vermont! Alfalfa(?)! Argue minutae all you want, on the ground it's already happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugarloaf1989 Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 The Hemlocks here in Connecticut seem healthy. My understanding of the Wooly Adelgid diesase is that cold weather would help to slow it's spread. Was this winter cold enough at times to help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottmartin49 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Lots of variables- climate, environment, management, etc.... Adelgids are only one indicator, watch the Ash borer move and you'll see what I'm referring to, but yes, short term changes in insect densities are seasonally affected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blizzard1024 Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Lots of variables- climate, environment, management, etc.... Adelgids are only one indicator, watch the Ash borer move and you'll see what I'm referring to, but yes, short term changes in insect densities are seasonally affected. You are correct. The complexities in all this are beyond our comprehension. We can surmise and make educated guesses and there are studies. But in the end nature is way more complex and we will always be chasing the understanding of it. The more we learn, the more we learn what we don't know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.