Speaker
Description
Plant macrophenology studies large-scale patterns and processes in the timing of plant life cycle events, such as flowering, leaf-out, and fruiting, across extensive spatial and temporal scales. This field aims to understand how climate and environmental changes influence these phenological events. As climate change continues to impact ecosystems globally, understanding these patterns is crucial for predicting ecological responses and informing conservation strategies.
To address the challenges of analysing these complex patterns, we developed a novel methodological approach for plant macrophenology using nonlinear ordination techniques [3]. This approach effectively extracts spatio-temporal patterns from large and diverse phenological datasets. Nonlinear ordination reduces the dimensions of complex data, revealing underlying structures and relationships that traditional linear methods might miss [2,3].
Our primary objective is to quantify synchronised behaviour across thousands of plant species. By identifying and analysing these synchronisation patterns, we can better understand the collective responses of plant communities to climate variability and change. This synchronisation offers insights into broader ecological impacts of climate change and helps detect shifts in plant phenology.
We demonstrate the versatility and effectiveness of our approach by applying it to various datasets, including those collected by citizen scientists using mobile applications such as Flora Incognita [1]. Incorporating these large-scale citizen science datasets enhances the resolution and accuracy of our analyses, leading to more robust conclusions about the impact of climate variability on plant phenology. This methodological framework advances plant macrophenology and provides a practical tool for researchers to quantify and monitor the effects of climate change on plant phenology.
[1] Mäder et al. (2021) Methods Ecol Evol, 12: 1335-1342
[2] Mahecha et al. (2021) Ecography, 44: 1131-1142
[3] Mora et al. (2024) Methods Ecol Evol, doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.14365
| Status Group | Postdoctoral Researcher |
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