Benjamin I. Cook and Edward R Cook. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
Background/Question/Methods Output from model simulations of future climate provide a valuable resource for prognostic
ecological modeling, but to date they have been little used for phenology simulations. We test
the ability of these models to simulate 20th century phenology, as well as future changes, using
a long term phenological dataset of plant flowering at Mohonk Lake, NY. For each species, a
model for onset of flowering is calibrated and validated on in situ daily weather data, using
a growing degree day approach. We then use output from the IPCC archive for 20th century
climate simulations, to test the ability of various climate models to simulate onset of flowering
using an analogue climate approach. Finally, for those models that reliably reproduce the variability in flowering onset for the 20th century, we use the simulations of 21st century climate
to project into the future.
Results/Conclusions This study will provide insight into the potential for joining climate
and species level phenological modeling, and discuss the uncertainties, flaws, and strengths
inherent in this approach.