Building a phenological monitoring network in California as a model for the nation

Background/Question/Methods

Phenology is the study of seasonal biological events such as flowering, leaf-out, insect emergence, and animal migration. Many long-term observational studies have documented that phenological patterns respond to environmental variation and climate change.  To assess the potential effects of climate change on California’s biodiversity and natural resources, the National Park Service (NPS), the Phenology Stewardship Program at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB-PSP), and the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) established The California Phenology Project (CPP) in 2010. The CPP (www.usanpn.org/cpp) is a three-year pilot project, whose primary goals are to develop and test protocols and to create tools and infrastructure to support long-term phenological monitoring and public education activities in California national parks.  Longer-term the CPP will aim to: (1) engage and educate people of all backgrounds and ages in the study of phenology, (2) detect how phenology is linked to climatic conditions that vary over time and space in California, and (3) provide data to support stewardship of wildland ecosystem. 

Results/Conclusions

To this end, the CPP has developed a scientific framework and identified scientific questions to guide monitoring efforts across all NPS units in CA, selected a variety of focal plant species, and established monitoring infrastructure in seven pilot parks that represent a range of bioclimatic regions in the state (e.g., semiarid desert, coastal and montane). Focal species were selected based on their ability to address scientific questions of interest and to engage Citizen Scientists; they include native and non-native species, widespread and endemic species, and species of local management concern.  The CPP is also adapting and testing standardized phenology monitoring protocols developed in conjunction with USA-NPN for tracking phenological status of 25 common plant species across key environmental gradients (e.g., latitude, elevation, and precipitation gradients). The CPP seeks to build a large phenological monitoring network across the state by working with a wide array of volunteers and other partners including the University of California Natural Reserve System, Naturebridge and the California Native Plant Society. In 2011, CPP observers contributed over 70,000 phenological records to the USA-NPN National Phenology Database. The CPP is being designed and implemented as a potential model for replication across other NPS units or regions, as well as other protected areas, across the nation.