The USA National Phenology Network Phenology for science, management and public engagement in a changing world

Schwartz & Betancourt connect; UW- Milwaukee builds prototype for NPN webpage 1 st NPN Planning Workshop Tucson Sponsored by NSF, USGS, NPS, FS, NOAA & EPA Highlights in USA-NPN History 2nd NPN Planning Workshop Milwaukee, Sponsored by NSF, USGS, FWS, NASA Multi- Institutional Team meets in Tucson & Develops Implementatio n Plan USGS $273K base stable funding; Univ of AZ hosts NCO Jake Weltzin hired as ED; NCO opens for business 1 st RCN Meeting Milwauke e funded by 5-yr, $500K NSF grant 2 nd RCN Meeting Milwaukee 3 rd RCN Meeting Milwaukee Plant Phenology Program launched 2500 observers by July 09 Stakeholder Meeting Milwaukee Animal Phenology Program Launched Phenoclimatologist hired under USGS/Univ of Az Coop Agreement BOD Meeting; Federal Listening Session NE Regional Phenology Network; Project Budburst NPS-California Phenology Project

Importance of phenology The National Phenology Network Applications, science, engagement Major accomplishments Vision for the future Outline

Importance of phenology Timing of life-cycle events of plants and animals: Causes and consequences

Easy to observe Sensitive to environmental variation Scales from 'leaf to globe' Linked to ecosystem processes Phenology is… Importance of phenology

“Phenology…is perhaps the simplest process in which to track changes in the ecology of species in response to climate change.” (IPCC 2007) Importance of phenology

The National Phenology Network Applications, science, engagement Major accomplishments Vision for the future Outline

A new data resource—a national network of integrated phenological observations across space and time The Network

Key Goal Understand how plants, animals and landscapes respond to environmental variation and climate change The Network

Mission Make phenology data, models, and related information available to scientists, resource managers, and the public 2005 Start of Season (SOS) Fires in western US

Steve Ringman, The Seattle Times Encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to observe and record phenology Mission

Strategic functions Develop a national phenology information management system Develop partnerships for implementation Facilitate phenology science and research Facilitate development of decision support tools Conduct and facilitate education and outreach Develop a national phenology monitoring system

Importance of phenology The National Phenology Network Applications, science, engagement Major accomplishments Vision for the future Outline

Health Resource management Conservation Agriculture Understanding hazards Recreation Applications

Willis et al PNAS Moller et al PNAS Willis et al PLOS Biology Ozgul et al Nature Hulme 2011 New Phyt. Change in phenology Population abundance 0 + Increasing Decreasing Science and conservation Predicting species populations: Vunerability -vs- invasiveness

Public engagement Connect people to nature - Nature Deficit Disorder Agency engagement programs Formal/informal education Climate and science literacy Move beyond 'gloom and doom' of climate change

Importance of phenology The National Phenology Network Applications, science, engagement Major accomplishments Vision for the future Outline

Major accomplishments Multi-taxa, national-scale monitoring protocols

Major accomplishments Nationally distributed observation sites 3,160 observers at 4,412 sites observing 5,459 organisms 418,731 records from 76,304 observations Feb '11

Major accomplishments Real-time data, metadata and documentation freely available

Major accomplishments Organization of critical historical datasets ei

Critical collaborations for implementation The Great Sunflower Project Major accomplishments

NPS needs - Status and trends - Decision-making - Public engagement - Standard protocols - Program integration NPN provides - Protocols - User interface - Training materials - Data management

Importance of phenology The National Phenology Network Applications, science, engagement Major accomplishments Vision for the future Outline

Phenology as a leading indicator of climate change impacts: A contribution to the National Climate Assessment A multi-agency collaboration Understanding and managing pests and disease: Phenology as a conceptual framework for decision-making 2012 A multi-agency collaboration

Predicting carbon storage in our forests: Phenology controls timing of the carbon uptake period Climate-smart monitoring for strategic habitat conservation and vulnerability assessments: The role of phenology 2012 A multi-agency collaboration

America's Great Outdoors: Reinvigorating connections in changing environments A ground- and camera-based observation network for calibration and validation of satellite imagery 2012 A multi-agency collaboration