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Climate effects on the onset of flowering in the United Kingdom

Fox, Nigel and Jönsson, Anna Maria LU (2019) In Environmental Sciences Europe 31(1).
Abstract

Background: A warmer climate has consequences for the timing of phenological events, as temperature is a key factor controlling plant development and flowering. In this study, we analyse the effects of the long-term climate change and an extreme weather event on the first flowering day (FFD) of five spring-flowering wild plant species in the United Kingdom. Citizen science data from the UK Woodland Trust were obtained for five species: Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot), Anemone nemorosa (wood anemone), Hyacinthoides non-scripta (bluebell), Cardamine pratensis (cuckooflower) and Alliaria petiolate (garlic mustard). Results: Out of the 351 site-specific time series (≥ 15-years of FFD records), 74.6% showed significant negative response rates,... (More)

Background: A warmer climate has consequences for the timing of phenological events, as temperature is a key factor controlling plant development and flowering. In this study, we analyse the effects of the long-term climate change and an extreme weather event on the first flowering day (FFD) of five spring-flowering wild plant species in the United Kingdom. Citizen science data from the UK Woodland Trust were obtained for five species: Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot), Anemone nemorosa (wood anemone), Hyacinthoides non-scripta (bluebell), Cardamine pratensis (cuckooflower) and Alliaria petiolate (garlic mustard). Results: Out of the 351 site-specific time series (≥ 15-years of FFD records), 74.6% showed significant negative response rates, i.e. earlier flowering in warmer years, ranging from − 5.6 to − 7.7 days °C−1. 23.7% of the series had non-significant negative response rates, and 1.7% had non-significant positive response rates. For cuckooflower, the response rate was increasingly more negative with decreasing latitudes. The winter of 2007 reflects an extreme weather event, about 2 °C warmer compared to 2006, where the 2006 winter temperatures were similar to the 1961–1990 baseline average. The FFD of each species was compared between 2006 and 2007. The results showed that the mean FFD of all species significantly advanced between 13 and 18 days during the extreme warmer winter of 2007, confirming that FFD is affected by temperature. Conclusion: Given that all species in the study significantly respond to ambient near-surface temperatures, they are suitable as climate-change indicators. However, the responses to a + 2 °C warmer winter were both more and less pronounced than expected from an analysis of ≥ 15-year time series. This may reflect non-linear responses, species-specific thresholds and cumulative temperature effects. It also indicates that knowledge on extreme weather events is needed for detailed projections of potential climate change effects.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Bluebell, Citizen science, Climate change, Coltsfoot, Cuckooflower, Garlic mustard, Plant phenology, Wood anemone
in
Environmental Sciences Europe
volume
31
issue
1
article number
89
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • scopus:85075210321
ISSN
2190-4707
DOI
10.1186/s12302-019-0271-4
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e515d767-aad8-4d3d-b615-178ceb09ac18
date added to LUP
2019-12-04 13:15:25
date last changed
2022-04-18 19:12:25
@article{e515d767-aad8-4d3d-b615-178ceb09ac18,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: A warmer climate has consequences for the timing of phenological events, as temperature is a key factor controlling plant development and flowering. In this study, we analyse the effects of the long-term climate change and an extreme weather event on the first flowering day (FFD) of five spring-flowering wild plant species in the United Kingdom. Citizen science data from the UK Woodland Trust were obtained for five species: Tussilago farfara (coltsfoot), Anemone nemorosa (wood anemone), Hyacinthoides non-scripta (bluebell), Cardamine pratensis (cuckooflower) and Alliaria petiolate (garlic mustard). Results: Out of the 351 site-specific time series (≥ 15-years of FFD records), 74.6% showed significant negative response rates, i.e. earlier flowering in warmer years, ranging from − 5.6 to − 7.7 days °C<sup>−1</sup>. 23.7% of the series had non-significant negative response rates, and 1.7% had non-significant positive response rates. For cuckooflower, the response rate was increasingly more negative with decreasing latitudes. The winter of 2007 reflects an extreme weather event, about 2 °C warmer compared to 2006, where the 2006 winter temperatures were similar to the 1961–1990 baseline average. The FFD of each species was compared between 2006 and 2007. The results showed that the mean FFD of all species significantly advanced between 13 and 18 days during the extreme warmer winter of 2007, confirming that FFD is affected by temperature. Conclusion: Given that all species in the study significantly respond to ambient near-surface temperatures, they are suitable as climate-change indicators. However, the responses to a + 2 °C warmer winter were both more and less pronounced than expected from an analysis of ≥ 15-year time series. This may reflect non-linear responses, species-specific thresholds and cumulative temperature effects. It also indicates that knowledge on extreme weather events is needed for detailed projections of potential climate change effects.</p>}},
  author       = {{Fox, Nigel and Jönsson, Anna Maria}},
  issn         = {{2190-4707}},
  keywords     = {{Bluebell; Citizen science; Climate change; Coltsfoot; Cuckooflower; Garlic mustard; Plant phenology; Wood anemone}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Environmental Sciences Europe}},
  title        = {{Climate effects on the onset of flowering in the United Kingdom}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12302-019-0271-4}},
  doi          = {{10.1186/s12302-019-0271-4}},
  volume       = {{31}},
  year         = {{2019}},
}