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Testing Hopkins' Bioclimatic Law with PhenoCam data.
Andrew D Richardson1,2, Koen Hufkens3,4, Xiaolu Li5
1School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems Northern Arizona University Flagstaff Arizona 86011 USA.
Applications in Plant Sciences
|April 3, 2019
Summary
Vegetation phenology patterns, tracked by PhenoCam imagery, align with the Bioclimatic Law for deciduous forests, showing temperature influences. Grassland phenology also responds to climate variations.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Remote Sensing
- Biometeorology
Background:
- Vegetation phenology, the timing of seasonal plant life cycle events, is crucial for ecosystem function and climate interactions.
- Understanding phenological patterns is key to predicting ecosystem responses to climate change.
- PhenoCam imagery offers a novel approach to monitor vegetation dynamics at high spatial and temporal resolutions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate spatial and temporal vegetation phenology patterns using PhenoCam data.
- To evaluate Hopkins' Bioclimatic Law, which links phenological transitions to geographical and altitudinal factors.
- To assess the influence of climatic variables on phenological events across different vegetation types.
Main Methods:
- Phenometrics, including green-up and green-down dates, were derived from canopy greenness measured by PhenoCam digital repeat photography.
- Data were collected from 65 deciduous broadleaf (DB) forest, 18 evergreen needleleaf (EN) forest, and 21 grassland (GR) sites.
- Statistical analyses correlated phenological dates with latitude, longitude, elevation, and climatic data (temperature and precipitation).
Main Results:
- Deciduous broadleaf forest green-up dates correlated with mean annual temperature and spatial gradients, supporting the Bioclimatic Law.
- Interannual variation in deciduous forest phenology was primarily linked to temperature anomalies within a specific timeframe.
- Grassland phenology showed spatial variation explained by precipitation, while interannual changes were influenced by both temperature and precipitation anomalies.
Conclusions:
- PhenoCam data provide a robust and consistent method for studying vegetation phenology.
- The Bioclimatic Law is supported by phenological patterns in deciduous forests, highlighting temperature's role.
- Climate variables, particularly temperature and precipitation, significantly influence phenological variations across different ecosystems.
Keywords:
Bioclimatic LawPhenoCamdigital repeat photographygreen chromatic coordinatephenologytemperature sensitivityMore Related Videos
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