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Effects of land cover and water availability on brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) flowering phenology and its pollinator community.

Publication date: 2008

Author(s):

  • Kaesha Neil, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University
  • Juanguo Wu, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University

Abstract:

Phenology is the seasonal timing of environment-mediated events such as growth and reproduction. Phenology is quantified by determining time of onset and end of events, duration, and number of flowers (Augspurger 1983, Rathcke and Lacey 1985). Studies of flowering and leafing phenology have dramatically increased during the last few decades due to growing concerns over global climate change and because phenology is a highly sensitive indicator that researchers can use to study the effects of climate change at multiple scales (Chuine et al. 2000, Sparks and Menzel 2002, Peuelas et al. 2004, Williams and Abberton 2004). Urban climatic conditions are considered similar to the changing global climate conditions; therefore, many researchers study urbanized areas as smaller scale experiments, or models, of global climate change (Ziska et al. 2003). Concerns over climate change are not the only reasons for studying urban ecosystems. It is important to create urban environments resilient to social, economic, and ecological collapse.

The literature of flowering phenology in urban environments suggests that spring-blooming plants in urban environments located in temperate, Mediterranean, and boreal ecosystems in North America, Europe, and China tend to bloom earlier in the city than in the surrounding un-urbanized habitat (Roetzer et al. 2000, Fitter and Fitter 2002, White et al. 2002, Ziska et al. 2003, Zhang et al. 2004). Moreover, non-woody plants, early spring bloomers, and insect-pollinated plants in these environments tend to be more sensitive than woody plants, mid- or late-spring bloomers, and wind-pollinated plants (Fitter and Fitter 2002, Traidl-Hoffman et al. 2003). Finally, temperature (Heat Island Effect) has been assumed to be the cause of earlier flowering in the urban environments since the large-scale advancement of flowering has been strongly correlated with global warming.

Study of flowering phenology in urban ecosystems is important because changes in phenology may have wide-reaching consequences. Explicit study of the potential consequences of any changes in flowering phenology in urbanized areas has not been widely addressed; however, general ecological consequences from phenological changes due to global climate change have been hypothesized and studied, such as earlier and extended pollen allergy season (e.g., Van Vliet et al. 2002, Traidl-Hoffman et al. 2003, Ziska et al. 2003) and mis-matches in synchronized inter-specific interactions (e.g., Kudo et al. 2004). These effects of global climate change may be similar to changes and consequences in urban ecosystems. Other potential consequences include effects on: individual fitness (e.g. offspring production and viability); intra-specific interactions (e.g., genetic mixing); plant inter-specific interactions (e.g., resource competition); non-plant inter-specific interactions (e.g., pests, pollinators, pathogens, herbivores); economics (e.g., any agriculture occurring near or within cities, including the floral industry and crops that require pollination by native organisms; also, private gardens); and human health (e.g., pollinosis, psychological well-being/appeal).


Keywords:


Contact:

Information Manager, 
Global Institute for Sustainability,Arizona State University,POB 875402,Tempe
 caplter.data@asu.edu

Methods used in producing this dataset: Show


Data Files (3) :

Tabular: 62_arthropods_1.csv

Description: individual count per species

Column Description Type Units
sample_id automatcially generated sequential ID number
integer
taxon arthropod taxon name
string
site_id site ID as used in sites table
string
replicate number for replicate
integer
individual_count number of individuals
integer number

Tabular: 62_flower_phenology_1.csv

Description: phonology of brittle bush

Column Description Type Units
phenology_id automatically generated sequential ID number
integer
site_id site ID as used in sites table
string
sample_id field sample ID used by researcher
string
water watering conditions
float
Enumeration:
  • 1: low
  • 2: medium
  • 3: high
cage cage over plant or not
float
Enumeration:
  • 1: no cage
  • 2: cage
firstflower weeks to first flower
float nominalWeek
length weeks of flowering
float nominalWeek
adjfirstflow number of weeks to first flower adjusted to beginning of treatment. Accounts for plants that had to be replaced.
float nominalWeek

Tabular: 62_sites_1.csv

Description: site descriptions

Column Description Type Units
id record id
float
site_id ID for site
string
name name of site
string
type type of site (desert remnant, desert fringe, mesic yard)
string

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