Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
The applied side of phenology
Abe Miller-Rushing,
Schoodic Education and Research Center
and Acadia National Park
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Bottom Line
• Phenological changes are changing most
everything.
• There is lack of understanding of what
changes mean for resource management.
• We can take steps to improve that.
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Outline
• Ubiquity of impacts
• What does it mean for managers?
• Improving utility of phenology information
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Natural resources
• Abundance and
distribution of species
• Water, carbon, and
nutrient cycles
• Virtually all ecological
relationships and
processes
• Evolutionary processes
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Cultural resources
• Ways of life
• Cultural traditions
• Festivals
• Health
• Economics
Photo credit: Michelle Souliere
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Agriculture
• Farming, livestock,
and forestry practices
• Horticulture
• Gardening
• Pests and pollination
Photo credit: Justin Scheetz
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Outline
• What does it mean for managers?
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Resource managers are aware of changes
in phenology but are not aware of:
• The implications
• What to do about the changes
• How best to use phenology data
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Can phenology
information
improve how I
do my job?
If so, how?
Photo credit: NPS, Big Bend National Park
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Optimize
detection and
management
of pests and
invasive
species
Photo credit: Gil Wojciech
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Plan for longer
growing and
monitoring seasons
(and flat or
declining budgets)
Photo credit: NPS, Appalachian Highlands Network
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Will changes in
phenology affect
my management
priorities?
If so, how?
Photo credit: Matt Inden
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Example prioritization criteria:
• Is the threat, problem, or need severe?
• Is the information essential for well-reasoned
and legally defensible decisions?
• Will the information provide early warning of
abnormal conditions?
• Is information actionable and will action solve
the problem?
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Flowering time tracking
Change in a
bundance o
r perf
orm
ance
Species vulnerability assessments +
-
0
+ 0
Møller et al. 2008; Willis et al. 2008, 2010; Cleland et al. 2012
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
+
-
0
+ 0
Species vulnerability assessments
Change in a
bundance o
r perf
orm
ance
Flowering time tracking
Møller et al. 2008; Willis et al. 2008, 2010; Cleland et al. 2012
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
+
-
0
+ 0
Species vulnerability assessments
Change in a
bundance o
r perf
orm
ance
Flowering time tracking
Møller et al. 2008; Willis et al. 2008, 2010; Cleland et al. 2012
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Assessments for other
management priorities
• Forest productivity
• Water
• Carbon sequestration
• Health
• Economic development
Photo credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
How do I
manage for
changes in
phenology?
Photo credit: Sarah Morris,
Arkansas Community Foundation
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Outline
• Improving utility of phenology information
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
A three-pronged approach
• Improve phenology literacy
• Understand impacts most relevant to
management and appropriate responses
• Integrate data and tools and make them
easier to use
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Phenology literacy
• Engage the right
audience
• Show how to
incorporate into what
they already do
• Build case studies
Photo credit: Michael Singer
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Research on
impacts and actions
• Study management-
relevant impacts
• Address how to
manage for
phenological change
• Build case studies
Photo credit: King Mountain Forestry
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Data and tools
• Integrate
• Increase ease of
use
• Build case studies
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
Bottom Line
• Phenological changes are changing most
everything.
• There is lack of understanding of what
changes mean for resource management.
• We can take steps to improve that.
Schoodic Education and Research Center
Acadia National Park
SERC Campus
sercinstitute.org
