joene's garden » Project BudBurst

Watching and Recording Plant Phases

joenesgarden — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 14:28:26 +0000

Spring is springing early in Connecticut and I have more than anecdotal observations to prove it. I have multiple years of plant phase data recorded by me and other citizen scientists on the Project Budburst website. Project Budburst is a very cool project that asks plant watchers across the US to record first leaf, first flower, first ripe fruit, end of season leaf color changes, and other plant phenophases. Trained scientists then use these observations in their research.

The thought that I, a simple gardener, could help advance science enticed me to become a Project Budburst observer during late spring of 2009 when I recorded first flower of Tulip Poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum), Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) and common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). The following spring I began my observations early and was able to record first leaf and first flower of common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and first flower of Spiderwort (Trandescantia ohiensis).

Now I can go back to these records to compare first leaf dates for my easiest to observe shrub, common lilac. This is what it looked like March 22, 2012, its first leaf phase.

This same lilac shrub did not reach first leaf until March 29 in 2010 – nine days later than this year. Last spring, 2011, it reached first leaf the first week of April, about two weeks later than this year.

All Project Budburst observations from 2007 through 2010 are currently available to anyone. Data from 2011 should be available on the site soon.

Getting started as an observer takes a few minutes but the steps are easy. A cool side benefit is you'll learn the latitude and longitude of your property.

You can choose to make single observations or regular observations. Hint: the regular observation choice minimizes the need to input longitude, latitude, town and other site information repeatedly.

You can download field journals for each of the plants you choose to observe. These journals are available by plant type – wildflowers and herbs, grasses, and different trees and shrubs – and by state. Even if you don't become an observer , these field journals provide useful photos and information about specific plants, trees and shrubs.

As I wrote in an earlier post, Project Budburst is a fun project to do with kids – getting them outside and increasing their knowledge of the natural world that surrounds them. You don't have to live in rural areas to participate, all are welcome. When my granddaughter is old enough I hope to enlist her in BudBurst Buddies so we can plant-watch together along with the website buddies Lily and Sage. We'll start with the flower that intrigues all young kids … the dandelion.

I'm not as good at journal-keeping as other gardeners with excel spreadsheets or written records of the growth-bloom-dormancy cycles of their plants. My records are not quite as organized. My records are in the photos I've taken, quick notes I've jotted, or blog posts I've published, but retrieving my data takes time. The plant phases I've documented through Project Budburst are easy to retrieve for my own comparisons. Knowing my observations also become part of science is a great side benefit.

There are citizen scientist programs in many areas of science – wildlife, health, space, insects, geology, weather – as listed in this 2011 article in Scientific American. You can also read about citizen scientist programs in this post at Native Plant & Wildlife Gardens.

Make a difference. Become a citizen scientist in at least one of these venues.

Garden thoughtfully,

Joene

Categories: Gardening Education, Project BudBurst.
Tags: citizen scientists, columbine, dandelion, gardening in Connecticut, Jack-in-the-pulpit, lilac, phenology, plant phases, Project BudBurst, spiderwort, tulip tree.

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Eyes on Plants, Shrubs and Trees

joenesgarden — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 13:48:56 +0000

Eyes on Plants, Shrubs and Trees

Looking for a free project that involves plant watching, helps advance science and … parents, grandparents, teachers take note … can be done with children? Project BudBurst fits the bill.

Project BudBurst collects information from scientists and citizen scientists who monitor growth patterns, known as phenophases, of wildflowers and herbs, grasses, shrubs, and trees throughout the U.S. Doing so takes no special training, just the desire to watch and record the time of first leaf, first bud, first flower, peak flowering, final flower, first ripe fruit, peak fall color, and leaf drop – events gardeners notice anyway; events non-gardeners can easily learn to watch.

Phenologists – people who monitor seasonal lifecycle phases of living things – use this information to study climate change. Read more about Project BudBurst and the kid-centered BudBurst Buddies in my most recent Garden Zone article, Plant-Watching Can Advance Climate Study.

This volunteer project is a great way to introduce children to life outdoors. Plant-watching leads to improved understanding of plant needs and how weather and people affect plant survival. This can open topics of insect life, animal life, water use, soil health, and how various actions may alter all of these. The enrollment process even guides you how to locate the latitude and longitude of your property – assuming you will be observing in and around your property. The learning possibilities are nearly endless.

I'm going on my third year as a Project BudBurst observer. I wish this project was available, long ago, when my children were little. When my granddaughter is old enough I plan to enlist her in BudBurst Buddies so we can plant-watch together. It's easy to enroll, the plant resource lists and guides are wonderful (you can access these even if you don't enroll), and it's interesting to occasionally check out the reported observations. You can also review observations, including mine and the handful of other Connecticut observers, recorded in 2007, 2008, and 2009 (2010 data is not yet posted).

My previous observations include:

Red Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) – the photo at the left shows the associated plant guide. I have just one of these native plants growing in the woods around my house. It grows amongst large granite boulders and directly in the shade of a fallen tree trunk. I suspect this sheltered location has kept marauding deer from munching the the leaves, stems and flowers of this woodland native.
common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) which, in 2010, showed first leaf on March 29 and and first flower on April 24. Not so sure I'll note these event so early this year.
Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis),
Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum),
Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale),
and Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) – I use binoculars to check for first leaf and first flower on the sixty-plus foot tall tulip tree behind my house.

If you are a social media user you can follow Project BudBurst on Facebook or search #budburst on Twitter. Link to both of these or sign up for email updates through the Join the BudBurst Community box on their website.

I'd love to compare notes with fellow Project BudBurst observers in Connecticut and elsewhere, so If you sign up please keep me posted.

Categories: Garden Zone column, Project BudBurst, Seasons.
Tags: Garden Zone column, gardening in Connecticut, phenology, Project BudBurst.

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January 7, 2011 Newsy Notes-earlier blooms

joenesgarden — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 03:04:29 +0000

January 7, 2011 Newsy Notes-earlier blooms

Last year's early spring warm up in Connecticut brought … as one would expect … earlier bloom times for many plants. But it may not just be one season of warmth that's causing plants to bloom sooner.

Denis Conover, a biologist at the University of Cincinnati conducted long term observations of the blooming times of the same species of wild plants growing in the Shaker Trace Wetlands at Miami Whitewater Forest in Ohio. During 2005 through 2008, 39 percent of the plants bloomed earlier than they did from 1992 through 1996. Another 45 percent of the plants bloomed at the same time and 16 percent bloomed later. Mean annual temperatures were almost two degrees warmer during the more recent survey period. Conover has also noticed earlier bloom times in other wetland areas in Ohio. According to the university press release, this is one of the first studies to document such changes in wild, as opposed to cultivated garden, settings.

My own meager observations show an earlier bloom time for red columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) in 2010 – first flower on April 20 – compared with 2009 when first flower occurred on May 4. Granted this is only two years worth of observation of one native wildflower. But, when combined with multiple other observations across the country, such information can be useful for scientists studying climate change issues.

This is where Project Budburst comes in … it gives me, and you if you choose to play along, the opportunity to assist scientists in documenting bloom times of specific plants across the country.

In 2010 I also observed common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and Spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) in addition to red columbine.

Participation is easy. It can be a fun project to do with kids – getting them outside and increasing their knowledge of the natural world that surrounds them. You don't have to live in rural areas to participate, all are welcome. Observational data is registered according to latitude and longitude, which is easy to figure out during the sign-up process. The Project Budburst resources page links to photos, descriptions, and recording sheets for 35 wildflowers and herbs, 5 grasses, 30 deciduous trees and shrubs, 14 evergreen trees and shrubs, and 6 conifers, making plant identification easy as well.

You can choose to observe common dandelion, or common lilac, or any other local flora from their list.

Have you joined the Project Budburst citizen scientists?

Have you observed increasingly earlier bloom times?

Categories: Newsy Items, Project BudBurst, Seasons.
Tags: earlier bloom times, phenology, Project BudBurst.

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