96th ESA Annual Meeting (August 7 -- 12, 2011)

OOS 9 - Heralding Change: How Can Plant Phenology be Used to Facilitate Sustainable Natural Resources Management?

Tuesday, August 9, 2011: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
17B, Austin Convention Center
Organizer:
Geneva W. Chong
Co-organizers:
Lara Prihodko , Heidi Steltzer and David T. Barnett
Moderator:
Geneva W. Chong
Observational records are a rich source of data about our changing world. For example, observed changes in plant phenology can tell us how plant communities might have changed over time, how they are currently functioning and give us insight into what the future might hold. The theme of this session is the use of plant phenology information to facilitate natural resources management. In natural resource management, success often depends on access to both ‘real-time’ and ‘change-through-time’ information on the condition and status of the landscape. For example, species invasions require ‘real-time’ information for land managers to be able to deal with burgeoning crises, whereas responses to climate change might appear on longer time-scales and thus require access to ‘change-through-time’ data. Development of new technology and increased access to remotely sensed data can facilitate the use of phenological observations for natural resources management. This is an exciting time in phenology research as more data are being collected, organized and made widely available. We will present examples of new methods for plant phenology data acquisition, management and analyses that may be useful to natural resource managers. We will also present examples of how managers are using phenology data already or hope to use phenological information in the future, such as in the face of uncertainty resulting from climate change. Cross-cutting questions include impacts of plant phenology on animals; scaling from points to landscapes, regions and beyond; and developing robust methods for data management and analyses and communication of results. The session will open with a presentation by the National Phenology Network on using phenology as a tool for resource management and climate change adaptation. Case studies will present on-going work developing inexpensive, easy to use near-surface sensing systems and observations to measure and monitor plant community life histories and their response to environmental change. A related presentation will demonstrate the use of data management and analysis tools being developed in conjunction with the near-surface sensing technology. Additional presentations will provide example applications of plant phenology data such as in habitat modeling for invasive species, and dealing with issues of scaling. The session will close with examples of management applications of phenology information.
8:00 AM
Using phenology as a tool for resource management and climate change adaptation
Carolyn A.F. Enquist, US Geological Survey; Jake Weltzin, US Geological Survey
8:20 AM
Observing plant community life histories and their response to environmental change
Heidi Steltzer, Fort Lewis College; Rick Shory, Colorado State University; Geneva W. Chong, US Geological Survey; David R. Brooks, Institute for Earth Science Research and Education; Chris Landry, Center for Snow and Avalanche Studies; Joseph C. von Fischer, Colorado State University; Michael N. Weintraub, University of Toledo
9:00 AM
Scaling from plants to landscapes: An example with invasive plants
David T. Barnett, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), Battelle; Rebecca Hufft Kao, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON, Inc.); Thomas Kampe, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON, Inc.); Joel McCorkel, NEON Inc.; Michele Kuester, NEON Inc.; Brian Johnson, Florida Atlantic University; Keith Krause, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) and Battelle Ecology Inc.; Courtney L. Meier, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
9:20 AM
Using phenology in predicting the northward expansion of the Africanized honey bee
Catherine Jarnevich, U.S. Geological Survey; Wayne Eaias, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Peter Ma, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Jeffrey T. Morisette, U.S. Geological Survey; Jaime Nickeson, Sigma Space Corp at Goddard Space Flight Center; Thomas J. Stohlgren, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory; Tracy R. Holcombe, U.S. Geological Survey
9:40 AM
9:50 AM
Tracking climate effects on plant-pollinator interaction phenology with satellites and honey bee hives
Wayne E. Esaias, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Jaime E. Nickeson, Sigma Space Corp at GSFC; Bin Tan, ERT Inc. at GSFC; Peter L. Ma, Sigma Space Corp at GSFC; Joanne M. Nightingale, Sigma Space Corp at GSFC; Robert E. Wolfe, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
10:30 AM
CANCELLED - Linking species to science in a phenology monitoring project: The California Phenology Project case study
Kathryn A. Thomas, US Geological Survey; Angela Evenden, National Park Service, Pacific West Region, San Francisco; Susan J. Mazer, University of California, Santa Barbara; Elizabeth R. Matthews, University of California Santa Barbara; Jake Weltzin, US Geological Survey
10:50 AM
Effects of simulated grazing on grassland community composition in the Colorado Front Range
Janet S. Prevéy, University of Colorado at Boulder; David G. Knochel, University of Colorado at Boulder; Timothy R. Seastedt, University of Colorado at Boulder
11:10 AM
Nature’s Notebook:  A USA National Phenology Network program for ecological monitoring and information management
Jake Weltzin, US Geological Survey; Theresa M. Crimmins, USA National Phenology Network; Ellen G. Denny, USA National Phenology Network; Carolyn A.F. Enquist, US Geological Survey; R. Lee Marsh, USA National Phenology Network; Alyssa Rosemartin, USA National Phenology Network
See more of: Organized Oral Session