usanpn

1. The USA National Phenology Network Phenology for science, management and public engagement in a changing world www.usanpn.org

2. Highlights in USA-NPN History Schwartz & Betancourt connect; UW-Milwaukee builds prototype for NPN webpage USGS $273K base stable funding; Univ of AZ hosts NCO 2nd RCN Meeting Milwaukee StakeholderMeeting Milwaukee Multi-Institutional Team meets in Tucson & Develops Implementation Plan NE Regional Phenology Network; Project Budburst 3rd RCN Meeting Milwaukee BOD Meeting; Federal Listening Session 2008 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 2011 2012 1st RCN Meeting Milwaukee funded by 5-yr , $500K NSF grant Animal Phenology Program Launched Jake Weltzin hired as ED; NCO opens for business 1st NPN Planning Workshop Tucson Sponsored by NSF, USGS, NPS, FS, NOAA & EPA 2nd NPN Planning Workshop Milwaukee, Sponsored by NSF, USGS, FWS, NASA Plant Phenology Program launched 2500 observers by July 09 NPS-California Phenology Project Phenoclimatologist hired under USGS/Univ of Az Coop Agreement

3. Outline • Importance of phenology • The National Phenology Network • Applications, science, engagement • Major accomplishments • Vision for the future

4. Importance of phenology Timing of life-cycle events of plants and animals: Causes and consequences

5. Importance of phenology Phenology is… • Easy to observe • Sensitive to environmental variation • Scales from 'leaf to globe' • Linked to ecosystem processes

6. Importance of phenology “Phenology…is perhaps the simplest process in which to track changes in the ecology of species in response to climate change.” (IPCC 2007)

7. Outline • Importance of phenology • The National Phenology Network • Applications, science, engagement • Major accomplishments • Vision for the future

8. The Network A new data resource—a national network ofintegrated phenological observations across space and time

9. The Network Key Goal Understand how plants, animals and landscapes respond to environmental variation and climate change

10. 2005 Start of Season (SOS) Mission Make phenology data, models, and related information available to scientists, resource managers, and the public Fires in western US

11. Steve Ringman, The Seattle Times Mission Encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to observe and record phenology

12. Strategic functions • Develop a national phenology information management system • Develop partnerships for implementation • Facilitate phenology science and research • Facilitate development of decision support tools • Conduct and facilitate education and outreach • Develop a national phenology monitoring system

13. Outline • Importance of phenology • The National Phenology Network • Applications, science, engagement • Major accomplishments • Vision for the future

14. Applications • Health • Resource management • Conservation • Agriculture • Understanding hazards • Recreation

15. Increasing Decreasing Science and conservation Predicting species populations: Vunerability -vs- invasiveness + 0 Population abundance Willis et al. 2008 PNAS Moller et al. 2008 PNAS Willis et al. 2010 PLOS Biology Ozgul et al. 2010 Nature Hulme 2011 New Phyt. Change in phenology

16. Public engagement • Connect people to nature • - Nature Deficit Disorder • Agency engagement programs • Formal/informal education • Climate and science literacy • Move beyond 'gloom and doom' of climate change

17. Outline • Importance of phenology • The National Phenology Network • Applications, science, engagement • Major accomplishments • Vision for the future

18. Major accomplishments Multi-taxa, national-scale monitoring protocols

19. Major accomplishments Nationally distributed observation sites 3,160 observers at 4,412 sites observing 5,459 organisms 418,731 records from 76,304 observations Feb '11

20. Major accomplishments Real-time data, metadata and documentation freely available

21. Major accomplishments Organization of critical historical datasets ei

22. The Great Sunflower Project Major accomplishments Critical collaborations for implementation

23. NPS needs • - Status and trends • - Decision-making • - Public engagement • - Standard protocols • - Program integration • NPN provides • - Protocols • - User interface • - Training materials • - Data management

24. Outline • Importance of phenology • The National Phenology Network • Applications, science, engagement • Major accomplishments • Vision for the future

25. Phenology as a leading indicator of climate change impacts: A contribution to the National Climate Assessment Understanding and managing pests and disease: Phenology as a conceptual framework for decision-making A multi-agency collaboration A multi-agency collaboration 2012 2012

26. Predicting carbon storage in our forests: Phenology controls timing of the carbon uptake period Climate-smart monitoring for strategic habitat conservation and vulnerability assessments: The role of phenology A multi-agency collaboration A multi-agency collaboration 2012 2012

27. America's Great Outdoors: Reinvigorating connections in changing environments A ground- and camera-based observation network for calibration and validation of satellite imagery A multi-agency collaboration A multi-agency collaboration 2012 2012

28. www.usanpn.org