Phenology: What is it, what is it for, examples and its relationship with climate change

Phenology is a branch of ecology that studies the relationship of living beings cycles with changing environmental factors that arise in the different stations of the year. Let us now review the origin of phenology. Who created this new approach to life was Charles François Antoine Morren in 1849. He noticed the need to have the different phases through which plants passed throughout the year, with the intention of being able to understand them better. This was achieved by making observations at different points over time.

First, the objective of ecological phenology is to create a database, which is built with information that is then organized to be consulted. In practical terms, phenology serves us to better understand living beings. As an orderly tool within the astronomical year, you can know how living beings will change in a certain period of time.

With this knowledge, it is possible to know what to expect from each living being analyzed, which is very useful for other disciplines of biology. The applications of phenology can be used for example in the agronomy to make crop rotation, for ornithology where migratory pathways are analyzed, or veterinary to know the reproductive seasons of parenting animals.

Finally, phenology can serve to keep a record of how the behaviors of living beings are changing depending on changes in climate, whether due to natural or anthropogenic causes, and being able to act in front of them.

Phenology can be divided into two large groups, which studies plants and the one that studies animals. Let’s review below what phenological phenomena exist for each group.

Phytophenology

• Germination.
• Appearance of the first sheet.
• Lateral shooting development.
• Steam lengthening.
• Appearance of new outbreaks.
• Bloom.
• Maturation of fruits.
• Fruit fall.
• Seed dispersion.
• Fall of leaves.

Zoofenology

• Courtship.
• Nest construction.
• Copulation.
• Gestation.
• Delivery.
• Weaning.
• Sexual maturation
• Change of coloration per season.
• Migration.
• Construction of burrow.
• Territory marking.
• Hibernation.

In this ecology video you can learn more about hibernation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui5wmlgdlxw

Phenology uses stages to explain the different processes of a living being, in which it is analyzed when it begins and when a particular stage ends, how long it lasts, and what is concluded.

The so -called biological or phenological stations are useful for their study, which are small enclosures in the midst of wild ecosystems that serve to monitor surrounding living beings and changes in the seasons of the year. Networks are usually formed at different points to compare, complete and share the information obtained.

There are different ways to study biological phenology, based on various scales that seek to place in time certain phenological phenomena, which we detailed above.

Phenological studies use microclimatic factors to determine changes in living beings. Next, we explain what they are.

Climate and temperature

The weather and temperature vary according to the geographical position, depending on the distance or closeness with the poles and the tropics. The climate should not be confused with the weather, because the weather remains constant for a region over a long term of time and characterizes it, while time is short -term variation. For example, the climate of Mediterranean countries is characterized by having wet winters and dry summers, but there are days that may be cloudy or windy, and the latter is what refers to meteorological time.

Photoperiod

The photoperiod is another abiotic factor that changes throughout the year. Let’s put for example the countries that are more towards the poles. Here the winters have shorter days, compared to the summers of long days. This photoperiod can determine several things in living beings, such as the flowering of spring that is advertised when the photoperiod changes to longer days, or the autumn in which in temperate climates indicates that the leaves should fall so as not to freeze in the winter.

Environmental and anthropogenic changes

Finally, we have the changes that are generated in the environment due to external causes to the rotation of the earth and its distance with the sun. These can happen for example by volcanic explosions, changing the amount of light that is available in the environment, or for frosts that last thousands of years, but currently most come from the human and for their strong use of natural resources and emission of greenhouse gas.

Phenology serves to analyze the changes of living beings in relation to the modification of the environment, and by analyzing changes in organisms, it can be determined how the climate has changed over time, even without meteorological measurement tools.

For example, we can know that the temperature is increasingly high due to the early flowering of flowers. Likewise, the climate of the past can be rebuilt due to the abundance of certain plants or by fossil characteristics.

Phenology is important to know the patterns of living beings depending on their external causes. This is useful for the different applications of phenology that allow man to take advantage of natural resources, and promote conservation strategies.

On the other hand, phenology is helpful to know the role of man and his habits in the environment, to know how climate change affects natural cycles. Through the changes in the behavior of living beings, it can be corroborated with evidence that there are effects on the increase in global temperature, and that decisions to develop preventive strategies that protect our planet should be made. The ecological consequences of phenological mismatches will be reflected in all ways of life, expressing themselves as massive extinctions and serious biodiversity losses.

Now that you know what phenology is and what is its importance, we recommend reading this article about ecological imbalance: what is, causes, consequences and examples.

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