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from Natural Life Magazine,
May/June 2005 Spring is here in the Northern Hemisphere and the rising temperatures and longer hours of sunlight are coaxing a wonderful array of wild plants into bloom. As welcome as these early harbingers of warm weather are, some species are flowering almost a month earlier than they were a century ago, a phenomenon that scientists believe is caused by climate change. Wildflowers are super-sensitive weather instruments, blooming in relation to local conditions of temperature and moisture. For that reason, scientists are using their bloom times to monitor the effects of climate change – to learn how common plants are responding to the changes and track where changes are taking place and at what rate. Across Canada, they are being aided in their research by “citizen scientists” in a program called PlantWatch, a joint venture among Nature Canada (formerly the Canadian Nature Federation) and Environment Canada’s Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network, with partners at university and botanical gardens, as well as environment organizations, in the various provinces and territories. PlantWatch volunteers are plant lovers and environmentally concerned people who annually record flowering and leafing times for selected local plant species and report these dates to researchers through the Internet or by mail. Registered volunteers are provided with a reporting form, which is also available on the PlantWatch website. Specific plant locations, including elevation, latitude and longitude, habitat type, sun exposure and slope details, as well as the weather all affect bloom times and help researchers interpret the information submitted by PlantWatchers. Completed data submitted on the PlantWatch website is instantly added to a series of maps, providing instant feedback to PlantWatchers about their areas. Indicator Species The most useful plants for spring plant watching studies are perennial, easy-to-identify, broadly distributed, naturally occurring species with a short bloom period. These key “indicator” plants tend to ... To read the rest of this article, subscribe to Natural Life's digital edition. Wendy Priesnitz is the Editor of Natural Life Magazine and a journalist with over 30 years of experience. She has also authored nine books. Visit her website. |
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