Collaborating with Resource Managers to Identify and Address Phenological Information Needs Completed

Plants and animals undergo certain recurring life-cycle events, such as springtime flowering or migrations between summer and winter habitats, that are often strongly controlled by changes in environmental conditions, including climate. Because species interact, shifts in one species’ phenology can have cascading effects throughout entire food webs and ecosystems. Recent advances have helped grow the body of literature surrounding phenology. We now know, for example, that invasive species often show greater flexibility in the timing of their phenological events, enabling them to outcompete native species as climate and environmental conditions change.



Natural resource managers recognize that changes in phenology can substantially affect their management activities. Phenological information can be used to identify when to survey for or treat invasive insects or plants, when to apply prescribed fire to maintain habitat, or when to prepare for peak tourist seasons in national parks. However, managers on-the-ground are often uncertain about how to best incorporate this information into their management practices.



With a focus on the Southwest U.S., this project will connect scientists and natural resource managers to ensure that managers are getting the right phenological information, in the right format, at the right time. Through a series of workshops, scientists with the USA National Phenology Network, the USGS, and universities will connect with resource managers from federal and state land management agencies, tribes, and private landholders to identify key decisions that would immediately benefit from phenological information. Through this engagement process, targeted products will be developed to address stakeholder-identified needs. Such products might include maps projecting green up of invasive plant species, such as buffelgrass, to inform the timing of the application of control treatments. Through documentation of this stakeholder-driven phenological needs assessment and product development process, this project can ultimately serve to support the initiation of similar efforts in other regions of the country.