Nature’s roller coaster ride – phenology in our nature parks

Simple phenological nature observations allow you to discover how climate change is affecting our nature.

Everyone, literally everyone, regularly talks about the weather and whether this year the seasons are starting early or late and how this is affecting our gardens, forests or fields. And while people are having these discussions, without knowing, they are diving into one of the oldest research disciplines there is – good old phenology. Everything in nature happens at a specific time and the natural year is bursting with exciting phenomena!

Phenology – The Knowledge of Phenomena

Phenology deals with the developmental phenomena of plants and animals that recur year after year depending on the weather. Plants, in particular, act as complex measuring instruments for a multitude of environmental factors, such as the temperature profile, water supply, previous year's conditions and many more.

The best thing about this: No matter how complicated the processes in and around the “chemical factory” plant may be, the result is beautifully simple for every child to see: a plant either blooms or it doesn't! You don’t need a degree or expensive equipment to understand this process. It is enough to look a little closer and compare one's observation with the conditions on the other side of the valley or an area at a higher or lower altitude. This way, it is simple as can be to discover the interconnectedness of nature.

The Years Are Getting Longer

Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to have our own personal opinion about climate change. At twice the global average rate, the annual mean temperature in the Alpine region has risen by about 1.8°C over the last 100 years.

This not only affects us humans, but also the plants and animals. Spring, for example, which announces itself with the first blossom or the initial signs of bud break, now comes about seven to ten days earlier than it did 30 years ago. The first appearance of autumn leaf colour has also been delayed by a few days in some regions. Overall, this has led to the growing season being extended by up to two weeks.

Write the Nature Calendar With Us

Since 1946, the Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics (German Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik, ZAMG) has been systematically collecting phenological observations from all over Austria. The developmental stages of wild plants, fruit trees, arable crops and some animals (butterflies, migratory birds) are recorded and fed into a database. From the observation series, it can be seen that the onset of blossom or ripeness, although subject to regular fluctuation year on year, have systematically shifted forward. This trend is particularly visible in relation to ripening phases, which add up the temperatures of the atmosphere near the ground over a relatively long period, i.e. from the blossoming stage to ripeness. The apricot tree, for example, has been ripening about two weeks earlier in recent years than it did in the early 1960s. The rise in the global mean temperature is thus not only recorded by sensitive instruments, but is also visible to all attentive nature observers throughout the seasonal cycle of nature.

Get the app and follow along

You can find more information about our ingenious nature calendar app at www.naturkalender.at. Here you will not only be able to connect with like-minded individuals, but you can also actively participate in observing the effects of climate change on our animals and plants in the nature park regions. You can photograph dozens of animal and plant species typical of the nature park regions and log which stage of development they are currently in.

If you do this regularly and over many years, you can see how climate change affects animals and plants and how annual weather conditions and biodiversity are interrelated.

Help Promote Climate Research and Support Farmers in Five Seconds

Every observation and every photo shared with the app makes a valuable contribution to nature and climate research in Lower Austria, Austria and around the world. This is because the observations are incorporated into the European phenological database, which is maintained by the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics.

These observations can be used by climate researchers across the globe. In addition, the observations on the app for black elder and other plants also feed into a computer model, with the help of which hundreds of Lower Austrian ÖPUL (Austrian agri-environmental programme) farms can mow flexibly and earlier in years with early meadow development. In this way, all app users actively help to ensure that the farmers have good fodder and that the meadows remain colourful and rich in species.

At the Right Place at the Right Time

Last but not least, the data on blossoming or ripeness make it possible for nature park visitors to experience the highlights of nature at the exact right moment, when they are at their most beautiful!

With the nature calendar app you can report your observations of typical plants and animals of the Lower Austrian Nature Parks in just a few seconds and become a real phenologist.

Find out more about the app and what else you can do to change our climate for the better:

www.naturkalender.at/ klimawandeln.at