Transcript Slide 1

Building a USA National
Phenology Network that
Includes Citizen Scientists
Mark D. Schwartz, UW-Milwaukee
With contributions from:
Julio L. Betancourt (USGS & U. Arizona),
Jake Weltzin (USGS), & almost 100 others
USA-NPN Plant Phenology Programs:
http://www.npn.uwm.edu
USA-NPN National Coordinating Office:
http://www.usanpn.org
Phenology is an essential component of the biosphere
Adapted from Bonan (2002)
Ecol. Climatology
PREAMBLE: Phenology is a far-reaching component of
environmental science but is poorly understood. Critical
questions include how environmental factors affect the
phenology of different organisms, and how those factors
vary in importance on different spatial and temporal scales.
We need to know how phenology affects the abundance and
diversity of organisms, their function and interactions in the
environment, especially their effects on fluxes in water,
energy, and chemical elements at various scales.
With sufficient observations and understanding, phenology
can be used as a predictor for other processes and variables
of importance at local to global scales, and could drive a
variety of ecological forecast models with both scientific
and practical applications.
USA-NPN Implementation Team 4/16/06
The predictive potential of phenological phenomena
requires a new data resource - a national network of
integrated phenological observations and the tools to
analyze them at multiple scales.
This network is essential to evaluate ongoing
environmental changes. It will capitalize on
integration with other observation networks and
remote sensing products, emerging technologies and
data management capabilities, myriad educational
opportunities, and a readiness of the public to
participate in investigations of nature on a national
scale.
USA-NPN Implementation Team 4/16/06
USA-NPN Vision Statement
USA-NPN will provide phenological information that
can be used to understand the role of the
timing of life cycle events in the biosphere.
It will establish a nationwide network of phenological
observations with simple and effective means to input,
report, and utilize these observations,
including the resources to provide appropriate and
timely information for a wide range of decisions made
routinely by individual citizens and by the Nation as a
whole.
USA-NPN Implementation Team 4/16/06
HISTORY OF USA
PHENOLOGY NETWORKS
By
Joseph M.
Caprio
• Joe Caprio Agricultural
Climatologist at Montana State Univ.,
started Western Regional lilac
network in 1956; added honeysuckles
in 1968
• Climatological observers, agric. &
forest stations, garden clubs
• Grew from 1000 observers in 11
states in 1956 to 2500 observers by
1970
• WRPN terminated when Caprio
retired in 1994
• Dan Cayan & Mike Dettinger
contacted Caprio in late 1990’s &
reactivated network at two dozen
sites
• Eastern US Network started by
W.L. Coville 1961, lost funding 1986,
but continued since by Mark D.
Schwartz
Key U.S.A. Phenology Meetings since 2004
Aug. 24-26, 2004, Tucson, AZ, NEON Ecological Responses to Climate AIBS
Workshop, (recommends formation of a USA-NPN).
December 13-17, 2004 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, session on
Phenology and Global Change: Patterns, Processes, and Dynamics
June 16 and 17, 2005, Lincoln, NE, High Plains Initiative for Integrated
Phenology, Phenology and Environmental Change: Challenges and Opportunities
Aug. 24-26, 2005, Tucson, AZ, NSF & Agency-Sponsored Workshop to
Develop Implementation Plan for a National Phenology Network
December 5-9, 2005, AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, CA, Land Surface
Phenology: Characterization, Modeling, and Analysis of Change
March 22-24, 2006, Tucson, AZ., USA-NPN Implementation Team Meeting
October 9-13, 2006, Milwaukee, WI, 2nd USA-NPN Planning Workshop
December 11-15, 2006 AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, CA, session on
Land Surface Phenology, Seasonality, and the Water Cycle
April 12, 2007 Phenology Session, Interntl. Assoc. Landsc. Ecologists, Tucson
Aug. 27-29, 2007, Milwaukee, WI, 1st RCN USA-NPN conference
Increasing Process Knowledge
Decreasing Spatial Coverage
NPN Network
Structure
Adapted from CENR-OSTP
NPN Network
Structure
Tier 1: Intensive Science Sites
Tier 2: Extensive Science Sites
Tier 3: Volunteer and
Education Networks
Tier 4: Remote Sensing
Adapted from CENR-OSTP
NPN Network
Structure
Tier 1: Intensive Science Sites
Tier 2: Extensive Science Sites
Tier 3: Volunteer and
Education Networks
Tier 4: Remote Sensing
Adapted from CENR-OSTP
BLM
Observers that have registered to make phenological
observations for USA-NPN
N ~ 700
(as of 6/3/07)
NPN Network
Structure
Tier 1: Intensive Science Sites
Tier 2: Extensive Science Sites
Tier 3: Volunteer and
Education Networks
Tier 4: Remote Sensing
Adapted from CENR-OSTP
Community Colleges in the United States
Educational Goals:
1. Increase awareness of climate change
2. Educate about the impacts of climate change
on plants and the environment
3. Increase science literacy by engaging
participants in the scientific process.
Project BudBurst is expanding
in 2008 to allow for phenology
data collection all year long!
Why phenology?
• Phenology is visible and comprehensible in
demonstrating the effects of climate change,
• People already notice the timing of events such
as when plants bloom and the seasonal onset of
allergies.
• Plants are readily accessible in nearly every
neighborhood, park, and wild areas allowing for
most everyone to make observations
• Engaging in phenology studies provides the
opportunity to learn more about native plants and
ecosystems in local environments
NPN Network
Structure
Tier 1: Intensive Science Sites
Tier 2: Extensive Science Sites
Tier 3: Volunteer and
Education Networks
Tier 4: Remote Sensing
Adapted from CENR-OSTP
Remote Sensing
Objectives
Of USA-NPN
• provide ground truth to make
the most of the public
investment in remote sensing
• relate remote sensing
estimates to meaningful
biophysical attributes
• allow detailed biophysical
inputs into a variety of
models (move from on/off
parameters to nuanced
values)
• fill gaps between ground
observations to produce a
continuous surface of
phenology estimates at the
national scale
• facilitate thorough
understanding of phenological
phenomena, including causes
and effects
Prototype for web-based NPN
http://www.npn.uwm.edu
Select appropriate native species
Submit data over the Internet
USA-NPN Plant Phenology Program
• 3 Indicator (clonal) species [Syringa
chinensis, Cornus florida, Fouquiera
splendens]
• 18 Calibration species [Allergy,
Coniferous, Crops, Deciduous, Herb]
• Other species as determined by
abundance and observer preferences
NPN Website
National Phenology Network CyberInfrastructure (Phase III)
Portal
Researchers
Educators
Students
Citizen Scientists
Public Visitors
Web/Grid Services Interfaces (WSDL)
Registration
NPNsearch
Data Registration Services
Data Integration Services
NPNworkbench
workflow, visualization, HPC
Mapping Services
ArcIMS
WMS
WFS
Ontology
Enabled
Integration
Spatial
Temporal
Conceptual
Metadata Services
NPN
Catalog
Postgres,
MySQL, etc.
Indexing Services
Others
Data Services
Logging Services
Usage Stats
Collection &
Analysis
Computational &
Modeling Services
Modeling,
Analysis Tools
Other Core Services
Data Transfer Tech.
Physical Grid (Including UWI, SDSC, ORNL)
RedHat Linux, ROCKS, OGSI
www.geongrid.org
USA-NPN National Coordinating Office
Joint Venture of the
U.S. Geological Survey & Univ. of Arizona,
housed at Office of Arid Lands Studies
Jake Weltzin, USA-NPN Executive Director