Baseline phenological observation of seasonal biological events

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Project Goals â¿¿ The collection of phenology data would provide insight to year-over-year changes in the daily timing and extent of plant activity and reproduction. The main project goal will be to monitor agaves and ocotillos on the order of once a week for one year in all three Southeast Arizona Group (SEAZ) parks. Phenology data would be input into Natures Notebook which is the National Phenology Network (NPN) interface to their data archive. Photos will also be taken but will kept separately because NPN does not archive photos. Public outreach materials will be created for SEAZ public websites, social media pages, and volunteers. The phenology data would be paired with other data about the plant location and environment. Static data would include: Soil type, soil cover, slope, aspect, elevation, and surrounding vegetation. Information for weekly visits would include: phenology (leaves, flowering, abundance of flowers), phenology of neighboring plants (focused on greenness and stage of grasses), soil moisture, and visible evidence of animal activity. The data collected along with rainfall would be used in a model to determine likely predictors of phenological change. The phenology data will serve as a baseline for future monitoring, management, and research.

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