Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU

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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research to develop and test phenological models. The proposed project will use high-quality, national-scale in-situ plant phenology observation data curated by the USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) to develop and test predictive models that characterize organismal phenology across spatial and temporal scales across the United States. The ultimate goal of this project is to understand and predict patterns of the timing of phenological transitions and how they relate to climate to better manage natural resources. These models will be delivered to a variety of stakeholders as phenology maps that show the predicted timing of phenological transitions, such as the onset of leafing or flowering, as they unfold across species ranges on historical, current, and future timescales. A key step towards achieving this long-term goal is to connect local observations (individual plants or animals) of phenology with climatic drivers, such as accumulated temperature, that trigger the transition of phenological phases (phenophases). These data products would be delivered to the research and user communities as models and maps, and would be promoted through the USA-National Phenology Network website to support a variety of research and resource management applications.

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