urbanised cities, cause cherry plants to flower earlier than under the normal average
temperature present in parks and outlying suburban areas (Primack et al. 2009). In
Japan, the date of the cherry tree flowering season is celebrated as a large festival,
providing one of the most important sources of data on the impacts of global
warming on flowering phenology. From 1971 to 2000, cherry trees flowered an
average of 7 days earlier in comparison to the average of all previous records.
Flowering records at Mt. Takao from a large cherry botanical garden of Tokyo
revealed that both among and within species, advanced flowering of trees is linked to
their response against temperature variation (Primack et al. 2009).
Another study on North American species flowering date influenced by climate
variation consisted of a series of earlier records of the dates of first flowering for
more than 500 plant taxa in addition to recent observations from approximately 1852
to 2006. During this period the studied area had an increase in average temperature
by 2.4
C from global climate change, which shows that plants are now flowering
7 days earlier on average than they did in 1852. This study had shown that plant
flowering times were largely influenced by mean temperatures in the 1 or 2 months
just before flowering (Miller-Rushing et al. 2007).
It has also been found that flowering species blossoming during summer showed
more year-to-year dissimilarity in flowering time than those species which blossom
during spring, but mean monthly temperatures had strong influence on the flowering
times of the spring-flowering species (Miller-Rushing et al. 2007).
The date of snowmelt is also advancing because of global warming; snowmelt
also governs the flowering phenology as noted in a study at the Rocky Mountain
Biological Laboratory (Colorado, USA), which makes this site ideal for examining
phenological responses to climate change. This study examined the floral buds of
Delphinium barbeyi, Erigeron speciosus, and Helianthella quinquenervis, which are
sensitive to frost; from advancing of the growing season in recent years these species
have faced frost kills more frequently during mid-June, interrupting their reproductive cycle (Inouye 2008).
In India, Gaira et al. (2014) investigated the influence of flowering phenology
change on Himalayan species of Rhododendron arboreum by comparing herbarium
records (1893–2003) and real-time field observations (2009–2011). Flowering phenology was strongly correlated with increase in seasonal temperature, mainly winter
and post-monsoon, and annual mean maximum temperature. This research also
predicted using the generalized additive model (GAM) that the advancement of
flowering has been 88–97 days early during the past 100 years (Gaira et al. 2014).
It may also be possible that closely related species show different responses to
climatic variation. Effects on community structure, ecosystem dynamics, and population processes and phenological changes can only be well understood by doing
comparative studies that can adequately predict future phonological impact from
climate change.
196
P. Tiwari et al.
temperature present in parks and outlying suburban areas (Primack et al. 2009). In
Japan, the date of the cherry tree flowering season is celebrated as a large festival,
providing one of the most important sources of data on the impacts of global
warming on flowering phenology. From 1971 to 2000, cherry trees flowered an
average of 7 days earlier in comparison to the average of all previous records.
Flowering records at Mt. Takao from a large cherry botanical garden of Tokyo
revealed that both among and within species, advanced flowering of trees is linked to
their response against temperature variation (Primack et al. 2009).
Another study on North American species flowering date influenced by climate
variation consisted of a series of earlier records of the dates of first flowering for
more than 500 plant taxa in addition to recent observations from approximately 1852
to 2006. During this period the studied area had an increase in average temperature
by 2.4
C from global climate change, which shows that plants are now flowering
7 days earlier on average than they did in 1852. This study had shown that plant
flowering times were largely influenced by mean temperatures in the 1 or 2 months
just before flowering (Miller-Rushing et al. 2007).
It has also been found that flowering species blossoming during summer showed
more year-to-year dissimilarity in flowering time than those species which blossom
during spring, but mean monthly temperatures had strong influence on the flowering
times of the spring-flowering species (Miller-Rushing et al. 2007).
The date of snowmelt is also advancing because of global warming; snowmelt
also governs the flowering phenology as noted in a study at the Rocky Mountain
Biological Laboratory (Colorado, USA), which makes this site ideal for examining
phenological responses to climate change. This study examined the floral buds of
Delphinium barbeyi, Erigeron speciosus, and Helianthella quinquenervis, which are
sensitive to frost; from advancing of the growing season in recent years these species
have faced frost kills more frequently during mid-June, interrupting their reproductive cycle (Inouye 2008).
In India, Gaira et al. (2014) investigated the influence of flowering phenology
change on Himalayan species of Rhododendron arboreum by comparing herbarium
records (1893–2003) and real-time field observations (2009–2011). Flowering phenology was strongly correlated with increase in seasonal temperature, mainly winter
and post-monsoon, and annual mean maximum temperature. This research also
predicted using the generalized additive model (GAM) that the advancement of
flowering has been 88–97 days early during the past 100 years (Gaira et al. 2014).
It may also be possible that closely related species show different responses to
climatic variation. Effects on community structure, ecosystem dynamics, and population processes and phenological changes can only be well understood by doing
comparative studies that can adequately predict future phonological impact from
climate change.
196
P. Tiwari et al.