PROJECT SUMMARY
Core Participants (Steering Committee)
Lead PI: Mark D. Schwartz, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Steering Committee Members: P. Stephen Baenziger, University of Nebraska; Julio Betancourt, U.S. Geological Survey/University of Arizona; Carol Brewer, University of Montana; Mike Dettinger, U.S. Geological Survey/Scripps Institution of Oceanography; David Inouye, University of Maryland; Beverly Law, Oregon State University and AmeriFlux Network; Susan Mazer, University of California-Santa Barbara; Eric Post, Penn State University; Bradley Reed, U.S. Geological Survey; and Robert Waide, University of New Mexico and LTER Network Office
Intellectual Merit:
The USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN) is an emerging and exciting partnership among academic communities, federal agencies, and volunteers. The NPN was initiated by an NSF-funded planning workshop held in August 2005 and a follow-up meeting of the resulting Implementation Team (IT) in March 2006. The IT consists of 27 scientists spanning multiple disciplines, institutions and related environmental networks. The USA-NPN consists of four components or tiers, representing different levels of spatial coverage and quality/quantity of phenological and related environmental information: 1) Locally intensive sites focused on process studies; 2) Spatially extensive scientific networks focused on large-scale phenomena; 3) Volunteer and Education Networks; and 4) remote sensing products that can be ground-truthed and assimilated to extend surface phenological observations to the continental-scale.
A Research Coordination Network (RCN) will allow USA-NPN to achieve eight primary research and educational objectives: 1) promote progress and leadership in phenological science; 2) inform and guide NPN design and implementation with sound science; 3) develop and field test protocols for data collection and management by students, citizen-scientists, and scientists; 4) synthesize, prioritize, and integrate research projects that take advantage of NPN data at all levels; 5) identify and address key gaps in theory and data that limit phenological research; 6) inspire new multi-disciplinary experimental designs and models to increase utility and relevance of phenological research; 7) develop new Web resources to increase awareness and access to phenological data; and 8) guide development of new software that integrates multiple data types and is compatible across relevant computer platforms.
The USA-NPN RCN will create four general products: 1) a meta-database of existing phenological data in the USA; 2) a broadly-vetted and tested set of data-collection and -management protocols; 3) lists of target species representative of the Nation’s ecoregions and customized for each of four network tiers; and 4) enhancement of the existing prototype NPN Web page with new software and tools that will facilitate communication among and access to data by the entire research community. Focused workshops will address issues such as the integration of past phenological data collected with differing protocols, and annual retreats will review ongoing progress and promote exchange with international phenological research groups.
Broader Impacts:
At hand is a unique opportunity to increase collaboration between federal agencies and the academic community, to facilitate and recruit public participation in the study and understanding of Nature, and to serve public needs in Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Health, Recreation, and Natural Resources. The USA-NPN RCN will actively support student/early researcher exchange/training programs among participating organizations, as well as participation by students, citizens, and scientists from under-represented communities in all network activities. The USA-NPN is committed to substantial participation from members of the public as citizen-scientist phenological observers. The RCN will enhance this opportunity by developing additional features for the USA-NPN Web page that will promote science education and foster better understanding of complex environmental issues.
OUTCOMES
Phenology is the study of recurring plant and animal life cycle stages (for example, first flower, fall leaf color, or return of migrating birds) especially their timing and relationships with weather and climate. In late 2004, planning began for development of a national-scale network that would lead efforts to systematically collect phenological data across the United States, as well as serve science and society by promoting broad understanding of these phenomena and their relationships with environmental change. Now, the resulting USA National Phenology Network (USA-NPN, www.usanpn.org) encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to observe and record phenology as a way to discover and explore the nature and pace of our dynamic world. USA-NPN makes phenological data, models, and related information freely available to empower scientists, resource managers, and the public in decision-making and adapting to variable and changing climates and environments. The Network is a consortium of individuals and organizations that collect, share, and use phenological data, models, and related information.
The Research Coordination Network (RCN) funded by this grant provided crucial support for the planning efforts and early implementation phase of the USA-NPN, facilitating achievement of a number of research and educational objectives, as well as creation of multiple products.
The first primary accomplishment of the RCN was the organizing and conducting of twelve meetings and workshops, and one major conference at which a combined total of nearly 300 scientists gathered in order to: 1) promote progress and leadership in phenological science; 2) inform and guide USA-NPN design and implementation with sound science; and 3) identify and address key gaps in theory and data that limit phenological research.
The second primary accomplishment of the RCN was stimulating the development of new Web resources to increase awareness and access to phenological data. These include: 1) a meta-database of existing phenological data in the USA; 2) lists of target species representative of the Nation’s ecoregions; 3) development, broad vetting, and field testing of protocols for data collection and management by students, citizen-scientists, and scientists; and 4) enhancement of the original prototype USA-NPN Web page with new software and tools that facilitate communication among and access to data by the entire research community. The last three on this list have been incorporated into the USA-NPN Nature’s Notebook (www.usanpn.org/natures_notebook), an online system facilitating collection of standardized ground observations of phenology by researchers, students and volunteers.
Moving forward, the connections among individuals and groups of scientists fostered through interactions facilitated by the RCN with continue to: 1) synthesize, prioritize, and integrate research projects that take advantage of USA-NPN data at all levels; and 2) inspire new multi-disciplinary experimental designs and models to increase utility and relevance of phenological research.