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Within-season flowering interruptions are common in the water-limited Sky Islands

International Journal of Biometeorology volume 58, pages 419–426 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Within-season breaks in flowering have been reported in a wide range of highly variable ecosystems including deserts, tropical forests and high-elevation meadows. A tendency for interruptions in flowering has also been documented in southwestern US “Sky Island” plant communities, which encompass xeric to mesic conditions. Seasonal breaks in flowering have implications for plant reproductive success, population structure, and gene flow as well as resource availability for pollinators and dependent animals. Most reports of multiple within-season flowering events describe only two distinct flowering episodes. In this study, we set out to better quantify distinct within-season flowering events in highly variable Sky Islands plant communities. Across a >1,200 m elevation gradient, we documented a strong tendency for multiple within-season flowering events. In both distinct spring and summer seasons, we observed greater than two distinct within-season flowering in more than 10 % of instances. Patterns were clearly mediated by the different climate factors at work in the two seasons. The spring season, which is influenced by both temperature and precipitation, showed a mixed response, with the greatest tendency for multiple flowering events occurring at mid-elevations and functional types varying in their responses across the gradient. In the summer season, during which flowering across the gradient is limited by localized precipitation, annual plants exhibited the fewest within-season flowering events and herbaceous perennial plants showed the greatest. Additionally, more distinct events occurred at lower elevations. The patterns documented here provide a baseline for comparison of system responses to changing climate conditions.

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Acknowledgments

We are thankful to the staff and associated researchers of the University of Arizona Herbarium for assistance with plant identification. We are also grateful to J.F. Weltzin, A.H. Rosemartin, and the staff of the USA National Phenology Network National Coordinating Office, who are consistently supportive of this research and frequently provide thoughtful comments and suggestions. We also sincerely appreciate M. Borgstrom’s guidance with statistical tests. Finally, this manuscript was dramatically improved by the input from two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USA National Phenology Network, 1955 E. Sixth St., Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Theresa M. Crimmins

  2. School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, 1955 E. Sixth St., Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Theresa M. Crimmins & C. David Bertelsen

  3. Herbarium, University of Arizona, PO Box 210036, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0036, USA

    C. David Bertelsen

  4. Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, PO Box 210038, Tucson, AZ, 85721-0038, USA

    Michael A. Crimmins

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  1. Theresa M. Crimmins
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  2. C. David Bertelsen
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Correspondence to Theresa M. Crimmins.

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Crimmins, T.M., Bertelsen, C.D. & Crimmins, M.A. Within-season flowering interruptions are common in the water-limited Sky Islands. Int J Biometeorol 58, 419–426 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-013-0745-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-013-0745-9

Keywords

  • Arid
  • Elevation gradient
  • Flowering phenology
  • Interrupted flowering
  • Phenology
  • Semi-arid
  • Water-limited