Abstract
We selected widely distributed and well observed plant species Fraxinus chinensis to study the formation mechanism of geographical distribution of the plant phenophase changes and revealed their spatiotemporal dynamics in China. Based on the first leaf date (FLD) data at 12 sites derived from Chinese Phenological Observation Network (CPON) and related meteorological data, we developed and validated the process-based model of FLD for Fraxinus chinensis. After reconstructing data series of FLD for Fraxinus chinensis over the study area from 1952 to 2007, we analyzed different spatiotemporal patterns of phenophase changes of this species. The results suggested that the process-based model was able to simulate the FLD accurately for Fraxinus chinensis on large spatial and temporal scales, because of the consideration of different budding rate responded to the air temperatures during the dormancy and the quiescence in accordance with the physiological mechanism of plants. The geographical distribution of the spring phenology in temperate regions was determined by the spatial pattern of daily average air temperature. The changes of FLD for Fraxinus chinensis revealed significant phenological advances in most areas. However, it showed delayed trends in a few sites. The overall average change trend was −1.1 days/decade. This result was consistent with the advanced trend in other regions of the North Hemisphere. The changes of FLD showed a noticeable regional variation with clearer advance in the north than in the south. The FLD in northern China showed an average advance as high as −2.0 days/decade (P<0.01). And the advance in northeastern and northwestern China was respectively −1.5 and −1.4 days/decade (P<0.01). Furthermore, eastern and central regions showed a minor trend, which was −1.0 days/decade (P<0.05). The smallest and non-significant advance appeared in southwestern and southern China.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Zhu K Z, Wan M W. Phenology (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 1973. 1
Schwartz M D. Phenology: An Integrative Environmental Science. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003. 3–7
Zwiers F, Hegerl G. Climate change: Attributing cause and effect. Nature, 2008, 453: 296–297
Root T L, Price J T, Hall K R, et al. Fingerprints of global warming on wild animals and plants. Nature, 2003, 421: 57–60
Chuine I. Why does phenology drive species distribution? Philos T Roy Soc B, 2010, 365: 3149–3160
Loustau D, Bosc A, Colin A, et al. Modeling climate change effects on the potential production of French plains forests at the sub-regional level. Tree Physiol, 2005, 25: 813–823
Sitch S, Smith B, Prentice I C, et al. Evaluation of ecosystem dynamics, plant geography and terrestrial carbon cycling in the LPJ dynamic global vegetation model. Global Change Biol, 2003, 9: 161–185
Cleland E E, Chuine I, Menzel A, et al. Shifting plant phenology in response to global change. Trends Ecol Evol, 2007, 22: 357–365
Kikuzawa K. A cost-benefit analysis of leaf habit and leaf longevity of trees and their geographical pattern. Am Nat, 1991, 138: 1250–1264
Kikuzawa K. Geographical distribution of leaf life span and species diversity of trees simulated by a leaf-longevity model. Plant Ecol, 1996, 122: 61–67
Schwartz M D. Advancing to full bloom: Planning phenological research for the 21st century. Int J Biometeorol, 1999, 42: 113–118
Emberlin J, Detandt M, Gehrig R, et al. Responses in the start of Betula (birch) pollen seasons to recent changes in spring temperatures across Europe. Int J Biometeorol, 2002, 46: 159–170
Hunter A F, Lechowicz M J. Predicting the timing of budburst in temperate trees. J Appl Ecol, 1992, 29: 597–604
Taiz L, Zeiger E. Plant Physiology. 4th ed. Sunderland: Sinauer Associates, 2006. 1–700
Chuine I, Cour P, Rousseau D D. Fitting models predicting dates of flowering of temperate-zone trees using simulated annealing. Plant Cell Environ, 1998, 21: 455–466
Chuine I, Yiou P, Viovy N, et al. Historical phenology: Grape ripening as a past climate indicator. Nature, 2004, 432: 289–290
Morin X, Viner D, Chuine I. Tree species range shifts at a continental scale: New predictive insights from a process-based model. J Ecol, 2008, 96: 784–794
Morin X, Lechowicz M J, Augspurger C, et al. Leaf phenology in 22 North American tree species during the 21st century. Global Change Biol, 2009, 15: 961–975
Chen H Y, Huang C J. Flora of China (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 1998. 30–32
Wan M W, Liu X Z. China’s National Phenological Observational Criterion (in Chinese). Beijing: Science Press, 1979. 1–136
Chuine I. A unified model for budburst of trees. J Theor Biol, 2000, 207: 337–347
Kramer K. Selecting a model to predict the onset of growth of Fagus sylvatica. J Appl Ecol, 1994, 31: 172–181
Partanen J, Koski V, Hänninen H. Effects of photoperiod and temperature on the timing of bud burst in Norway spruce (Picea abies). Tree Physiol, 1998, 18: 811–816
Schwartz M D, Marotz G A. An approach to examining regional atmosphere-plant interactions with phenological data. J Biogeogr, 1986, 13: 551–560
Schwartz M D, Marotz G A. Synoptic events and spring phenology. Phys Geogr, 1988, 9: 151–161
Chuine I, Belmonte J, Mignot A. A modelling analysis of the genetic variation of phenology between tree populations. J Ecol, 2000, 88: 561–570
Chuine I, Cambon G, Comtois P. Scaling phenology from the local to the regional level: Advances from species-specific phenological models. Global Change Biol, 2000, 6: 943–952
Wilczek A M, Burghardt L T, Cobb A R, et al. Genetic and physiological bases for phenological responses to current and predicted climates. Philos T Roy Soc B, 2010, 365: 3129–3147
Fang J Y, Wang Z H, Tang Z R. Atlas of Woody Plants in China: Distribution and Climate. Beijing: Higher Education Press, 2009. 1–20
Gong G F, Jian W M. On the geographical distribution of phenodate in China (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 1983, 38: 33–40
Ge Q S, Zheng J Y, Zhang X X, et al. The study of phenology and climate in China over the past 40 years (in Chinese). Prog Nat Sci, 2003, 13: 1048–1053
Zheng J, Ge Q, Hao Z, et al. Spring phenophases in recent decades over eastern China and its possible link to climate changes. Clim Change, 2006, 77: 449–462
Zhang F C. Effects of global warming on plant phenological events in China (in Chinese). Acta Geogr Sin, 1995, 50: 402–410
Li R P, Zhou G S. Responses of woody plants phenology to air temperature in Northeast China in 1980–2005 (in Chinese). Chin J Ecol, 2010, 29: 2316–2317
Chen X Q, Zhang F C. Spring phenological change in Beijing in the last 50 years and its response to the climatic changes (in Chinese). Chinese J Agrometeorol, 2001, 22: 2–6
Matsumoto K, Ohta T, Irasawa M, et al. Climate change and extension of the Ginkgo biloba L. growing season in Japan. Global Change Biol, 2003, 9: 1634–1642
Fitter A H, Fitter R. Rapid changes in flowering time in British plants. Science, 2002, 296: 1689–1691
Menzel A, Sparks T H, Estrella N, et al. European phenological response to climate change matches the warming pattern. Global Change Biol, 2006, 12: 1969–1976
Parmesan C, Yohe G. A globally coherent fingerprint of climate change impacts across natural systems. Nature, 2003, 421: 37–42
Schwartz M D, Ahas R, Aasa A. Onset of spring starting earlier across the Northern Hemisphere. Global Change Biol, 2006, 12: 343–351
Ge Q, Dai J, Zheng J, et al. Advances in first bloom dates and increased occurrences of yearly second blooms in eastern China since the 1960s: Further phenological evidence of climate warming. Ecol Res, 2011, 26: 1–11
Picard G, Quegan S, Delbart N, et al. Bud-burst modelling in Siberia and its impact on quantifying the carbon budget. Global Change Biol, 2005, 11: 2164–2176
Kucharik C J, Barford C C, Maayar M E, et al. A multiyear evaluation of a Dynamic Global Vegetation Model at three AmeriFlux forest sites: Vegetation structure, phenology, soil temperature, and CO2 and H2O vapor exchange. Ecol Model, 2006, 196: 1–31
Walther G R. Plants in a warmer world. Perspect Plant Ecol Evol Syst, 2003, 6: 169–185
Pope V D, Gallani M L, Rowntree P R, et al. The impact of new physical parametrizations in the Hadley Centre climate model: HadAM3. Clim Dynam, 2000, 16: 123–146
Chuine I, Beaubien E G. Phenology is a major determinant of tree species range. Ecol Lett, 2001, 4: 500–510
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, H., Dai, J. & Ge, Q. The spatiotemporal characteristics of spring phenophase changes of Fraxinus chinensis in China from 1952 to 2007. Sci. China Earth Sci. 55, 991–1000 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-011-4349-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-011-4349-0