Plant phenology-the timing of cyclic or recurrent biological events in plants-offers insight into the ecology, evolution, and seasonality of plant-mediated ecosystem processes. Traditionally studied phenologies are readily apparent, such as flowering events, germination timing, and season-initiating budbreak. However, a broad range of phenologies that are fundamental to the ecology and evolution of plants, and to global biogeochemical cycles and climate change predictions, have been neglected because they are "cryptic"-that is, hidden from view (e.g., root production) or difficult to distinguish and interpret based on common measurements at typical scales of examination (e.g., leaf turnover in evergreen forests). We illustrate how capturing cryptic phenology can advance scientific understanding with two case studies: wood phenology in a deciduous forest of the northeastern USA and leaf phenology in tropical evergreen forests of Amazonia. Drawing on these case studies and other literature, we argue that conceptualizing and characterizing cryptic plant phenology is needed for understanding and accurate prediction at many scales from organisms to ecosystems. We recommend avenues of empirical and modeling research to accelerate discovery of cryptic phenological patterns, to understand their causes and consequences, and to represent these processes in terrestrial biosphere models.
1.Univ Arizona, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, POB 210088, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA 2.Brown Univ, Inst Brown Environm & Soc, 85 Waterman St, Providence, RI 02912 USA 3.Univ Technol Sydney, Sch Life Sci, Ultimo, NSW, Australia 4.Brookhaven Natl Lab, Biol Environm & Climate Sci Dept, New York, NY USA 5.Univ Hong Kong, Sch Biol Sci, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, Peoples R China 6.Univ Oxford, Environm Change Inst, Sch Geog & Environm, Oxford, England 7.Lawrence Berkeley Natl Lab, Climate & Ecosyst Sci Div, Berkeley, CA USA 8.Univ Calif Berkeley, Dept Environm Sci Policy & Management, Berkeley, CA USA 9.INPA, Ciencias Florestas Trop, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil 10.Inst Pierre Simon Laplace, Lab Sci Climat & Environm, Gif Sur Yvette, France 11.Oak Ridge Natl Lab, Div Environm Sci, POB 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 USA 12.Oak Ridge Natl Lab, Climate Change Sci Inst, Oak Ridge, TN USA 13.McMaster Univ, Sch Geog & Earth Sci, Hamilton, ON, Canada 14.McMaster Univ, McMaster Ctr Climate Change, Hamilton, ON, Canada 15.Tsinghua Univ, Minist Educ, Dept Earth Syst Sci, Key Lab Earth Syst Modeling, Beijing, Peoples R China 16.Univ Calif Irvine, Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Irvine, CA USA 17.Univ Calif Irvine, Ctr Environm Biol, Irvine, CA USA 18.Smithsonian Inst, Forest Global Earth Observ, Edgewater, MD USA 19.Smithsonian Environm Res Ctr, POB 28, Edgewater, MD 21037 USA
Recommended Citation:
Albert, Loren P.,Restrepo-Coupe, Natalia,Smith, Marielle N.,et al. Cryptic phenology in plants: Case studies, implications, and recommendations[J]. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY,2019-01-01