USA National Phenology Network Development, Rationale, and Vetting of the USA-NPN Plant Species List, 2008 DRAFT October 2008 Species and Protocols Working Group 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents............................................................................................................................ 2 Contributing Species and Protocols Working Group Members ..................................................... 3 Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 4 Development of the USA-NPN Plant Species Lists, Beta 2008..................................................... 4 Beaubien & Schwartz 2003 ........................................................................................................4 Betancourt 2006 Native and Non-Native Species by Ecoregion................................................ 6 Species & Protocols Working Group October 2006................................................................... 7 Betancourt & Thomas 2007........................................................................................................9 Project BudBurst (PBB) species list ......................................................................................... 10 Species & Protocols Working Group August 2007 .................................................................. 12 Species & Protocols Working Group October 2007................................................................. 18 National Vetting........................................................................................................................ 19 USA-NPN Species List, Beta 2008 .......................................................................................... 20 Justifications for each plant functional types................................................................................ 20 Agriculture & Phenology.......................................................................................................... 20 Phenology and Invasive Plants ................................................................................................. 24 Phenology and Allergens .......................................................................................................... 26 Deciduous Trees, Remote Sensing, and Fall Color Tourism.................................................... 27 Phenology and Coniferous trees ............................................................................................... 30 Showy and/or Urban Species.................................................................................................... 31 Herbaceous Species .................................................................................................................. 32 The Importance of a Clonal Backbone for the NPN..................................................................... 33 Appendix List................................................................................................................................ 41 Appendix 1. Beaubein & Schwartz 2003 list of 17 species by ecoregion......................... 41 Appendix 2. Beaubein & Schwartz list of 36 species........................................................... 41 Appendix 3. Betancourt 2006 list of native species by ecoregion........................................ 41 Appendix 4. Betancourt 2006 list of non-native species by Ecoregion................................ 41 Appendix 5. McNulty evaluation of trees in Appendix 4 list for SE USA .......................... 41 Appendix 6. Master list of 1,258 species compiled in 2006................................................. 41 Appendix 7. Anderson list of 95 species, 2006 .................................................................... 41 Appendix 8. McKee list of 46 species, 2006........................................................................ 41 Appendix 9. McKee list of 29 native species, 2006 ............................................................. 41 Appendix 10. McKee list of non-native species by Ecoregion, 2006 ................................. 41 Appendix 11. Thomas & Betancourt compilation of lists, 2007 ......................................... 41 Appendix 12. Thomas & Betancourt prioritization of lists, 2007 ....................................... 41 Appendix 13. Project BudBurst species list, 2007 .............................................................. 41 Appendix 14. SPWG 2007 list of proposed calibration and focal species .......................... 41 Appendix 15. Cover letter for SPWG 2007 list, version 2 vetting...................................... 41 Appendix 16. SPWG 2007 list, version 2............................................................................ 41 Appendix 17. Summary of responses to review of SPWG 2007 list, version 2.................. 41 Appendix 18. USA-NPN Species List, Beta 2008 .............................................................. 41 Appendix 19. Select phenophase information..................................................................... 41 2 Contributing Species and Protocols Working Group Members October 2006: Julio Betancourt, David Breshears, Kathy Goodin, Art McKee, Craig Anderson, Michael Loik, Bruce Jones, Bob Szaro, and Gretchen Meyer August 2007: Stephen Baenziger, Julio Betancourt, Dave Breshears, Kjell Bolmgren, Ellen Denny, Pauline Drobney, Abe Miller-Rushing, Carol Spurrier, Robert Szaro, and Jack Williams October 2007: Jake Weltzin, Julio Betancourt, Mark Losleben, Kathryn Thomas and Art McKee with Ellen Denny, Mark Schwartz and Abe Miller-Rushing remotely 3 Introduction The purpose of the USA-NPN is to provide phenological information used to understand the timing of life cycle events and their role in the biosphere. It will establish a nationwide network of phenological observations with simple and effective means to input, report, and utilize these observations, including the resources to provide information for a wide range of decisions made routinely by individual citizens and by the Nation as a whole. U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Arizona cooperatively established the USA-NPN National Coordinating Office (NCO) in Tucson in 2007. Prior to implementation of the NCO, two NPN Implementation Planning Workshops guided development of the NPN. National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network (RCN) was established to support the NPN. (Schwarz) The Plant Phenology Program of the NPN was initiated through the NPN in the fall of 2008. The first Implementation Planning Workshop in August 2005 developed draft objectives and short-term, mid-term, and long-term products for the evolving NPN identified the need to target plant species for phenological monitoring that are: “of [regional] importance and whose phenology is of socioeconomic and scientific importance in understanding the ecosystem consequences of phenological dynamics and its regional variability, and to improve efficiency and reduce uncertainty of remote sensing application. (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Geography/npn/meetings/2006/towards_a_usa-npn.pdf). In order to achieve this objective, the NPN required a listing of recommended plant species for phenological monitoring that was thoroughly documented and vetted. This report documents the development of the recommended plant species list for the NPN. In the summer of 2008, the NPN initiated its first public phenology recommendations of the resulting list through National Phenology Network web site at http://www.usanpn.org/ Development of the USA-NPN Plant Species Lists, Beta 2008 Beaubien & Schwartz 2003 In 2003, Mark Schwartz contracted with Elizabeth Beaubien, U. Alberta/PlantWatch Canada, used five criteria (see below) to develop a list of 17 native target species (Appendix 1) and annotated with applicable criteria for each (see below). The biogeographic unit of analysis was Bailey's 11 Ecoregions, with a map available on the prototype NPN web page (http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/Geography/npn/native.html, see Figure 1). This initial list was later expanded to 36 target native species (Appendix 2). 4 Figure 1. The map of ecoregions used for the Beaubien & Schwartz 2003 listing of species. The ecoregions included are: (1) Warm continental; (2) Hot continental; (3) Subtropical; (4) Pacific marine; (5) Prairie; (6) Mediterranean; (7) tropical/Subtropical Steppe (8) tropical/Subtropical Desert; (9) Temperate Steppe; (10) Temperate desert; (11) Tundra and Subarctic. Beaubien & Schwartz used five criteria for selecting species: 1) Widespread distribution and dominance; easy to find near human habitation; 2) Diverse variety of life forms and functional types, (trees/shrubs/herbaceous annuals and perennials that produce flowers every year), with preference for monoecious species (having both male and female flowers on same plant); 3) Distinctiveness: ease of recognition of both the target plant and its phenophase/growth stages (no similar-looking species or subspecies, with different flowering times); 5 4) Flowering characteristics. Clear and sharp phenophases or growth stages, with early spring bloom time is preferable and bloom timing largely driven by temperature accumulation; flowers stay open once blooms begins (they don't close at night or in cloudy or wet weather) and the lower buds are not attractive to herbivores. 5) Horticultural cultivars: species has no horticultural cultivars developed that are similar in appearance and hard to distinguish from wild specimens.