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2021 Update: Flowering phenology in the remnants

In 2021, we collected data on the timing of flowering for 1692 flowering plants (2292 flowering heads) in 32 remnant populations. The plants ranged from having 1 to 18 flowering heads. The earliest bloomers initiated flowering on June 18, and the latest head initiated flowering on August 1. We identify each plant with a numbered tag affixed to the base and give each head a colored twist tie, so that each head has a unique tag/twist-tie combination, or “head ID”, under which we store all phenology data. We monitor the flowering status of all flowering plants in the remnants, visiting at least once every three days (usually every two days) until all heads are done flowering to obtain start and end dates of flowering.

Linking this detailed phenology data with information about seed production will help us understand how the timing of reproduction influences pollination and reproductive fitness. Additionally, we are excited to investigate whether fire synchronizes flowering in remnant populations. Eight of the populations in which we collected phenology data were burned during spring 2021.

Start year: 1996

Location: Roadsides, railroad rights of way, and nature preserves in and around Solem Township, MN

Overlaps withreproductive fitness in remnants

Data/materials collected: We managed the data in the R project ‘aiisummer2021′ and will add the records to the database of previous years’ remnant phenology records, which is located here: https://echinaceaproject.org/datasets/remnant-phen/. The 2021 phenology data set needs to be cleaned and prepared for integration with phenology data from previous years and is still located in the aiisummer2021 repo.

Products: Stay tuned!

You can find more information about phenology in the remnants and links to previous flog posts regarding this experiment at the background page for the experiment.

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