Green leaf phenology is the temporal pattern of seasonal leaf development and senescence i.e. the study of leaf growth on plants, and how they change colour (brown to green and back to brown again) from spring to fall.
Did you know that you can provide robust scientific data with just the smartphone in your pocket? Well, you can! The information stored in a photograph (the Red-Green-Blue digital numbers) can allow wetland scientists to calculate the seasonal changes in vegetation or put more simply, how green a plant or a plant community is. Tracking these changes over the course of the year helps build a picture of the green leaf phenological characteristics of these plants (i.e., when do they start greening up in the spring, at what point in the summer do they become their greenest, and at what point do they start to turn brown in the fall). This information is invaluable for wetland scientists who can use it to see how these wetlands not only may change under a changing climate but also how industrial disturbances may change how these plants function.
Why is it important?
Boreal wetlands are likely to be impacted by changes in climate and by industrial activities. Changes in air temperature and precipitation patterns alongside physical disturbances from machinery for example can all change how wet the system is and can influence the vegetation communities present. It can even cause a shift in vegetation communities depending on the level of disturbance. The Wetland Phenology project will look at green leaf phenology of the vegetation communities found in a restored and an undisturbed site at the Boreal Wetland Centre.
How to participate
Step 2 - Slide your phone into the slot
What you’ll need: a smartphone that can take pictures.
Locate one of the two phenology signs along the wetland interpretive trail (map coming soon).
Slide your phone into the slot on the sign.
Once your phone is in place, take a picture (or more!).
Email your photo(s) to phenologyAB@gmail.com.
Share your photos on social media: We’d love to see your photos! Share the photos you took as part of this project with the tag #phenologyAB
Why participate?
You will be providing invaluable information on how wetland vegetation changes over the course of the year simply by taking a photograph. This information will be used to help us understand how wetlands function, can be linked to how much carbon they are storing and can help us look at how different climate conditions and disturbance regimes may impact their functions (such as carbon and water storage) in the future.
The accessibility of this wetland makes it the perfect opportunity to use a citizen science approach. Visitors of all ages can provide useful data about these specific sites with no specialized equipment needed. The information from these photographs, alongside other information we are collecting on vegetation communities, biodiversity, and water levels, will help us understand how these wetlands function and change over time.
How to Submit Photos
Email your photos to Dr. Scott J. Davidson phenologyAB@gmail.com.
How the photo will be used
The photos you submit will be used by researchers to analyze the change in growth over the growing season. The method used calculates the green chromatic coordinate, in other words, green = how the vegetation is greening-up or growing over the season.
Your personal information will be confidential and will not be made public at any time. By submitting your photo, you agree that Ducks Unlimited Canada and Dr. Scott J. Davidson can use the photo for data analysis, publication, and outreach (e.g., website, social media, presentations).
Results to Date
Greeness Index
The graphs show the ‘greenness’ of the plants from May to October. The greenness increases over the spring, peaking in August and then browning as Autumn rolls in. The wildfires in 2023 may have led to yellower images causing its green peak to be much less than previous years.
More information
Visit Dr. Scott Davidson’s website: www.sjdavidsonecology.com