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How Will Climate Change Impact Leaf Fall?
View of the Shenandoah Valley from a USGS camera placed on Stony Man Mountain in the Shenandoah National Park to record forest leaf color and condition through time.
The fall season is perfect for taking a walk or a drive to see the beautiful leaves changing colors from green to red, orange and yellow. As climate changes, it affects the timing of when leaves emerge, the amount of foliage that grows as well as the timeframe when leaves begin to fall. The study of the timing of such events as related to climate is termed “phenology.” USGS scientists are studying how forest phenology may be impacted by climate change, while also looking at how climate change impacts combine with other disturbances such as tree defoliation by insects and death by disease or fire.
Understanding forest phenology patterns is important because they affect the availability of habitats and the flows of water that are critical to animals and people. This research will help inform decisions to responsibly manage land and water resources in response to any future changes in climate and the associated impacts.
Scientists are focusing research on the forests of the Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge province of Virginia. These forests have been protected from major land-use change for many decades, and the National Park Service has recorded the dates and often the location of disturbances such as fires and insect infestations. These factors make the park an excellent “laboratory” in which to conduct phenology research. Scientists are using satellite imagery to track and observe the forest and study the relation between seasonal forest change and weather.
You Can Help Too!
USGS scientists are capturing photographs of the trees over research weather stations throughout Shenandoah National Park. This is part of an effort to study how forest phenology may be impacted by climate change.
Become involved by recording when plants first leaf out and bloom each year. You can do so through the USA National Phenology Network, which was established by the USGS in collaboration with the National Science Foundation. Citizens across the nation are providing data on plants and animals. More information on the USA-NPN can be found online.
You can learn more about this research and venture into Shenandoah National Park by watching forest changes through our webcam. Additional information on this study is also available online.
Contact: Jessica Robertson
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A new study concludes that fossil fuel emissions are likely contributors to a substantial amount of organic carbon found on glaciers in Alaska. Fossil fuel emissions, which contain organic carbon, can speed up the rate of glacier melt when deposited on glacier surfaces. In addition, the organic molecules associated with these deposits can be transportedContinue Reading
The U.S. Geological Survey had a very busy 2011 — below are a few of our highlights from last year.
Despite news articles warning of large-scale releases of methane due to climate change, recent research indicates that most of the world’s gas hydrate deposits should remain stable for the next few thousand years.
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Scientists have discovered an outbreak of coral disease called Montipora White Syndrome in Kāneohe Bay, Oahu. The affected coral are of the species Montipora capitata, also known as rice coral.
USGS scientists will join thousands of scientists, managers, and decision makers in Boston this week to present new findings on toxics at the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) conference in the Hynes Convention Center, Nov. 13-17.
On Nov. 3, USGS scientists Patrick Barnard and William Ellsworth will present a public lecture in Menlo Park, CA, providing Bay Area residents information about USGS research in the San Francisco Bay Area, including recent discoveries beneath San Francisco Bay and ongoing studies to better understand earthquake probabilities and the potential hazards associated with strong ground shaking.
Rivers and streams in the United States are releasing substantially more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than previously thought.
Climate Change Impacts to Tribal Communities The USGS is working with Native American communities and organizations to understand climate change impacts to their land and neighborhoods. Projects include interviews with indigenous Alaskans to understand their personal observations of climate change, as well as studying how climate change is impacting sand dunes and posing risksContinue Reading
How will accelerated glacial melting over the next 50 years as a result of climate change affect the unique Gulf of Alaska and Copper River coastal ecosystems? USGS scientists are studying these processes and impacts.
USGS scientists are assessing the potential to remove CO2 from the atmosphere for storage in other Earth systems through a process called carbon sequestration.
U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: www.usgs.gov/blogs/features/usgs_science_pick/how-will-climate-change-impact-leaf-fall/
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Page Last Modified: September 14, 2011
