Observed changes in seasons: an overview

Within the last decade the study of phenology has taken on a new legitimacy in the area of climate change research. A growing literature reveals that a change in the timing of natural events is occurring in a wide range of locations and affecting a wide range of species. Changes in spring have been those most commonly reported, with the emphasis on an advance in spring linked to an increase in temperature. Detection of change in autumn is hampered by a smaller pool of available data, events that are harder to define (such as leaf coloration), and various influencing environmental factors triggering autumnal phases. Despite this, the general pattern may be towards a delay in autumn. Plant, animal and abiotic responses, especially in spring, are quite similar. Thus, it would appear that winter is being squeezed at both ends, and this effect, of increasing the growing season, should become more pronounced in the face of predicted global warming. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society.

[1]  F. Lauscher.  Neue Analysen ältester und neuerer phänologischer Reihen , 1978 .

[2]  B. Duchemin,et al.  Potential and limits of NOAA-AVHRR temporal composite data for phenology and water stress monitoring of temperate forest ecosystems , 1999 .

[3]  Stanwyn G. Shetler,et al.  Earlier plant flowering in spring as a response to global warming in the Washington, DC, area , 2001, Biodiversity & Conservation.

[4]  W. N. Ellis,et al.  Recent shifts in p0henology of Microlepidoptera, related to climatic change (Lepidoptera) , 1997 .

[5]  Mark D. Schwartz,et al.  Changes in North American spring , 2000 .

[6]  R. Ahas.  Long-term phyto-, ornitho- and ichthyophenological time-series analyses in Estonia , 1999 .

[7]  R. Ahas,et al.  Atmospheric mechanisms governing the spatial and temporal variability of phenological phases in central Europe , 2002 .

[8]  T. Sparks,et al.  An examination of the relationship between flowering times and temperature at the national scale using long-term phenological records from the UK , 2000, International journal of biometeorology.

[9]  David B. Roy,et al.  Phenology of British butterflies and climate change , 2000 .

[10]  G. Walther,et al.  “Fingerprints” of Climate Change , 2001 .

[11]  C. Both,et al.  Adjustment to climate change is constrained by arrival date in a long-distance migrant bird , 2001, Nature.

[12]  T. Sparks,et al.  The Responses of Species to Climate Over Two Centuries: An Analysis of the Marsham Phenological Record, 1736-1947 , 1995 .

[13]  H. Freeland,et al.  Spring phenology trends in Alberta, Canada: links to ocean temperature , 2000, International journal of biometeorology.

[14]  M. Noguer,et al.  Climate change 2001: The scientific basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , 2002 .

[15]  T. Sparks,et al.  The effects of temperature, altitude and latitude on the arrival and departure dates of the swallow Hirundo rustica in the Slovak Republic , 2001, International journal of biometeorology.

[16]  Annette Menzel,et al.  Phenology: Its Importance to the Global Change Community , 2002 .

[17]  A. Menzel,et al.  Plant Phenological Changes , 2001 .

[18]  Ian P. Woiwod,et al.  Effects of temperature on aphid phenology , 1995 .

[19]  C. Defila,et al.  Phytophenological trends in Switzerland , 2001, International journal of biometeorology.

[20]  P. Jones,et al.  Extension to the North Atlantic oscillation using early instrumental pressure observations from Gibraltar and south‐west Iceland , 1997 .

[21]  Humphrey Q. P. Crick,et al.  Climate change related to egg-laying trends , 1999, Nature.

[22]  Y. Morozov,et al.  Long-term trends in the timing of spring migration of passerines on the Courish Spit of the Baltic Sea , 1998 .

[23]  G. Walther,et al.  "Fingerprints" of climate change : adapted behaviour and shifting species ranges , 2001 .

[24]  T. Sparks,et al.  Arrival and progression of the Swallow Hirundo rustica through Britain , 1998 .

[25]  Hughes,et al.  Biological consequences of global warming: is the signal already apparent? , 2000, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[26]  T. Sparks,et al.  Earlier arrival of some farmland migrants in western Poland , 2002 .

[27]  M. Kozlov,et al.  Decline in Length of the Summer Season on the Kola Peninsula, Russia , 2002 .

[28]  A. Schöberl.  Die Organische Analyse , 1955 .

[29]  H. Higuchi,et al.  Long‐term trends in the egg‐laying date and clutch size of Red‐cheeked Starlings Sturnia philippensis , 2002 .

[30]  M. Willig,et al.  Impacts of extreme weather and climate on terrestrial biota , 2000 .

[31]  J. Burton,et al.  Birds and climate change , 1995 .

[32]  Benoît Duchemin,et al.  Monitoring Phenological Key Stages and Cycle Duration of Temperate Deciduous Forest Ecosystems with NOAA/AVHRR Data , 1999 .

[33]  Annette Menzel,et al.  Growing season extended in Europe , 1999, Nature.

[34]  Climate Change in Nontraditional Data Sets , 2001, Science.

[35]  M. Dettinger,et al.  Changes in the Onset of Spring in the Western United States , 2001 .

[36]  The influence of sky radiance distributions on the measurement of diffuse irradiance with shadowbands , 1980 .

[37]  A. Menzel,et al.  Spatial and temporal variability of the phenological seasons in Germany from 1951 to 1996 , 2001 .

[38]  Jiri Nekovar,et al.  Phenology in central Europe – differences and trends of spring phenophases in urban and rural areas , 2000, International journal of biometeorology.

[39]  N. L. Bradley,et al.  Phenological changes reflect climate change in Wisconsin. , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[40]  J. Magnuson,et al.  Historical trends in lake and river ice cover in the northern hemisphere , 2000, Science.

[41]  A. Menzel,et al.  Trends in phenological phases in Europe between 1951 and 1996 , 2000, International journal of biometeorology.