Phenology

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Cherry plum on January 31st
Witch hazel on February 28th
Wood anemone on March 13th
Forsythia on March 31st
Wild garlic on May 10th
Potato Rose on June 8th

The phenology ( ancient Greek φαίνω Phaino , German , I appear ' and -logie ) deals with the recurring annual flow development phenomena in nature and the Phänometrie with the detection of these phenomena.

Phenology deals mainly with biological processes in the context of ecology and biogeography . The times of occurrence of characteristic phenomena are recorded in a "phenological calendar". This divides the “phenological year” into ten physiologically and biologically based “phenological seasons” and is based on characteristic developmental stages of typical plants (phenological indicator plants ) and the behavior of the animals .

Originally at home in the phenomenology of agro- meteorology, in modern times phenology has turned out to be a powerful calibration tool for climate and weather models and is treated in a focused manner at climatological and meteorological research institutions around the world. It is also important for climate change research .

Phenological calendar

The occurrence of the phenological seasons is clearly different locally and also differs in the different years. For this reason alone, they do not coincide with the astronomical and meteorological seasons, which are linked to fixed start and end dates . In agriculture , however, it is precisely the phenological seasons that help the farmer to judge what work is necessary for his area.

For some events (for example apple blossom ) there are observations going back a long way from which conclusions can be drawn about the development of the climate in the 2nd millennium. For the 20th century, it can be said that the spring phases occur earlier and earlier, which, according to the current state of knowledge , can be traced back to the influences of global climate change .

Phenological indicator plants

Wild plants

Wild plants are selected according to the type of region if they can be observed frequently or easily:

Sycamore maple , common heather , birch , wood anemone , European larch , spruce , lilac , spring knot , hazelnut , bilberry , autumn crocus , dandelion , robinia , horse chestnut , red beech , willow , blackthorn , snowdrop , black elder , pedunculate oak , rowanberry (Mountain ash), forest strawberry , meadow ball-grass , winter linden

Phenology of the olive tree with BBCH code : a-50, b-51, c-54, d-57, e-60, f-65, g-67, h-68 (Oteros et al., 2013)

Crops

Crops from agriculture and fruit growing:

Apricot (apricot), cultivated apple , corn , plum / plum , rapeseed , red currant (currant), summer cereals ( barley , oats , rye , wheat ), sunflower , late potato , sweet cherry , grapevine , winter cereal , sugar beet

Ornamental plants

Ornamental plants in the garden, depending on the observation program, a certain ornamental variety is selected:

European pipe bush ( Philadelphus coronarius ), lilac ( Syringa vulgaris ), forsythia ( Forsythia suspensa ), autumn-flowering witch hazel ( Hamamelis virginiana ), witch hazel ( Hamamelis × intermedia )

Phenology of animal behavior

In addition, the behavior of animals is recorded, such as the first flight of the bees , the first butterfly ( small fox , small cabbage white butterfly , lemon butterfly ), the first cuckoo call , cockchafer or bird migration (the first barn swallow ), the awakening from hibernation , courtship behavior and other. In this way, on the one hand, the lack of a pointer plant or the regional or recorded change to another can be bridged and, on the other hand, the phenological phases can be extended to the period of vegetative winter dormancy as well as to extreme and high altitudes.

Phenological seasons of Central Europe

The phenological year is divided into ten physiologically and biologically based so-called “phenological seasons”, which are characterized by special phenological indicators ( lead phases ).

Early spring

For comparison: before flowering on January 3, 2018 ...
early hazel bloom in January 2018 after the thaw period

The early spring usually begins in late February or early March. It is displayed by the first flowering of hazelnut, snowdrops , black alder and willow , the full bloom of Winter jasmine in the Alps the expulsion of the sycamore. As soon as the excess winter moisture has disappeared from the soil, agricultural activity begins, which ends with the sowing of the summer grain.

First spring

The subsequent first spring is expressed by the flowering of forsythia , the leaf unfolding of gooseberries and currants , later the flowering of cherry , plum and pear , blackthorn and maple . The summer cereals open up, permanent grassland turns green. Leaves shoot, initially horse chestnut and birch , about a week later also red beech, linden and maple. The farmers start by planting potatoes and sowing sugar beets .

Full spring

The full spring is through the flowering of culture apple and lilac , later the raspberry marked. Full spring usually starts at the end of February in the southwest of Portugal and reaches Finland about 3600 km away about 90 days later . So in Europe it moves northwards at around 40 km per day. The pedunculate oaks shoot leaves. The sugar beets and potatoes grow in the fields, the winter grain that was already shot the previous year .

Early summer

Early summer usually falls in June. Grasses , meadow foxtail , black elder , hawthorn , forest goat's beard and Turkish poppy bloom . While the winter rye is already blooming, the other cereals show the first ears and panicles ( shoots ). Early summer is also the time of haymaking and, for many allergy sufferers, the beginning of the hay fever season.

Midsummer

In midsummer, summer linden , chicory and potatoes bloom , and currants ripen in the gardens . The most important agricultural event is the grain harvest , which begins with the cutting of the winter barley. This is followed by the harvest of winter rape, winter wheat and, finally, winter rye and oats.

late summer

Late summer in Mecklenburg

In late summer already numerous fruits such as ripe early apple , Amelanchier and early plum, but also the rowan. At the same time, the heather and autumn anemone begin to flower . The grain harvest is largely complete and the second hay harvest ( Grummet ) takes place.

Early fall

Finally, indicator plants for the beginning of early autumn are the now blooming autumn crocus and the onset of ripening of black elder and hazelnut. Pears and plums are now being harvested.

Full autumn

Pedunculate oak, horse chestnut, quince and walnut only ripen in full autumn . During this time, many wild trees also begin to discolor their leaves, including horse chestnut, red beech, oak , ash and self-climbing virgin vine ("wild wine"). The leaves of the cultivated trees (fruit trees) are already falling. Late potatoes, beets and apples are now harvested. The sowing of the winter grain begins.

late autumn

Late autumn in East Frisia

As soon as the wild trees (English oak, horse chestnut) shed their leaves, late autumn begins. The winter grain rises. As the temperatures drop, work in agriculture gradually ceases. With the end of the leaf fall, late autumn usually ends in mid to late November.

winter

In winter , all trees have lost their leaves (apart from trees that shed spring, such as some oaks or beeches and a few evergreen deciduous trees). The winter grain is running up. Incidentally, the vegetation is largely calm. The phenological winter runs approximately from late November / early December to mid / late February.

See also

literature

  • Claudio Defila: Plant Phenology of Switzerland. Swiss Meteorological Institute, Zurich 1991.
  • Egon Ihne: About Relationships Between Plant Phenology and Agriculture. German Agricultural Society, Berlin 1909.
  • Heinrich Hoffmann: Phenological observations. In: Reports of the German Botanical Society. 1886.
  • Jochem Nietzold: Phenology. From the rhythm of the plants' temporal body in the course of the year. Contributions to a cosmological biology. Mellinger, Stuttgart 1993, ISBN 3-88069-305-6 .
  • Fritz Schnelle : Plant Phenology. Academic Publishing Company, Leipzig 1955.
  • Franz Seyfert: Phenology. 2nd Edition. Westarp, Hohenwarsleben 2007, ISBN 978-3-89432-687-6 (reprint of the 1st edition Wittenberg Lutherstadt 1960).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG): Phenology and ZAMG. Online at Phenowatch.at, accessed on December 22, 2016.
  2. Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG): Plants, Animals and Climate Change. Online at Phenowatch.at, accessed on December 22, 2016.
  3. José Oteros, Herminia García-Mozo, Luis Vázquez, Antonio Mestre, Eugenio Domínguez-Vilches, Carmen Galán: Modeling olive phenological response to weather and topography. In: Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment. 179, 2013, pp. 62-68. Online at Researchgate.net, accessed December 28, 2016.
  4. José Oteros: Modelización del ciclo fenológico reproductor del olivo (Olea europaea L.). In: Tesis Doctoral (Dissertation), Universidad de Córdoba, España, January 2014. Online at Researchgate.net, accessed December 28, 2016.
  5. ^ Phenological seasons. On DWD , accessed on December 28, 2016.
  6. First bloom on zamg.ac.at.
  7. sprouting on zamg.ac.at.
  8. Climate and Environment - Phenology. Online at DWD.de, accessed on December 28, 2016.