New RISCC Research to Practice Paper: Shifting Phenology and Windows of Opportunity for Control

A new RISCC Research to Practice paper by a team of authors including Daniel Buonaiuto and Toni Lyn Morelli discusses the relationship between climate change and phenology, the timing of seasonal life-cycle events such as leafout, flowering, fruiting, and senescence. Planning management activities around these critical aspects of plant growth and reproduction is important for effective invasive species management. At the same time, changes in phenology due to a warming climate are one of the most pronounced indicators of climate change to date, prompting invasive species practitioners to re-think the timing of their management activities. By reviewing the existing literature, the authors identify the ways that phenology is shifting, and how these shifts can complicate the timing of effective invasive species management. The paper articulates potential strategies for responding to the phenological shifts of invasive species and highlights the importance of ongoing researcher-practitioner collaborations to predict phenological shifts and match the timing of management activities accordingly in a rapidly changing climate. 

Management Implications:

• Calendar-based timelines may no longer reflect the target life cycle and need reconsideration
• Funding (e.g., fiscal year) and personnel availability (e.g., school year for seasonal workers) may no longer align with optimal timing
• Shifting phenology could produce unintended impacts of treatment on native species
• Longer growing seasons may extend the management window for some species
• Windows for certain management actions such as prescribed fire, will change, often becoming shorter or harder to predict
• Closer monitoring of environmental cues is needed to track and predict phenological stages and to adjust management accordingly.