You may have heard talk of plants flowering earlier as a result of our warming climate. Phenology, the study of seasonal cycles in biology, can help us to understand the effects of climate change. For instance, warmer winters may lead to a shortening of the ‘rest’ period in plants. We would like to know how climate change is affecting the plants in Cambridge University Botanic Garden and if they can adapt, survive and even thrive.
We are recording the seasonal changes of around 90 trees and woody plants in our collection to help us understand the effects of climate change. Our goal is to provide information that can be used to protect and conserve plants for the future.
Measuring seasonal changes
Timelapse slideshow showing seasonal changes of the Dawn Redwood, Metasequoia glyptostroboides
(credit: James Moulang)
Each week, our phenology coordinator and a group of volunteers observe, measure and record leaf, flower and fruit development, leaf tinting and leaf loss on selected trees and shrubs here in the Garden. They record both native and non-native plants and three or more plants per species where possible.
Scroll through to see some of our seasonal observations:
These observations, combined with data from the weather station in the Garden, should help us to understand how climate change is affecting the plants in the Garden.
Why we collect phenology data
The CUBG phenology project began in 2020, with the collection of autumn data and from 2022, full year data collection began. We aim to share our findings with visitors and with the teams looking after the plants – to help them care for plants and to plan for the future. We also aim to share our data with other phenology projects around the world to increase knowledge of how climate change is affecting native and non-native plants.
It may take 10- 20 years to see real changes in plant behaviour. Our goal is to provide information that can be used to protect and conserve plants for the future.
Our trees, such as the Sycamore, show year-to-year differences in the timing of leaf loss. Some of the trees, including our Alders (Alnus glutinosa), have kept their leaves later into the autumn in more recent years.
Visit us to learn more
When you visit the Garden, look out for the green phenology badges hanging on the trees which are part of this project and keep an eye on their seasonal changes yourself. On Wednesday and Friday mornings you may see the team in action, recording our observations, do come over to ask questions or find out more!
We are also sharing our seasonal observations by posting them on our CUBG Phenology Instagram feed. We hope this will inspire you to go outside where you live and look at the natural environment, learn about the plants with us and see how they are changing with the seasons. Please do follow us on Instagram!
