Abstract
Collaborative networks that involve the compilation of observations from diverse sources can provide important data, but are difficult to maintain over long periods. The International Phenological Garden (IPG) network, begun in 1959 and still functioning 60 years later, has been no exception. Here we document its history, its monitored 23 species (initially all propagated by cloning), and the locations and years of data contribution of its 131 gardens, of which 63 from 19 countries contributed data in 2021. The decision to use clones, rather than multiple, locally adapted individuals, was based on the idea that this would “control” for genetic effects, and it affects the applicability of the data and duration of the network. We also describe the overlap among the IPG network, the Pan-European Phenology network (PEP725), and the phenological data offered by the German Weather Service. Sustainable data storage and accessibility, as well as the continued monitoring of all 23 species/clones, are under discussion at the moment, as is the fate of other phenological networks, despite a politically mandatory plant-based climate-change monitoring.
Highlights
Long-term ecological and environmental studies can contribute disproportionately to science and policy development (Hughes et al 2017; Magnuson and Waide 2021), and there is a growing demand for long time series especially in connection with climate change
Among the longest-running phenological networks are those of Japan, where phenological data have been gathered by the Japan Meteorological Agency since 1953 (Doi et al 2021), and countries in Europe, where phenological monitoring by the German Weather Service (DWD) goes back to 1922 (Kasper et al 2014), and the International Phenological Garden (IPG) network was established in 1959 (Schnelle and Volkert 1957, 1964, 1974; Chmielewski et al 2013; http://ipg.hu-berlin.deaccessed 1 June 2021)
The establishment of an international phenological observation program was decided at the first meeting of the Agrometeorological Commission of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1953 (Chmielewski et al 2013)
Summary
Long-term ecological and environmental studies can contribute disproportionately to science and policy development (Hughes et al 2017; Magnuson and Waide 2021), and there is a growing demand for long time series (i.e., data points indexed in time) especially in connection with climate change. Among the longest-running phenological networks are those of Japan, where phenological data have been gathered by the Japan Meteorological Agency since 1953 (Doi et al 2021), and countries in Europe, where phenological monitoring by the German Weather Service (DWD) goes back to 1922 (Kasper et al 2014), and the International Phenological Garden (IPG) network was established in 1959 (Schnelle and Volkert 1957, 1964, 1974; Chmielewski et al 2013; http://ipg.hu-berlin.deaccessed 1 June 2021).
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