Project Budburst

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The Chicago Botanic Garden is asking volunteers to participate in a nationwide initiative, known as Project Budburst, to track climate change by recording the timing of the leafing and flowering of flowers and foliage. The project started as a three-month pilot program in Chicago in 2007 and has amassed nearly 5,000 observations from students, gardeners, and others citizen scientists to give researchers information about the response of plants to our changing climate. The program is coordinated in partnership with The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and the University of Montana.

» Budburst website

"Project Budburst" For NPR's Living On Earth News program
(Original air date: Week of February 15, 2008)

Kayri Havens, Ph.D., Medard and Elizabeth Welch Director, Institute for Plant Conservation, talks briefly about the importance of Project Budburst and tracking climate change.

Listen to interview (mp3) or Read the transcript

Citizen scientists work at the frontline of climate change research
The Takeaway, August 6, 2008

Kay Havens talks with John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji of The Takeaway about "global weirding" and "citizen scientist" network Project BudBurst, which uses everyday observers to collect climate change data related to the leafing and flowering of flora across the United States.

Listen to interview

early spring flowers Data indicated in 2008 that forsythia in Chicago opened their first flowers from April 17 to 19 — almost a week earlier than the 2007 flowering dates of April 23 to 25. “While we cannot say anything definitive about climate change with just two years of data, the first bloom for several species was earlier in 2008 than 2007. This is what we would expect as temperatures warm. Many people may welcome an earlier spring, but plants could be in trouble if they bloom before their pollinators are present,” said Dr. Kayri Havens, director of the Division of Plant Science and Conservation at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Overall, 4,861 observations were reported online in 2008 from participants in every state except Hawaii.

"Plants provide a wonderful context for learning about the environment,” says Project Budburst's Sandra Henderson, director of UCAR's Office of Education and Outreach. “They respond to changes in temperature and precipitation, which are things that climate scientists are very interested in. By observing plants, our volunteers are providing information about our climate that would otherwise not be available."

early spring flowers "Project Budburst is a fantastic way for people of all ages to reconnect with the natural world. Getting outside and observing plants is not only fun but can provide valuable data for scientists studying how plants will respond to climate change,” Dr. Havens said.

When Havens and Henderson analyzed observations from the last two years, they found some other interesting comparisons. In 2008, for example, flowering dogwood in Wadsworth, Ohio, reached full bloom on May 8, 2008, which was two weeks earlier than in 2007.

Havens and Henderson warned, however, that they could not draw any results about global warming from just two years of data. Scientists will have to analyze observations for many years in order to distinguish the effects of long-term climate trends from year-to-year variations in weather.

“We will need volunteers to make observations for a number of years before we can fill in an accurate picture about the impact of climate change on our landscape,” Henderson says.

How the project works

Each participant in Project Budburst selects one or more plants to observe. The project website www.budburst.org suggests more than 75 widely distributed trees and flowers, with information on each. Users can add their own choices.

early spring flowers Participants begin checking their plants at least a week prior to the average date of budburst — the point when the buds have opened and leaves are visible. After budburst, participants continue to observe the tree or flower for later events, such as seed dispersal. When participants submit their records online, they can view maps of these “phenophases” (plant life-cycle stages like first flower or first fruit) across the United States.

“When these data are collected for many years in a row, they reveal hints about how variations in the weather affect plants and animals in our environment,” says Carol Brewer, University of Montana biology professor. “When we have data for many years, we can look for signals of climate change in the timing of leafing and flowering.”

The science of phenology, or tracking cyclic behavior among plants and animals, has a distinguished history. For centuries farmers, naturalists, and scientists have kept careful records of the phenology patterns of plants and animals. Farmers have long used their phenology knowledge to predict the best time for planting and harvesting crops and when to start expecting problems with insect pests.

A warming trend

PHOTO: flowering shrub

Numerous plant and animal species throughout the world are being affected by climate change. Some plants respond to warmer temperatures by extending their growing seasons. Others shift their ranges toward the poles or to higher elevations.

At the same time, many insects breed and disperse based on regular cycles of sunlight rather than temperature. This can cause a mismatch between the behavior of pollinating insects, such as bees, and flowers that bloom earlier than the insects expect. Such asynchronous behavior has already been noted across many parts of the world.

Project Budburst is funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, National Ecological Observatory Network, National Geographic Education Foundation, and U.S. Forest Service. The USA National Phenology Network is one of Project Budburst’s partners. The project is also supported by the National Science Foundation and is hosted on Windows to the Universe, a UCAR-based educational website.