Divergent responses of spring phenology to daytime and nighttime warming

Journal Article · Sat Feb 15 04:00:00 EST 2020 · Agricultural and Forest Meteorology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.107832· OSTI ID:1574878

Meng, Lin ^[1]; Zhou, Yuyu ^[1]; Li, Xuecao ^[1]; Asrar, Ghassem R. ^[2]; Mao, Jiafu ^[3]; Wanamaker Jr., Alan D. ^[1]; Wang, Yeqiao ^[4]

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1. Iowa State University
2. BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)
3. OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LAB
4. University of Rhode Island

Spring phenology (i.e., start of season, SOS) has shifted earlier in response to warmer temperatures. However, the respective influences of daytime and nighttime temperatures on SOS changes remain poorly understood. Here we characterized the responses of satellite-derived SOS to minimum temperature (Tmin) and maximum temperature (Tmax) across Appalachian Trail regions in the Eastern United States during 2000-2013. We found SOS responded differently to Tmin and Tmax at 81.5% of the study area. Furthermore, the SOS responses to Tmin and Tmax both changed across space, and specifically, these two responses showed significant divergent trends from cold to warm regions (P<0.001). We propose a new framework utilizing both Tmin and Tmax, instead of daily average temperature, in modeling phenology. This study, for the first time, disentangled phenological responses to daytime temperature from nighttime temperature across a wide range of temperatures. The findings suggest that model projections of future phenological changes should incorporate the divergent phenology responses to daytime and nighttime temperatures, in order to improve the representation of land-atmosphere interactions in Earth system models in light of asymmetric diurnal warming.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1574878
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-143593
• Journal Information: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Journal Name: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Vol. 281
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

asymmetric warming
temperature sensitivity
Appalachian Trail