Meet the Scientists: Plant Phenology

Hello, I am Dr. Frank-M. Chmielewski, one of the GLOBE Principal Investigators for the GLOBE Plant Phenology Investigation. I live in Germany, and this is where I studied Meteorology. Now, I am the chair of the Subdivision of Agricultural Meteorology at Humboldt-University of Berlin. I teach courses in Meteorology, Climatology, and Agro-meteorology.

For many years I have been interested in climate impact studies. I find it interesting to see how plants react to climate changes. In my research I try to find relationships between trends in climatic data and changes in plant development. Phenological observations are one of the most sensitive indicators of climate impacts on vegetation in mid-latitudes.

In Europe, I am coordinating a phenological network of more than 50 Phenological Gardens in several countries: The International Phenological Gardens (IPG) has used these garden observations to define the beginning, end, and length of the growing seasons across Europe. We have found a significant trend for an earlier start of the growing season since the end of the 1980s. This corresponds well to changes in air temperature. Please look at the IPG Web site to learn more, http://www.agrar.hu-berlin.de/pflanzenbau/agrarmet/ipg.html

As co-chair of the Phenology Study Group of the International Society of Biometeorology, I am also involved in the Global Phenological Monitoring Programme. The Phenological Garden that I developed for the GLOBE Program (GLOBE Phenology Garden, GPG) is part of this international network.

In Germany we have already established several of these GPGs. I hope that in the future more and more schools in different countries are interested to join this observation program. Your observations can help to better understand the interactions between atmosphere and biosphere.