A colleague of mine at Boston University is asking the public to submit observations of tree “leaf out” times this spring from across New England to better understand the impacts of climate change on plants and birds. I thought I would post the announcement on VFTT as I imagine some folks here might be interested in participating. Please see the message below for details:
Field Station Concordia and the New England Leaf Out Project have teamed up on a citizen science project to collect leaf out times. We are investigating the effects of climate change on the tree species of New England. Using both remote sensing and direct observations, we will monitor leaf out times across the region, and whether trees leaf out earlier now than they did in the past due to warming temperatures.
We hope you will help us gather observations of leaf out times this spring to add to the available database of current and historical observations.
If you live in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island or Connecticut, all you need to do is:
• Find one or more trees from our list of common tree species in a place that you visit regularly
• This spring, starting in mid April in Connecticut and late April, May, and early June elsewhere, check your tree every couple of days, and look for the first signs of leaf out
• Submit your observations by clicking: (http://leaf-out.fieldstation.net)
In this study, we count a new leaf when it has emerged from the bud and its final shape is mostly visible. These young leaves often have a soft or translucent quality to them, and may not yet be green. Please do not report observations of leaves that have reached their full size. Our website has pictures of young leaves and aids to identification.
That's it! Feel free to contact us if you have questions. If you are interested in expanding your observations, please read below. We look forward to seeing your observations streaming in in the coming weeks. Thanks!
Please send this request on to other people might be interested.
Sincerely,
Richard Primack and Libby Ellwood (Boston University)
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Jane Marsching and Matt Shanley at Massachusetts College of Art and Design
Field Station Concordia and the New England Leaf Out Project have teamed up on a citizen science project to collect leaf out times. We are investigating the effects of climate change on the tree species of New England. Using both remote sensing and direct observations, we will monitor leaf out times across the region, and whether trees leaf out earlier now than they did in the past due to warming temperatures.
We hope you will help us gather observations of leaf out times this spring to add to the available database of current and historical observations.
If you live in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island or Connecticut, all you need to do is:
• Find one or more trees from our list of common tree species in a place that you visit regularly
• This spring, starting in mid April in Connecticut and late April, May, and early June elsewhere, check your tree every couple of days, and look for the first signs of leaf out
• Submit your observations by clicking: (http://leaf-out.fieldstation.net)
In this study, we count a new leaf when it has emerged from the bud and its final shape is mostly visible. These young leaves often have a soft or translucent quality to them, and may not yet be green. Please do not report observations of leaves that have reached their full size. Our website has pictures of young leaves and aids to identification.
That's it! Feel free to contact us if you have questions. If you are interested in expanding your observations, please read below. We look forward to seeing your observations streaming in in the coming weeks. Thanks!
Please send this request on to other people might be interested.
Sincerely,
Richard Primack and Libby Ellwood (Boston University)
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Jane Marsching and Matt Shanley at Massachusetts College of Art and Design
