2008-05    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 14, 2008

Volunteers Across Nation to Track Climate Clues in Spring Flowers

Contacts:

David Hosansky, NCAR/UCAR Media Relations
303-497-8611
hosansky@ucar.edu

Rachael Drummond, NCAR/UCAR Media Relations
303-497-8604
rachaeld@ucar.edu

For additional contacts, see below.

BOULDER--A nationwide initiative starting tomorrow will enable
volunteers to track climate change by observing the timing of flowers
and foliage. Project BudBurst, operated by the University Corporation
for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and a team of partners, allows
students, gardeners, and other citizen scientists in every state to
enter their observations into an online database that will give
researchers a detailed picture of our warming climate.

The project will operate year round so that early- and late-blooming
species in different parts of the country can be monitored throughout
their life cycles. Project BudBurst builds on a pilot program carried
out last spring, when several thousand participants recorded the
timing of the leafing and flowering of hundreds of plant species
in 26 states.

The Chicago Botanic Garden and University of Montana are collaborators
on Project BudBurst, which was funded with a grant from the U.S. Bureau
of Land Management and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The
project is also supported by the National Science Foundation and
Windows to the Universe, a UCAR-based Web site that will host the
project online as part of its citizen science efforts.

"Climate change may be affecting our backyards and communities in ways
that we don't even notice," says project coordinator Sandra Henderson
of UCAR's Office of Education and Outreach. "Project BudBurst is
designed to help both adults and children understand the changing
relationship among climate, seasons, and plants, while giving the
participants the tools to communicate their observations to others.
Based on the success of last year's pilot program, this project is
capturing the public's imagination in a way we never expected."

"Project BudBurst provides an exciting opportunity for the public,
particularly children, to contribute to scientific research on the
effects of global climate change on plants," adds Kayri Havens, a
senior scientist with the Chicago Botanic Garden.

-----How the project works-----

Each participant in Project BudBurst selects one or more plants to
observe. The project Web site suggests more than 60 widely distributed
trees and flowers, with information on each. Users can add their own
choices.

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 the first leaf, first
flower and, eventually, seed dispersal. When participants submit their
records online, they can view maps of these phenological events across
the United States.

The science of phenology, or tracking cyclic behavior among plants and
animals, has a distinguished history. In Japan and China, for example,
the blossoming of cherry and peach trees is associated with ancient
festivals, some of which extend back more than a thousand years. Cherry
trees in Japan now bloom four days earlier than in the 1950s, according
to the nation's meteorological agency.

-----A warming trend-----

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.

Along with the partners noted above, Project BudBurst collaborators
include the Plant Conservation Alliance; USA-National Phenology
Network; and the universities of Arizona; California, Santa Barbara;
Wisconsin-Milwaukee; and Wisconsin-Madison.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research is a consortium of
70 universities offering Ph.D.s in the atmospheric and related
sciences. UCAR manages the National Center for Atmospheric Research
(NCAR) and the UCAR Office of Programs (UOP).

-The End-

Additional contacts:

Sandra Henderson, UCAR Education and Outreach
303-497-8108
sandrah@ucar.edu

Gloria Ciaccio, Chicago Botanic Garden Public Relations
847-835-6819
gciaccio@chicagobotanic.org

On the Web:

Project Budburst
http://www.budburst.org

Resources for journalists:
http://www.ucar.edu/news/journalists.jsp

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