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Neufeld, Howard [1], Hove, Alisa [2], Rhode-Ward, Jennifer [3].

Timing is Everything! Using Phenology to Stimulate Interest by Undergraduate Students in the Plant Sciences and Climate Change.

Phenology, the timing of life history events, can be tracked in a straightforward manner by undergraduates, graduate students, and citizen scientists, and the data garnered by such monitoring can yield important insights into the effects of both interannual variability and long-term climate shifts on plant responses. Phenological studies also provide opportunities to engage students in plant science research, and to help stimulate their interests in plants, thus acting to reduce botany bias in the curriculum. Furthermore, the collection of data in an ongoing manner can allow future generations of students to perform retrospective studies on phenological changes experienced since earlier students collected the same data in previous years, often on the same plants. In this workshop, funded in part by a National Science Foundation grant to faculty collaborating from three liberal arts and Masters-granting institutions, participants will receive example lab modules for teaching plant phenology to undergraduate students. The modules have a focus on the applicability of phenological research to climate change science. We will explore the use of phenology gardens established in both old-field and forest understory locations, using native herbaceous plants, all grown from the same source populations, to examine climate-environment interactions. We will also describe the development of phenology trails on two campuses for following the phenology of tree species and will provide guidelines for those wishing to create their own gardens and trails. We will also discuss how the data collected by students can be input to the National Phenological Network and Nature’s Notebook phenological data portals.
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1 - Appalachian State University, Biology, 572 Rivers St., Boone, NC, 28608, United States
2 - Warren Wilson College, Biology , 701 Warren Wilson Rd, Swannanoa, NC, 28778, United States
3 - University of North Carolina at Asheville, Biology, 1 University Heights, CPO #2040, Asheville, NC, 28804, USA

Keywords:
phenology
climate change
interdisciplinary research.

Presentation Type:
Session: W12, Timing is Everything! Using Phenology to Stimulate Interest by Undergraduate Students in the Plant Sciences and Climate Change
Location: San Luis 2/Starr Pass
Date: Sunday, July 28th, 2019
Time: 1:00 PM
Number: W12001
Abstract ID:54
Candidate for Awards:None


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