Speaker
Description
Mongolia is increasingly affected by climate change, particularly through rising average temperatures and altered precipitation patterns. Plant phenology, which is highly sensitive to these climatic factors, serves as an important indicator of ecological responses to climate change. While remote sensing studies have revealed a lengthening of the growing season - marked by earlier onset and later end dates - species-specific phenological responses in Mongolia remain largely unstudied.
To address this gap, we conducted a 12-year study in Hustai National Park, monitoring plant phenology of seven focus species across seven sites. In addition to analysing how changes in temperature and precipitation affect phenology, we measured plant functional traits related to competition and growth rate - canopy height, plant width, aboveground biomass, chlorophyll fluorescence, and specific leaf area - over two consecutive years to assess their influence on phenological patterns.
While data analysis is still ongoing, preliminary results indicate an earlier start and a later end of growth in most species, suggesting an overall extension of the growing season. In contrast, the onset of flowering shows no significant change over time, while the end of flowering occurs earlier. At the same time, spring temperatures tend to increase while spring precipitation decreases. In contrast, summer temperatures remain stable, but summer precipitation shows an increasing trend. Although final analyses are still pending, the initial results indicate that temperature, rather than precipitation, is the primary driver of the onset of the growing season.
The final results of this study will provide insights into the key climatic drivers influencing plant phenology in Mongolian steppe ecosystems and the extent of their impact. Additionally, the study will reveal the degree to which functional traits determine species-specific phenological responses to changing climatic conditions.
| Status Group | Doctoral Researcher |
|---|---|
| Poster Presentation Option | No, I prefer to present only as a talk. |
