Speaker
Description
Plant phenology is a key determinant of species performance and ecosystem functioning. While most phenological studies focus on individual species, assemblage-level patterns remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated how temperature and species’ habitat preferences shape the synchrony of vegetative and reproductive phenology among perennial herbaceous assemblages across temperate regions.
We analysed a dataset comprising phenological observations of 510 perennial herbaceous species recorded between 2020 and 2025 in 17 botanical gardens across the Northern Hemisphere. These gardens represent artificial assemblages spanning a mean annual temperature gradient of 15 °C. We quantified synchrony of three phenophases—leaf unfolding, flowering onset, and whole flowering—using circular statistics. Additionally, we grouped species into ecologically coherent groups based on habitat preferences (light, water, and nitrogen availability) to assess adaptations to environmental influences on synchrony.
Leaf unfolding was consistently more synchronous within assemblages than reproductive phenology. Synchrony in all three phenophases declined significantly with increasing temperature across the studied gradient, independent of species composition and species richness. Furthermore, species associated with resource-poor habitats exhibited higher synchrony in flowering phenology, whereas leaf unfolding synchrony did not vary among habitats.
Our study provides novel large-scale evidence that warming alters not only the individual timing but also the coordination of phenological events within multispecies assemblages. The findings indicate that warming-induced declines in phenological synchrony may have consequences for biotic interactions in natural plant communities. The influence of habitat preferences highlights the role of evolutionary adaptation in shaping phenological responses.
| Status Group | Postdoctoral Researcher |
|---|---|
| FOR TALKS: Poster Presentation Option | Yes, I’m willing to present as a poster. |