Improve invasive plant management using climate based phenology models

Background

Plant phenology is the study of plant life cycle events. Understanding phenology is important for predicting the annual timing of key plant growth stages like flowering or seed development, which are controlled by environmental factors like temperature and sunlight availability.

Currently, management activities tend to use calendar days for predicting phenology and timing of management. However, phenology is strongly regulated by temperature. Thus, scheduling management using temperature-based predictions of phenology could be more effective. 

The goal of this research is to develop better information on the timing of life cycle events and how they relate to temperature on two priority invasive species: wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) and Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum). With the help of citizen scientists, researchers are creating publicly available phenology maps for wild parsnip and Japanese knotweed.

Research questions

• How do temperature and photoperiod affect the phenologies of wild parsnip and Japanese knotweed in Minnesota?
• When are important phenological events for wild parsnip and Japanese knotweed likely to occur in different parts of Minnesota?

Practical implications

Phenology models will help land managers understand the developmental timeline of destructive invasive weeds like Japanese knotweed and wild parsnip in their non-native, Minnesota environment. Ultimately, this information will help match biology to treatment to improve management outcomes. MITPPC partners and stakeholders will be able to use an online tool to get predictions of the expected dates when wild parsnip and Japanese knotweed will reach key stages for effective control.

Publications

• Species-specific flowering phenology responses to experimental warming and drought alter herbaceous plant species overlap in a temperate–boreal forest community (Annals of Botany, 2021) (not funded by MITPPC)

News and media

• Meet the Researcher: Byju Govindan

Outreach

• Pesky Plant Trackers citizen science program

Header image credit: "Wild parsnip (poisonous)" by Charlie Day is licensed under CC-BY-ND 2.0