Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 117, Issue 8, Pages 4228-4233Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1911117117
Keywords
phenology; urbanization; temperature response; urban heat island
Categories
Funding
- Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Scientific Focus Area (TES SFA) project
- Reducing Uncertainties in Biogeochemical Interactions through Synthesis and Computing Scientific Focus Area (RUBISCO SFA) project
- Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM) project - US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research
- Office of Science of the DOE [DE-AC05-00OR22725]
- NASA Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES) Climate Indicators and Data Products for Future National Climate Assessments (INCA) Program [NNH14ZDA001N-INCA]
- Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) Program [NNH19ZDA005K]
- NSF, through the Macrosystems Biology program [DEB-1702697]
- DOE [DE-AC05-00OR22725]
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Urbanization has caused environmental changes, such as urban heat islands (UHIs), that affect terrestrial ecosystems. However, how and to what extent urbanization affects plant phenology remains relatively unexplored. Here, we investigated the changes in the satellite-derived start of season (SOS) and the covariation between SOS and temperature (R-T) in 85 large cities across the conterminous United States for the period 2001-2014. We found that 1) the SOS came significantly earlier (6.1 +/- 6.3 d) in 74 cities and R-T was significantly weaker (0.03 +/- 0.07) in 43 cities when compared with their surrounding rural areas (P < 0.05); 2) the decreased magnitude in R-T mainly occurred in cities in relatively cold regions with an annual mean temperature <17.3 degrees C (e.g., Minnesota, Michigan, and Pennsylvania); and 3) the magnitude of urban-rural difference in both SOS and R-T was primarily correlated with the intensity of UHI. Simulations of two phenology models further suggested that more and faster heat accumulation contributed to the earlier SOS, while a decrease in required chilling led to a decline in R-T magnitude in urban areas. These findings provide observational evidence of a reduced covariation between temperature and SOS in major US cities, implying the response of spring phenology to warming conditions in nonurban environments may decline in the warming future.
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