Results Overview: In the spring of 2018 at Wildwood Park in Radford, VA, we observed the various phenophase expressions of native ephemeral wild flower species. The phenophases that we observed consisted of initial growth, increasing leaf size, flower buds, open flowers, fruits present, ripe fruits, and fruit / seed drop. We have chosen a few of these phenophases and created pivot tables and visualization calendars based on our results to express the information obtained during our project. The calendars shown below depict some of the comparisons that we thought were the most interesting and informative. If you want to create a calendar like the ones below to compare other phenophases or species, like us, you may also use the visualization tool at The National Phenology Network.
This calendar shows the initial growth of our four main wildflower species compared between 2017 and 2018. Most of our species began growth between the beginning of March and end of April. This gives us somewhat of an idea of when spring ephemerals might begin to popup. It's important to start keeping track now, especially with the projected climate to change rapidly. Having an idea now will help scientist better understand the threats and risks spring ephemerals face.
This calendar compares the timing of three native wildflowers found in the Appalachian Region to the timing of open leaves on the Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) which is an invasive plant. You can clearly see in this calendar that Multiflora Rose has fully developed leaves long before any of the Wildflowers have began initial growth. This symbolizes that invasive plants have an advantage over many native wildflowers in the area and could possibly effect the growth ability of many of these native wildflowers. This data helps us answer one of the main questions initially presented at the start of this project, Are invasive species like Rosa multiflora, which has dense foliage and is much taller and larger than our native wildflowers, threatening the livelihood of our native species? The answer, based on the data collected/analyzed, is yes.
This calendar is comparing four native spring ephemeral initial growth phenophases to the invasive Amur Honeysuckle (Lonicera mackii) leaf phenophase. You can see that the leaves of the invasive plant are already completely leafed out, and you can expect that it is blocking sunlight to the ground. Amur Honeysuckle is extremely common and can be found along the paved pathway in Wildwood park, Radford Va. Since the initial growth of our wildflowers are occurring after leaf-out, we can expect that this invasive plant will be a threat to the livelihood of spring ephemerals.
This calendar compares the timing of three native wildflowers found in the Appalachian Region to the timing of open leaves on the Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) which is an native plant. You can see that the native Redbud does not have open leaves before the initial growth of the wildflowers unlike the invasive species we looked at. This symbolizes that native plants have do not have an advantage over many native wildflowers in the area unlike the invasive species that possibly do.
Page created by Zakk Moorman, Leah Cort, Matt Cooley, and Nicholle Johnson.