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Analyzing nearly four decades of archival footage of the Tour of Flanders, researchers at the University of Ghent were able to detect the impacts of climate change on trees. Their results were published today in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution .
Focusing on the trees and shrubs that grow around the climbs and recognizable landmarks along this great annual cycling race in Belgium, the team watched video footage from 1981 to 2016 obtained by the Flemish broadcaster VRT. They visually estimated how many leaves and flowers were present on the day of the course (usually in early April) and linked their scores to climate data.
Ecologists have found that trees have advanced the timing of flowering in response to recent temperature changes. Before 1990, almost no trees had sprouted at the time of the spring race. After this year, more and more trees visible on television pictures – especially magnolia, hawthorn, charms and birches – were already in full leaf.
These changes were more closely related to the higher mean temperatures in the region, which have increased by 1.5 ° C since 1980.
"Early-leafed trees can be good news for some species because they grow faster and produce more wood, "says Professor Pieter De Frenne from the University of Ghent, lead author of this study. "However, their leaves also project shadows: when trees rinse earlier in the year, they darken longer, affecting other animals and plants, or even whole ecosystems." [19659002] "Some flowers grow under these trees As a result, insects can do without nectar and may have trouble finding enough spots to tan," he adds.
Phenology – the study of natural phenomena that recur periodically, such as leafing and flowering – is mainly based on long-term observations and repeated photographs, the data being often biased in favor of natural phenomena. common species or geographical areas. In this study, archival footage allowed researchers to use previously untapped records of twelve tree species in the Flanders region to construct long-term phenological data sets.
"Our method could also be used to collect data on other important aspects for ecological or evolutionary research, such as tree health, water levels in rivers and lakes and the spread of invasive species, we can predict the future effects of climate change on species and ecosystems ", comments De Frenne
The television images of bicycle races are well suited for research because they have relatively fixed routes and are organized around the globe. De Frenne points out that researchers could also take advantage of video material from other annual sporting events such as marathons, golf tournaments and rally races, or even news coverage featuring outdoor concerts or emblematic monuments surrounded by trees.
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