PlantWatch blossoms in the Yukon
Plants are the most underrated, under-appreciated organisms on earth, says Lori Schroeder passionately.
"What could exist without plants? Nothing!"
 |
|
Kinnikinnick flowers act like tiny greenhouses.
(photo: Royal Botanical Gardens,
courtesy of PlantWatch) |
They feed us, clothe us, produce the oxygen we breathe, and perform many other vital functions in the world's ecosystems, she explains. And they have developed endless, delightful variations of design and survival strategy.
The tiny flowers of the bearberry, or kinnikinnick, are a prime example, says Schroeder. The flowers, shaped like little urns, hang upside down from their stems with their mouths toward the ground. Near the base or sunward side of each flower is a tiny clear window that allows light into the blossom's sheltered interior.
"It's a little greenhouse," she explains. "What a neat idea!"
It's also an example of what draws Schroeder to watch and study plants.
"I just find them utterly fascinating."
That fascination led Schroeder to take on the Yukon coordination of PlantWatch, a Canada-wide program jointly sponsored by Environment Canada and the Canadian Nature Federation. PlantWatch volunteers track the first spring blossoming of a small selection of plants, most of which grow wild in many parts of the country.
The idea, says Schroeder, is to use the seasonal changes, or phenology, of plants to track long-term trends in the environment, particularly climate change and climate variability. Records of the flowering date of a few species, collected over many years and at many different locations, can reveal patterns like a lengthening growing season or multi-year cycles in temperatures.
Because plants are so important to other organisms in the ecosystem, the timing of plant growth and flowering has ripple effects on the species that depend on them.
If plants flower early, for example, will the insects that depend on them start their seasonal cycle early too, or will the insects emerge too late to catch the blooms? If plants sprout and flower late, large plant-eaters like caribou can go hungry and start their breeding season in poor physical condition, making them much more vulnerable to disease and predators.
Hundreds of observations from PlantWatch volunteers across Canada have been entered into a national database over the past few years. The information is available to researchers and to anyone who logs into the national PlantWatch website.
Volunteers in the Yukon have been collecting and submitting data for the past three years. It will take several more years before the data can reveal trends, says Schroeder. It would also be helpful to have more people watching for those first blooms.
"It's very simple, really," says Schroeder.
First you find a spot where one of the listed plants grows, somewhere well away from the warming influence of buildings. Most of the plants on the list are easy to find. They include wildflowers like crocus, lupine, or dandelion, berry bushes like cranberry or saskatoon, and trees like aspen and larch.
Once you've picked your plant and your location, you mark out a square metre of ground that encloses a good patch of the plant. Sticking a twig at each corner of the plot is usually enough to make sure you can find it again.
And then you keep watch, walking by your plot every day or two in the spring to see how the plants are developing. During the short blooming period, daily visits are best.
"It just needs a little consistency for about a week," says Schroeder.
PlantWatch volunteers record two dates: first bloom and mid bloom. First bloom is counted when the first flowers have opened in at least three different places in the monitored patch. Mid bloom means that half the flowers have opened.
The two dates are entered each year in the national database, either through an Internet submission form or by mail. Over time, the accumulation of dates will help our understanding of how the natural world responds to climate change, Schroeder says.
It's not too late to take part in this year's PlantWatch observations in the Yukon, and Schroeder is still looking for volunteers. The only listed plants that have bloomed already are the crocus and aspen. That leaves more than a dozen plants to choose from, including some that don't bloom until late June.
- Complete instructions on how to be a PlantWatch volunteer, along with a handy plant identification guide geared specifically to the North, are available from the Yukon Conservation Society in Whitehorse. Detailed instructions are also available on the PlantWatch website at www.plantwatch.ca.
- For more information about PlantWatch, contact the Yukon's PlantWatch coordinator at plantwatch@ycs.yk.ca or (867) 668-5678.
