A new perspective on tree growing season determination

Abstract

Defining plant development timing through seasonal growth and dormancy phases is a valuable proxy for studying climate change and serves as an annual bioindicator. However, current methods for determining the growing season vary due to species-specific interpretations and differing understandings of its main drivers. Körner et al. (2023) introduced four non-interchangeable definitions of growing seasons to clarify this complex issue. While some studies have paired different methods, none have simultaneously applied a full set of methods at the individual tree or species level. Here, I aim to present a new perspective to understanding growing season timing by focusing on all facets of above-ground tree growth and measurable biological and phenological markers. This approach calls for simultaneous, continuous monitoring during active and dormancy periods on the same trees and across different species at a large spatial scale. The goal is to comprehensively understand each method's errors, temporal lags, and the factors determining each growing season, as defined by Körner et al. (2023, Ecology Letters, 26, 1277). Accurate estimation of growing season timing can reshape our understanding of its environmental drivers, improve terrestrial ecosystem models, assess the impact of climate change on tree growth, determine the biological zero for various species, verify remote sensing indices and forecast species distribution.