Phenology Across Scales: An Intercontinental Analysis of Leaf-Out Dates in Temperate Deciduous Tree Communities

Aim

To quantify the intra-community variability of leaf-out (ICVLo) among dominant trees in temperate deciduous forests, assess its links with specific and phylogenetic diversity, identify its environmental drivers and deduce its ecological consequences with regard to radiation received and exposure to late frost.

Location

Eastern North America (ENA) and Europe (EUR).

Time Period

2009–2022.

Major Taxa Studied

Temperate deciduous forest trees.

Methods

We developed an approach to quantify ICVLo through the analysis of RGB images taken from phenological cameras. We related ICVLo to species richness, phylogenetic diversity and environmental conditions. We quantified the intra-community variability of the amount of radiation received and of exposure to late frost.

Results

Leaf-out occurred over a longer time interval in ENA than in EUR. The sensitivity of leaf-out to temperature was identical in both regions (−3.4 days per °C). The distributions of ICVLo were similar in EUR and ENA forests, despite the latter being more species-rich and phylogenetically diverse. In both regions, cooler conditions and an earlier occurrence of leaf-out resulted in higher ICVLo. ICVLo resulted in ca. 8% difference of radiation received from leaf-out to September among individual trees. Forest communities in ENA had shorter safety margins as regards the exposure to late frosts, and were actually more frequently exposed to late frosts.

Main Conclusions

We conducted the first intercontinental analysis of the variability of leaf-out at the scale of tree communities. North American and European forests showed similar ICVLo, in spite of their differences in terms of species richness and phylogenetic diversity, highlighting the relevance of environmental controls on ICVLo. We quantified two ecological implications of ICVLo (difference in terms of radiation received and exposure to late frost), which should be explored in the context of ongoing climate change, which affects trees differently according to their phenological niche.