Yup, it's just the common forsythia, but it's one of 10 plants that's providing important clues to confirm the fact that climate change is indeed underway. Since 2007, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), in cooperation with the Chicago Botanic Garden and many other organizations, has been collecting data from volunteers around the country who monitor the date each year that plants burst into flower.
According to UCAR, volunteers in Chicago who have been watching 15 plants for the past four years have observed that seven of them are flowering earlier this year than at any time in the past 50 years. The results, however, must be confirmed in coming years to compile a more complete picture of what's actually happening. Project Director Sandra Henderson of UCAR said that the project will need volunteers "to make observations for a number of years before we can fill in an accurate picture about the impact of climate change on our landscape."
In addition to the forsythia, the other plants on UCAR's top ten list to monitor are the Red Maple, Black Cottonwood, Redosier Dogwood, Chokecherry, Common Lilac, Mayapple, Virginia Bluebells, Spiderwort and Red Columbine.
So far, participants in Project Budburst have made more than 10 thousand observations so there's a good baseline for future studies. And since more volunteers are welcome, just sign up on the project's website.
(image: Forsythia 'Magical,' Monrovia)
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