PhenoChange: towards a dry tropics global phenological monitoring network

Abstract

PhenoChange will launch a trans-continental network to monitor plant phenology across the dry tropics. Currently, controls on the timing of leaf display and the associated fluxes of energy and matter are a major uncertainty in earth system modelling, particularly for the dry tropics, limiting projections of vegetation responses to climate change. Tropical dry biomes, which cover 18% of global landmass, are critical to climate-vegetation feedbacks but are still understudied. The recently launched IPCC Report 6 - WGII highlights the relevance of phenology and the persistent lack of information from tropical regions. Likewise, the UNEP Frontiers 2022 report includes phenology mismatches as a frontline research topic. A critical barrier to progress has been the lack of coordinated and geographically representative phenology data. New technologies, specifically near-surface phenology - the use of repeated images from digital cameras, or PhenoCams, present us with an opportunity to overcome this barrier. PhenoChange will provide the first cross-continent, standardised observations of the phenological behaviour of tropical dry vegetation, and lay the foundation for a broad, fundable network. (AU)