8 million phenological and sky images from 29 ecosystems from the Arctic to the tropics: the Phenological Eyes Network

• Published in: Ecological Research
• Main Authors: Nagai, Shin, Akitsu, Tomoko, Saitoh, Taku M., Busey, Robert C., Fukuzawa, Karibu, Honda, Yoshiaki, Ichie, Tomoaki, Ide, Reiko, Ikawa, Hiroki, Iwasaki, Akira, Iwao, Koki, Kajiwara, Koji, Kang, Sinkyu, Kim, Yongwon, Khoon, Kho Lip, Kononov, Alexander V., Kosugi, Yoshiko, Maeda, Takahisa, Mamiya, Wataru, Matsuoka, Masayuki, Maximov, Trofim C., Menzel, Annette, Miura, Tomoaki, Mizunuma, Toshie, Morozumi, Tomoki, Motohka, Takeshi, Muraoka, Hiroyuki, Nagano, Hirohiko, Nakai, Taro, Nakaji, Tatsuro, Oguma, Hiroyuki, Ohta, Takeshi, Ono, Keisuke, Pungga, Runi Anak Sylvester, Petrov, Roman E., Sakai, Rei, Schunk, Christian, Sekikawa, Seikoh, Shakhmatov, Ruslan, Son, Yowhan, Sugimoto, Atsuko, Suzuki, Rikie, Takagi, Kentaro, Takanashi, Satoru, Tei, Shunsuke, Tsuchida, Satoshi, Yamamoto, Hirokazu, Yamasaki, Eri, Yamashita, Megumi, Yoon, Tae Kyung
• Other Authors: Research and Development Center for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Université de Tsukuba = University of Tsukuba, Gifu University, International Arctic Research Center (IARC), University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), Hokkaido University Sapporo, Japan, Chiba University, Kochi University, National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Kangwon National University, Tropical Peat Research Institute, Partenaires INRAE, Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow (RAS), Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), Princeton University, Technische Universität Munchen - Université Technique de Munich Munich, Allemagne (TUM), University of Hawaii, Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Earth Observation Research Center, National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA), Nagoya University, Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Forest Department, Tamagawa University, Korea University Seoul, Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI), Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Faculty of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), Korea Environment Institute, (Office of Research and Development), Centre for Sustainable Forestry and Climate Change, Forest Research Great Britain, Interactions Sol Plante Atmosphère (UMR ISPA), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine (Bordeaux Sciences Agro)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Arctic
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02628888; https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-018-1633-x

International audience We report long-term continuous phenological and sky images taken by time-lapse cameras through the Phenological Eyes Network (http://www.pheno-eye.org. Accessed 29 May 2018) in various ecosystems from the Arctic to the tropics. Phenological images are useful in recording the year-to-year variability in the timing of flowering, leaf-flush, leaf-coloring, and leaf-fall and detecting the characteristics of phenological patterns and timing sensitivity among species and ecosystems. They can also help interpret variations in carbon, water, and heat cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, and be used to obtain ground-truth data for the validation of satellite-observed products. Sky images are useful in continuously recording atmospheric conditions and obtaining ground-truth data for the validation of cloud contamination and atmospheric noise present in satellite remote-sensing data. We have taken sky, forest canopy, forest floor, and shoot images of a range of tree species and landscapes, using time-lapse cameras installed on forest floors, towers, and rooftops. In total, 84 time-lapse cameras at 29 sites have taken 8 million images since 1999. Our images provide (1) long-term, continuous detailed records of plant phenology that are more quantitative than in situ visual phenological observations of index trees; (2) basic information to explain the responsiveness, vulnerability, and resilience of ecosystem canopies and their functions and services to changes in climate; and (3) ground-truthing for the validation of satellite remote-sensing observations.