Disturbance Ecology, University of Bayreuth, 95440, Bayreuth, Germany.
Int J Biometeorol. 2013 Jul;57(4):579-88. doi: 10.1007/s00484-012-0585-z. Epub 2012 Aug 16.
The aim of this study is to explore the effects of heavy rain and drought on the flowering phenology of two shrub species Genista tinctoria and Calluna vulgaris. We conducted a field experiment over five consecutive years in Central Europe, applying annually recurring extreme drought and heavy rain events on constructed shrubland communities and recorded the flowering status. Further, we correlated spring temperature and precipitation with the onset of flowering. Both species showed a response to extreme weather events: drought delayed the mid flowering date of Genista tinctoria in 3 of 5 years by about 1 month and in 1 year advanced the mid flowering date by 10 days, but did not affect the length of flowering. Mid flowering date of Calluna vulgaris was not affected by drought, but the length of flowering was extended in 2 years by 6 and 10 days. For C. vulgaris the closer the drought occurred to the time of flowering, the larger the impact on the flowering length. Heavy rainfall advanced mid flowering date and reduced the length of flowering of Genista tinctoria by about 2 months in 1 year. Mid flowering date of Calluna vulgaris was not affected by heavy rain, but the length of flowering was reduced in 1 year by 4 days. Our data suggest that extreme weather events, including alterations to the precipitation regime, induce phenological shifts of plant species of a substantial magnitude. Thus, the impacts of climate extremes on plant life cycles may be as influential as gradual warming. Particularly, the variability in the timing of precipitation events appears to have a greater influence on flowering dynamics than the magnitude of the precipitation.
本研究旨在探讨暴雨和干旱对两种灌木物种金雀花和石楠开花物候的影响。我们在中欧进行了为期五年的野外实验，每年在构建的灌木群落上应用反复出现的极端干旱和暴雨事件，并记录开花状况。此外，我们将春季温度和降水与开花时间进行了相关性分析。两种物种都对极端天气事件有反应：干旱使金雀花的中花期在 5 年中的 3 年中延迟了约 1 个月，在 1 年中提前了 10 天，但不影响开花时间。干旱对石楠的中花期没有影响，但在 2 年中延长了开花时间 6 天和 10 天。对于 C. vulgaris，干旱发生时间越接近开花时间，对开花时间的影响越大。暴雨使金雀花的中花期提前，在 1 年中缩短了约 2 个月的开花时间。石楠的中花期不受暴雨影响，但在 1 年中缩短了 4 天的开花时间。我们的数据表明，极端天气事件，包括降水模式的改变，会引起植物物种显著的物候变化。因此，气候极端事件对植物生命周期的影响可能与逐渐变暖一样有影响力。特别是，降水事件时间的变化似乎对开花动态的影响大于降水的幅度。
