Trees and humans

You should by now have data for your tree(s) and entered this onto the project website. In the Results section you will be able to see your results and compare them with results across Europe. You can start by exploring a number of questions:

• Are the results similar across Europe? Why/why not? (possible routes of enquiry could include climate and weather variations, soil fertility or diseases).
• Are there differences between the different species?

Examine the table below. This shows historical data for our six tree species in the UK. By investigating the questions below think about what causes each phenophase to take place (weather, climate, pollination, etc) and how these might be affected.

Phenology events over time

• Are all the trees showing the same patterns or are their differences between them? Do your results differ?
• Are the phenophases changing over time?
• Are the growing seasons starting earlier, finishing later?
• What reasons may there be for any changes to the phenology patterns?

Check out Natures Calendar for more information on long term trends.

Look at the graphs below. These show a number of long term trends. Can you find any relation between these, your results and the historical results in the table above? Does there appear to be a link between increasing carbon emissions, increasing global
temperatures and changes in the phenophases?

Climate data