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Effects of frost on wildflowers: an unexpected consequence of climate change--image 10 of 22

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The number of flowers produced by the aspen sunflower (Helianthella quinquenervis) in a particular year is affected by the date of the start of the growing season, which is in turn influenced by the date that the winter snowpack melts. Years with low winter snowfall and warm springs have more rapid snowmelt and an earlier start to the growing season than years with a heavy snowpack or a cool spring. But each year, the last hard frost occurs in early - mid June, regardless of the snowmelt date.

In years having an early start to the growing season (shown in blue), aspen sunflower plants had relatively few unfrosted flowers. In such years, the early snowmelt allows plants to start their growth early. They develop many buds that are filled by the late season frost. Thus, plants produce few flowers in those years.

In years having a late start to the growing season (shown in red), aspen sunflower plants had many unfrosted flowers. In those years, the late snowmelt delayed the growth of plants. Thus, frost events in June had little impact on flower production because the plants had not produced buds by that time.

As seen in Image 09, years of early snowmelt have been especially common in the past decade. Thus, plant populations have experienced poorer reproductive success than in previous decades.
Associated files
Temporal and geographic description Data from the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Colorado.
Legend (figures or tables) Abundance of aspen sunflowers (Helianthella quinquenervis) as a function of when snow melts at the study site at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado. In years of early snowmelt almost all aspen sunflower buds are killed by frost, so few flowers survive. In years with late snowmelt, most flower buds survive to flower. r2 = .593, p < .0001.
Format
Resource Group A slide show about the effects of frost on Colorado wildflowers at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory.
Resource Group Link http://ecoed.esa.org/index.php?P=AdvancedSearch&Q=Y&FK=%22Effects+of+f...
Special Collection
Primary or BEN resource type
Secondary resource type
Discipline Specific Core Concepts
Life science discipline (subject)
Keywords Helianthella quinquenervis, aspen sunflower
Key taxa Helianthella quinquenervis (Asteraceae)
Audience
Intended End User Role
Language
Educational Language
Pedagogical Use Category
Pedagogical Use Description The slide show could be used as part of a lecture on the consequences of climate change, or the ecology of the Rocky Mountains.
Uniqueness A common wildflower in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, but an unusually long study of its ecology.
Aggregation Level
Structure
Full Name of Primary Author David W. Inouye
Primary Author Controlled Name
Primary Author Affiliation Dept. of Biology
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-4415
Primary Author email inouye@umd.edu
Secondary Author Email(s) inouye@umd.edu
Added By Id
  • dwinouye
Submitter Name David Inouye
Submitter Email inouye@umd.edu
Rights Free use with attribution. Contact photographer if you want a higher-resolution version. And contact author if you'd like a single file with all the slides so you don't have to download them one at a time (this capability may be added to EcoEd in the future).
License
Publisher
Review type
Drought and Water Ecosystem Services Collection Off
Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection On
Big Data Collection Off
Editors Choice No
Resource Status
Date Of Record Submission 2011-12-01
I Agree to EcoEdDL's Copyright Policy & Terms of Use No
Date Of Record Release 2012-01-04 09:19:26
Last Modified By Id
  • mcmilla
Date Last Modified 2013-04-01 21:14:12
Release Flag Published

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