Partnership project has given the first glimpse of spring as seen from outer space
See spring from outer space!
A partnership project including the Woodland Trust, the European Space Agency, Infoterra and the University of Southampton has captured for the first time satellite maps showing the progress of spring 2010 across the UK.
For the first time people can see what the onset of spring looks like from space giving a clear picture of how spring moves across the UK, in a user friendly online animation. These satellite-derived, animated vegetation maps show the progress of spring ‘greening’.
Dr Kate Lewthwaite of the Woodland Trust said: "The mapping will be an invaluable source and autumn species activity like bluebell flowering and frogs spawning. These maps will also present phenological information in a new way and help people to understand the hidden journey of spring's advance."
In 2002 the European Space Agency launched its Environmental Satellite, ENVISAT, to monitor the Earth using a battery of instruments. One of these instruments can detect light reflected back by vegetation. It measures plant chlorophyll content, which is one way of measuring how actively plants are growing and thus gives spring’s advance.
But what does the map show? Dr Lewthwaite explained: "The map for 1st January shows a lot of variation across the UK. In areas where the satellite has picked up the presence of chlorophyll the map colours range from cream to brown, through yellow to green, in ascending order of the amount of chlorophyll detected.
"The bright green areas occur in the uplands of Wales and Scotland and are evergreen forest. The white areas such as London are where the satellite failed to record vegetation activity because there is relatively little green space.
"Similarly, highland areas of north England, Wales and Scotland are not visible. This could be due to persistent snow cover this winter. As spring develops we expect these 'gaps' to disappear as more vegetation is exposed and the chlorophyll signal intensifies.
"The entire animation shows that there is a general decrease in chlorophyll levels in the vegetation as the map turns browner. This is because chlorophyll is still breaking down as most plants are not actively growing. This is often described as the ‘winter burn’.
"The 'winter burn' reaches its maximum extent on 9th March, with chlorophyll levels rapidly recovering after 12th March as plants begin active growth."
As the season continues the animation will be updated on the Nature’s Calendar website so people can track the progress of spring. They can also actively get involved in recording the signs of spring for future ‘real science’ through the Trust’s Nature’s Calendar project.
Recording phenology has moved from being a informal pastime for Victorian naturalists, to a crucial source of evidence for researchers and policy makers, showing how wildlife is responding to climate change. Nature’s Calendar (UKPN) has around 300 years of data, making it one of the most extensive sources of written biological records. Recent evidence of dramatic changes are now coming to light.
Despite the late occurrence of Spring 2010, data provided by Nature’s Calendar recorders was recently included in a high profile report led by Dr Stephen Thackeray and Professor Sarah Wanless of the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. The study considers a diverse array of organisms including plankton, plants, insects, amphibians, fish, birds and mammals. On average, the seasonal timing of reproduction and population growth has advanced by more than 11 days, but change has accelerated even further in recent decades.
To see the animation or to get involved in Nature Recording visit www.naturescalendar.org.ukNotes to editors
For media enquiries contact:
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121, email: media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters.
The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.
Nature’s Calendar
The Woodland Trust, in partnership with UK government research body the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, manages The UK Phenology Network, co-ordinating a group of around 40,000 volunteers who record natural seasonal events during spring and autumn.
In spring our volunteers may note insect or bird activity, the leafing of trees or flowering. In autumn it could be departing migratory birds, or autumn fruits and leaf colours. Using our website, participants can enter their sightings. They can also view the data that others have entered for that season in the form of live maps that show the geographical locations of each new sighting, hence tracking the progress of spring and autumn across the UK.
PHAVEOS
To provide continuous monitoring of vegetation, the geospatial data and service provider Infoterra Ltd. teamed up with the University of Southampton to create the PHenology And Vegetation Map Earth Observation Service – PHAVEOS.
European Space Agency (ESA)
The supply of data from Environmental Satellite ENVISAT and sponsorship for the development of PHAVEOS were generously provided by the European Space Agency (ESA).