Question: continuing to documenting phenology if species location is disrupted

[Jennifer Clifford]

Hello and happy autumn to all!

A jewelweed patch that we monitor at one of our sites disappeared - it vanished when faster growing species (primarily white snakeroot) started really taking off. A few other nearby jewelweed plants remain, just across a small garden path, that are growing well and progressing through various phenophases. These plants could be considered part of the same patch since jewelweed seedlings often grow along and across this path (but then get trod upon). 

We documented the disappearance and then continued collecting data from this second, very nearby, location in order to continue monitoring phenology for this species at this site. Is it legitimate to now use these plants to continue our survey of this species so that we have complete documentation for the season? We do have a record of the disappearance of the primary patch.

One of the alternative actions we thought of was to create a second species identifier within the site, calling it 'jewelweed #2'.

Thank you all for any recommendations on the best way to proceed. I really appreciate it! 

With kind regards,

Jennifer

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  Jennifer

[Ellen Denny]

Hi Jennifer,

Yes, I would recommend registering a second patch called "jewelweed 2” or something similar. 

Another thought is to make this second patch larger so it can accommodate the “wandering” of individual seedlings over the available growing space in next few years without your having to demarcate a new patch each year.

I have this problem with a small Virginia strawberry patch (about 1 ft x 1 ft) that was once completely covered with the species and now has other species moving in and diluting the density of strawberry stems. There is still plenty of strawberry nearby, just not so much in that tiny patch—I was down to a single flower stalk. Next year I plan to register a larger patch (more like 3ft x 3ft) so I can be sure there are enough strawberry stems to be able to evaluate a sufficient number of flowers and fruits!

Ellen

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Ellen Denny (she/her)

Monitoring Design & Data Coordinator

USA National Phenology Network, University of Arizona

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I work from my home in Kittery, Maine on N’dakinna, which is the traditional ancestral homeland of the Abenaki, Pennacook and Wabanaki Peoples past and present. I acknowledge and honor with gratitude the land and waterways and the alnobak (people) who have stewarded N’dakinna throughout the generations.