Submitted: July 15, 2024 | Approved: July 23, 2024 | Published: July 24, 2024
How to cite this article: Gaira KS, Belwal OK, Bhatt ID. Potential of Herbarium-based Phenological Studies to Predict the Climate Change Impacts. J Plant Sci Phytopathol. 2024; 8(2): 110-112. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.29328/journal.jpsp.1001141
DOI: 10.29328/journal.jpsp.1001141
Copyright License: © 2024 Gaira KS, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: Citizen science; Climate change; Herbarium records; Phenology; Statistical tools
1G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Sikkim Regional Centre, Pangthang, Gangtok, Sikkim 737101, India 2Department of Statistics, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand 246174, India 3G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Kosi-Katarmal, Almora, Uttarakhand 263643, India
*Address for Correspondence: Kailash S Gaira, G.B. Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment, Sikkim Regional Centre, Pangthang, Gangtok, Sikkim 737101, India, Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
Herbarium records provide a valuable historical database for assessing plant phenology shifts in the context of global climate change. The herbarium specimens, collected from diverse locations and periods, offer comprehensive data illustrating how many plants are altering their blooming times in response to global climate change. The appropriate use and analysis of long-term herbarium records offer an additional dimension for the study of plant phenology through the application of advanced experimental methodologies such as bioinformatics and satellite imagery, statistics, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) which, coupled with field observations, will improve ecosystems evaluation. These efforts can significantly contribute to conservation strategies and climate change mitigation and further support the synchronization of scientific inputs for evaluating the impacts of climate change and its ecological implications.
Herbarium-based phenological studies are invaluable for understanding the effects of climate change on plant species [1-8]. These studies leverage the extensive historical records provided by herbarium specimens, which have shown congruence with field observations, effectively assessing patterns and mechanisms of plant phenological responses [6,9]. Specimens collected from various locations and times enable comprehensive investigations into the phenological shifts of plants over time in response to changing climates.
Meticulously documented by taxonomists or botanists, herbarium specimens contain detailed information such as collection date, location, elevation, habitat type, and conservation status. This information allows researchers to determine historical flowering, fruiting, and leafing times, providing temporal datasets to identify global shifts in phenological events. By comparing herbarium data with current observations, researchers can assess how different species respond to climate change.
Phenological shifts, such as earlier or later flowering, fruiting, or leafing, indicate the impacts of climate warming [10]. Numerous studies have documented these changes [1,11-16], highlighting their correlation with climatic changes. Herbarium-based studies are cost-effective compared to long-term or real-time field studies, and many herbaria have digitized their collections, making them accessible for global research. Unlike modern methods, herbarium-based research does not disturb current ecosystems or require additional land use.
However, herbarium collections have spatial and temporal coverage gaps, leading to potential biases. Certain regions or periods may be underrepresented, and the condition and completeness of specimens can vary. Older specimens might be damaged, requiring more precise collection and intricate analysis. Sometimes, the collected specimens are unclear regarding their collection dates, phenological stages, and occurrences in their populations [16]. Estimating phenological stages from herbarium specimens is less accurate than real-time observations, providing snapshots rather than continuous data. Nonetheless, herbarium records offer long-term datasets essential for studying climate change impacts. To fully realize the potential of herbarium records, it is crucial to amend and update them for climate change studies.
Herbarium-based phenological studies are invaluable for understanding climate change's historical and ongoing impacts on plant life. They offer unique insights for predicting future ecological shifts and formulating conservation strategies. Despite some limitations, integrating herbarium data with appropriate statistical tools, modern technologies, and methodologies promises to enhance our understanding and response to the complex effects of climate change. The field validation process of herbarium specimens also supports understanding the ecosystem’s function by considering the ecological parameters and integration of modern technologies like satellite imagery, Artificial Intelligence (AI), etc. Further, citizen science will encourage to improvement of taxonomic repositories consistently. Such efforts may help to generate long-term herbarium databases, support the formulation of conservation strategies, and enhance knowledge of mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts on plant phenology.
