REPORT / INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Could the emergence of spring provide clues to climate change? Some researchers think so .In a project aptly named Project BudBurst they try to find out the nature and the degree of this impact.

PROJECT BUDBURST: Participants choose a plant or plants to observe, then begin checking their plants at least a week before the date of the average budburst. They are looking for the point at which the buds have opened to reveal visible leaves. Participants report that data, and continue to observe the plant for other events such as first leaf, first flower, and also seed dispersal. Project BudBurst takes the records that participants input, then creates maps of these events across the United States.

The observations reveal that the timing of when plants bud or flower is changing since nature's calendar is getting warmer earlier.