A poem for today
6 years ago
"Phenology is simply observing the natural world and keeping a record of it. But it is also the science that studies the timing of natural events--for example, lake ice-out dates or the blooming dates of spring wildflowers--that mark seasonal (and sometimes climatic) changes to the environment. The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) is considered the father of modern phenology. In Philosophia Botanica (1751) he clearly described phases of plant development and outlined purpose and methodology of observations that are still valid today. He established the first network of observation stations in Sweden--eighteen in all--and stipulated that the main purpose of these study stations was to compile annual "plant calendars" of leaf opening, flowering, fruiting, and leaf fall, together with climatological observations 'so as to show how areas differ.'
The study of phenological data helps us establish the patterns of interdependency of all things. In this beautiful world of ours, nothing exists on its own. Most events in the annual cycle recur in regular order on or near the same date for any certain location."
www.flickr.com
|