
@article {159713,
	title = {Effects of sampling methodology on phenology indices: Insights from sites across India and modelling.},
	journal = {J Biosci},
	volume = {50},
	year = {2025},
	month = {2025},
	abstract = {<p>Plant phenology is the study of the timing and extent of leaf, flower, and fruit production. Phenology data are used to study the drivers of cyclicity and seasonality of plant life-history stages, interactions with organisms such as pollinators, and effects of global change factors. Indices such as the timing of phenological events, and the proportion of individuals in a particular phenophase, seasonality, and synchrony have often been used to summarise plant phenology data. However, these indices have specific utilities and limitations and may be sensitive to sampling methodology, making cross-site comparisons challenging, particularly when data collection methods vary in terms of sample size, observation frequency, and the resolution at which phenophase intensity scores/values are recorded. We used fruiting phenology data from tropical trees across five sites in India to study the effects of sampling methodology on two indices: population-level synchrony (overlap) and seasonality. We supplemented these results with simulations of fast- and slow-changing phenologies to test for the effects of sampling methodology on these indices. We found that the overlap index is sensitive to the resolution of phenophase intensity measurement, with coarser intensity measures leading to overestimation of the overlap index. The seasonality index, on the other hand, was not affected by intensity resolution. Simulations indicated that finer intensity resolution is more important than frequency of observation to accurately estimate population synchrony and seasonality for fast- and slow-changing phenophases. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations for future study designs of tropical tree phenology research, particularly for long-term or cross-site studies.</p>
},
	keywords = {Flowers, Fruit, India, Plant Leaves, Pollination, Seasons, Trees},
	issn = {0973-7138},
	author = {Tiruvaimozhi, Yadugiri V and Teegalapalli, Karthik and Reddy, Abinand and Murali, Akhil and Datta, Aparajita and Krishnan, Aparna and Ratnam, Jayashree and Sankaran, Mahesh and Ongole, Shasank and Kasinathan, Srinivasan and Raman, T R Shankar and Ramaswami, Geetha}
}
@article {95775,
	title = {Functional traits predict tree-level phenological strategies in a mesic Indian savanna},
	journal = {BIOTROPICA},
	year = {2021},
	month = {06/2021},
	abstract = {<p>Leaf phenology influences terrestrial primary production by determining the period of carbon uptake. While dominant leaf habit (evergreen/deciduous) is predictable at large scales based on environmental factors, there is substantial variability in the timing of key events such as leaf flush and senescence at smaller site-level scales. How much of this variability is explained by species functional traits related to a plant{\textquoteright}s carbon economy? We monitored leaf phenology for 113 individual trees of eleven dominant species in an Indian mesic savanna. Specifically, we related leaf functional traits and wood density to the (i) timing of leaf flush, leaf maturity, peak canopy, and senescence, (ii) duration of leaf deployment, (iii) duration from start of senescence to leaflessness, and (iv) time to attainment of peak mature canopy following leaf flush. We expected species that use resources conservatively (low specific leaf area (SLA), high leaf dry matter content, low leaf nitrogen, and high wood density) to senesce later and retain their leaves longer. For all species, leaflessness was most pronounced in early dry season and leaf flushing occurred in the late dry season. Species with high leaf carbon and dry matter content showed earlier leaf maturation, attained peak mature canopies sooner, and deployed leaves longer. Species with high SLA, leaf nitrogen, and low wood density showed earlier senescence but relationships were weak. In this savanna, phenology at fine scales was indeed associated with species functional traits relating to carbon investment, but these relationships were strong only when intra-specific variation in phenology was low.</p>
},
	doi = {10.1111/btp.12993},
	author = {Ongole, Shasank and Teegalapalli, Karthik and Byrapoghu, Venkateshwarlu and Ratnam, Jayashree and Sankaran, Mahesh}
}
