Project BudBurst Plant Phenology Data, 2011, USA

Project BudBurst is a long-term citizen science project designed to engage the public in the collection of plant phenology data across the United States. Project BudBurst is part of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON, Inc), solely funded by the National Science Foundation.

The Phenophases recorded and the definitions of those phases have evolved from year to year. Individual year metadata clarify Phenophase_Name and Phenophase_ID descriptions for that year.

On March 17, 2011, the Project BudBurst protocol split into two types of reporting: Regular Observations and Single Reports/Occasional Observations. 2011 was the fifth year of the project.

Data are collected using two protocols, 1) Regular Observations and 2) Single Reports/Occasional Observations, described below.

Regular Observations: Event-based monitoring where participants watch a specific plant throughout the year and record the date on which specific phenophases occur. Five plant groups are monitored: Deciduous Trees and Shrubs, Wildflowers and Herbs, Evergreen Trees and Shrubs, Conifers, and Grasses.

Single Reports/Occasional Observations: Status-based monitoring where participants record what they observe a plant doing, including null values, at a given point in time. In 2011, Single Reports/Occasional Observations were only available for Wildflowers and Herbs, Deciduous Trees and Shrubs, and Grasses. It was not possible to enter Single Reports/Occasional Observations for "Other" plants during 2011.

The data collected as part of Project BudBurst are intended to help scientists learn more about the responsiveness of individual plant species to changes in climate locally, regionally, and nationally.

More detailed information about Project BudBurst is available on the website at budburst.org