PS3: The Pheno-Synthesis software suite for integration and analysis of multi-scale, multi-platform phenological data

Authors: MORISETTE, JEFFREY - Us Forest Service (FS); DUFFY, KATHARYN - Northern Arizona University; WELTZIN, JAKE - Us Geological Survey (USGS); Browning, Dawn; MARSH, LEE - University Of Arizona; FRIESZ, AARON - Us Geological Survey (USGS); ZACHMANN, LUKE - Non ARS Employee; ENNS, KYLE - Us Geological Survey (USGS); LANDAU, VINCENT - Non ARS Employee; GERST, KATHARINE - University Of Arizona; CRIMMINS, THERESA - University Of Arizona; CHANG, TONY - Non ARS Employee; MILLER, BRIAN - Us Geological Survey (USGS); MAIERSPERGER, THOMAS - Us Geological Survey (USGS); RICHARDSON, ANDREW - Northern Arizona University

Submitted to: Ecological Informatics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/12/2021
Publication Date: 8/16/2021
Citation: Morisette, J.T., Duffy, K.A., Weltzin, J.F., Browning, D.M., Marsh, L., Friesz, A.M., Zachmann, L.J., Enns, K.D., Landau, V.A., Gerst, K.L., Crimmins, T.M., Chang, T., Miller, B.W., Maiersperger, T.K., Richardson, A.D. 2021. PS3: The Pheno-Synthesis software suite for integration and analysis of multi-scale, multi-platform phenological data. Ecological Informatics. 65. Article 101400. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2021.101400.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2021.101400

Interpretive Summary: Phenology is the study of recurring plant and animal life-cycle stages which can be observed at scales from individual plants to landscapes and from hourly to annual time steps. There are ample data and many tools now available to track phenology, but there is currently little capacity to access and integrate data and tools from different sources and platforms. This paper reports on a new suite of software and analysis tools -- the “Pheno-Synthesis Software Suite,” or PS3 – to make it easier to access and analyze data for researchers and land managers. PS3 brings data together in a way that makes it easier to deliver relevant, timely, and useful data to farmers, ranchers, and other producers who want to see how phenology is changing in relation to environmental conditions and guide natural resource management and decision-making.

Technical Abstract: Phenology is the study of recurring plant and animal life-cycle stages which can be observed across spatial and temporal scales that span orders of magnitude (e.g., organisms to landscapes). The variety of scales at which phenological processes operate is reflected in the range of methods for collecting phenologically relevant data, and the programs focused on these collections. Consideration of the scale at which phenological observations are made, and the platform used for observation, is critical for the interpretation of phenological data and the application of these data to both research questions and land management objectives. However, there is currently little capacity to facilitate access, integration and analysis of cross-scale, multi-platform phenological data. This paper reports on a new suite of software and analysis tools -- the “Pheno-Synthesis Software Suite,” or PS3 – to facilitate integration and analysis of phenological and ancillary data, enabling investigation and interpretation of phenological processes at scales ranging from organisms to landscapes and from days to decades. We use PS3 to investigate phenological processes in a semi-arid, mixed shrub-grass ecosystem, and find that the apparent importance of seasonal precipitation to vegetation activity (i.e., “greenness”) is affected by the scale and platform of observation. We end by describing potential applications of PS3 to phenological modeling and forecasting, understanding patterns and drivers of phenological activity in real-world ecosystems, and supporting agricultural and natural resource management and decision-making.