Analysis of phenological behaviour of some Mediterranean shrub species in responses to warming and drought conditions

Abstract

Phenology is potentially a powerful tool for monitoring the response of plant and animal to climate change. In fact, phenological observations are a valuable source of information for investigating the relationship between climate and weather variation and plant and animal development (Kramer et al., 2000, Ahas et al., 2002, Menzel et al., 2003). The objectives of this paper are (1) to develop a detailed phenological scale, using the extended BBCH-scale system, for describing phenological behaviour of Mediterranean species growing in a Mediterranean-type climate, and (2) to evaluate the sensitivity of some Mediterranean species to climatic manipulations