Changes in temperature sensitivity of spring phenology with recent climate warming in Switzerland are related to shifts of the preseason

Abstract

The spring phenology of plants in temperate regions strongly responds to spring temperatures. Climate warming has caused substantial phenological advances in the past, but trends to be expected in the future are uncertain. A simple indicator is temperature sensitivity, the phenological advance statistically associated with a 1°C warmer mean temperature during the “preseason”, defined as the most temperature-sensitive period preceding the phenological event. Recent analyses of phenological records have shown a decline in temperature se Show more