Phenology changes in selected plant species induced by climate change

Reality of the climate change effects in a wide array of ecosystems has been established attributable to the considerable number of significant longitudinal study results showing that the threat over time on the stability and productivity of the plant species consequent to low ecological services is linked to climate induced stress. This paper reviewed studies on selected climate change indicator plants. Wetland Plants. Macrophyte communities indicate hydrological status and its ecological alterations. Findings show that submerged plants are more affected by temperature increases while emergent plant communities respond more relatively to water quality changes. Zostera marina L. had reduced growth at certain temperature and had significantly higher reproductive output, below-ground biomass and vegetative proliferation of new shoots linked to ocean acidification. Mangrove peat accretion shows inability to keep up with sea level rise. Deciduous Trees. Deciduous trees in tropical forests are effects of drought and soil moisture. Their increased deciduousness is evident on major functional types showing their adaptations to very low soil water availability due to prolonged dry season; shed their leaves earlier than dry season and avoid large decrease in leaf water potential, consequently affecting the timing of decomposition. On the other hand, temperate deciduous trees were induced to earlier dormancy due to frost events or heat-stress. Semi-arid and Arid Plants. They were observed of having more production of seeds than the usual. Plants compensated for the reduction in fruit production under the rain level by an increasing investment on ovules that more of them successfully developed into seeds. Since responses to climate change variables of same species from different areas vary, it is recommended that study about flora species as bio-indicators of climate change requires a shift from assessing site-specific plant responses to a large spatial scale plant dynamics, and a long-term observation due to high uncertainty of projection models.