Atmospheric brightening counteracts warming-induced delays in autumn phenology of temperate trees in Europe

Abstract

Aim Ongoing climate warming has been widely reported to delay autumn phenology, which in turn impacts carbon, water, energy and nutrient balances at regional and global scales. However, the underlying mechanisms of autumn phenology responses to climate change have not been fully elucidated. The aims of this study were to determine whether brightening that was defined as the increase of surface solar radiation and warming during recent decades affect autumn phenology in opposite directions and explore the underlying mechanisms.

Location Central Europe.

Time period 1950–2016.

Major taxa studied Four dominant European tree species in central Europe: Aesculus hippocastanum, Betula pendula, Fagus sylvatica and Quercus robur.

Methods We investigated the temporal trends of leaf senescence, preseason temperature and radiation by separating the period of 1950–2016 into two sub-periods (1950–1982 and 1983–2016) and determined the relationship between temperature, radiation and leaf senescence using partial correlation analysis.