Phenological changes of landscape plants in Beijing, China

Phenological changes of vegetation bring diversity to the urban landscape, especially in temperate regions. By taking Beijing as a study case, this research project evaluated the phenological changes of landscape plants at both individual and plant community level. Results obtained were expected to aid selection of plant species in planting design.

NOTE: Contents to be updated.

Phenology observation of commonly used woody species

Phenology observations of 80+ widely-used woody plants were conducted during growing season in 2016 (March-November). BBCH scale was applied to record the phenological stages. On the campus of BFU, a variety of plant species exist, making it a good phenology garden for phenological observations. During spring and autumn, the observations were made at an interval of 3-5 days. While in summer, longer interval of 7-9 days was adopted due to fewer phenological changes.

A visualization of flowering sequences of some woody species. Images were taken during spring 2016 on the campus of BFU.

Phenological changes of Jasminum nudiflorum throughout the year. It is a shrub species widely used in urban green spaces. It blossoms in early spring with charming colors.

Phenological changes of Sophora japonica throughout the year. It is the “tree of the city” in Beijing. It is one of the most widely used street tree species in northern China. It blossoms in summer, yet its flowers are not that visible.

The above chart illustrates the cumulative frequencies of species and cultivars reaching BBCH 11, 15, and 19, which are key states of leave emerging. BBCH 11 refers to the emergence of leaves, and BBCH 19 refers to the end of leaves emergence.

The above chart illustrates the cumulative frequencies of species and cultivars during blossoms (BBCH 60-69), and full blossom (BBCH 65). Plants generally demonstrate the best ornamental value during blossom period.

A phenology map of observed species. Different colors refer to different phenological stages. It clearly shows the sequences of landscape plants’ key ornamental states, which is useful information for selection of plant species in planting design. The illustrated results are based on observations made in 2016 growing season.

Seasonality observation of plant community and human perception

In practice, plants are rarely planted individually. Rather, they form plant communities that demonstrate seasonality across different seasons. This section evaluates the perceptions of seasonality of landscape and how the plant characteristics may influence such human perception.

35 scenes from large urban parks in Beijing were recorded across 4 seasons. By-slide Scenic beauty estimation (SBE)

Refer to this conference paper (in Chinese) for further information.

Funding information

This project is funded by 增彩延绿植物配置优秀案例调查研究(CEG-2015-01-4), 2016年北京园林绿化增彩延绿植物资源收集、快繁与应用技术研究(CEG-2016), and 北京林业大学大学生科研训练计划(X201610022012).