Protocols and Data Policy

Every week observers across the globe record leaf out, flowering, fruiting and senescence in over 300 herbaceous plant species.

The phenological data is collected by using the "PhenObs Webinterface".

Additionally, we measure plant traits and record air and soil temperature, as well as soil moisture in all participating gardens.

The templates for data entry are available for download here.

You can find an overview on the species that are monitored in the specific gardens here.

The PhenObs protocol was published in January 2021 and is available open access: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13747
Nordt, B., Hensen, I., Bucher, S. F., Freiberg, M., Primack, R. B., Stevens, A.-D., Bonn, A., Wirth, C., Jakubka, D., Plos, C., Sporbert, M., and Römermann, C. (2021). The PhenObs initiative – A standardised protocol for monitoring phenological responses to climate change using herbaceous plant species in botanical gardens. Functional Ecology, 35, 821-834.

Use the icons below to view detailed descriptions of the PhenObs protocols, the current Data Policy and a standardised wording for the acknowledgments when PhenOb's data is used in papers.