Changes you may see for 2009 campaign!
Based on feedback and input from the Project BudBurst community in 2008, we have made a number of exciting changes to make the Web site more useful to our observers. Here are some of the big changes you will see.
Plant groups:
We have categorized the Project BudBurst plant species into 5 broad plant groups (Wildflowers and Herbs, Grasses, Deciduous Trees and Shrubs, Evergreen Trees and Shrubs, and Conifers). As always, you can still observe plants that are not on the targeted Project BudBurst plant list.
Phenophase changes:
To make the Project BudBurst data more useful to scientists studying phenology and climate change, we have identified suggested Phenophase Observations of Interest for each plant group.
Some of the phenophase names have been changed slightly from 2008 for consistency. They include:
- BudBurst/First Leaf is now First Leaf
- Full Leaf is now All Leaves Unfolded
- Seed or Fruit Dispersal is now First Ripe Fruit
- End Flower is now End of Flowering
Plants:
We have added some new plant species for 2009. (As always, you can still observe plants that are not on the targeted Project BudBurst plant list.) If they grow in your area, you might want add them to your MyBudBurst Space!
- Henbit deadnettle
- Plains cottonwood
- Balsam poplar
- Southern Magnolia
- Bald Cypress
- Southern Live Oak
We have changed the primary common name for several species.
- Trout lily is now Dogtooth violet
- Eastern Red Columbine is now Red columbine
- Pink Evening Primrose is now Pinkladies
- Ragweed spp is now Western ragweed
- Woods Strawbrery is now Wild strawberry
- Creeping Barberry is now Oregon grape
- Common Apple is now Apple
- Lilac is now Common lilac
- Aspen is now Quaking aspen
Live Maps
When you report your data online, you will be able to instantly view the last 100 observations. You can also view live maps by plants by selecting a plant in Resoures.
Photos
To provide the best possible Phenophase Field Guides, we need your photos! You will see that many of them are incomplete. We decided to go ahead and put up the Phenophase Field Guides on the Web site and note where we needed photos. Please take photos and share them with the rest of the Project BudBurst community. For more information visit the Photo Gallery.
Media Center
Check out our new Media Center. Here you can find promotional materials to help get the word out, recent press releases, and highlights of media coverage from around the country. We are also asking for individuals to sign up to be local media contacts. If you are willing to talk to reporters and other media specialists in your area about Project BudBurst, please let us know.
