The vegetation phenological field records comprise of dates of phenophases such as leaf bud development, leaf expansion, flowering, fruiting, seed dispersal, leaf fall. The phenophases to be recorded depend on species under consideration. The key factors to remember while maintaining phenological records are:
- Selection of site and indicator species that are representative of canopy under consideration.
- Selection of multiple individual plants that can be visited repeatedly to record phenophases. The individuals have to be un-damaged, healthy plants.
- Recording should be done as frequently are possible; weekly appraisal may be optimum in most cases.
Some useful examples and information about species specific phenophases can be found here.
Digital methods of recording phenology involve installing automated cameras that capture images of target vegetation after regular intervals. Example of such digitally acquired phenological datasets: PhenoCam Dataset v1.0.