Asymmetric Spring and Autumn Phenology Control Growing Season Length in Temperate Deciduous Forests

Asymmetric Spring and Autumn Phenology Control Growing Season Length in Temperate Deciduous Forests | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Asymmetric Spring and Autumn Phenology Control Growing Season Length in Temperate Deciduous Forests Xiaojie Gao, Mark Friedl, Andrew Richardson, Valerie Pasquarella, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8042230/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Forest phenological responses to climatic variation among species and populations across broad spatial scales remain poorly understood. Here, we quantify four decades of phenological dynamics for 10 major deciduous tree species by compiling a unique dataset that integrates high spatial resolution remote sensing with extensive field inventory data across the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. We found that spring and autumn phenology impose asymmetric controls on growing season length, with spring regulating interannual variation and autumn driving long-term trends. Spring phenology across all species was primarily controlled by temperature, while autumn phenology was influenced by spring phenology and an interacting suite of species-specific environmental factors. Our study demonstrates the promise of combining high resolution remote sensing with forest inventory data to investigate phenological dynamics over large regions. More importantly, our results provide new insights into how species-specific sensitivities to environmental drivers regulate growing season length in temperate forests. Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Forest ecology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Climate-change ecology/Phenology Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files fiablspSI251105.pdf Supplementary Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8042230","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":550664846,"identity":"0d19afed-8a09-447b-a333-50211bd136d2","order_by":0,"name":"Xiaojie 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