Course: Applied Phenology – New Approaches and Models

Phenology is the study of the occurrence and duration of plant growth and development phases. Monitoring and forecasting phenological events, generally based on climate data, is a key practice in agricultural and forest management due to the close relationship between phenology and productivity. Changes in phenology influence not only growth but also interactions between various ecosystem elements, altering its functioning. In the current context of climate change, phenological prediction models need to be frequently updated with new observations. Traditional phenology observation methods require significant investment and allow for monitoring only small areas. Today, technology enables fast and low-cost detailed phenological observations through digital photography and remote sensing. This course will introduce these methodologies with a practical and accessible approach.

Objectives

The course aims to provide practical knowledge that allows participants to monitor and predict growth phases in agricultural and forest crops based on meteorological and phenological observations, using simple and low-cost digital tools and data analysis software (Excel). For those interested, it also teaches how to obtain and use similar information from freely available remote sensing databases (advanced sub-modules in R).