keynote speaker from india talks in PHENO 2025 about "Tree seasonality and citizen science"

By Emerson José

The keynote speaker on Monday afternoon at the conference was Indian Geetha Ramaswami from the Nature Conservation Foundation. The theme of her exhibition was “Tree seasonality and citizen science - making phenology mainstream”.

Geetha Ramaswami of SeasonWatch, an initiative of the Nature Conservation Foundation of India, highlights the importance of integrating citizen science with phenological research to monitor tree seasonality. The presentation emphasizes the following key points:

Citizen Science in Phenology:

Citizen science engages non-professionals in collecting ecological data, such as tree phenology (flowering, fruiting, leafing patterns).

Platforms like SeasonWatch, eBird, and iNaturalist enable large-scale data collection across India and globally, covering species like the Amur Falcon and native trees (e.g., Bombax ceiba, Butea monosperma).

Data Utility and Challenges:

Citizen science data complements traditional ecological observatories (e.g., PhenoCam) but faces challenges like inconsistent sampling and missing data.

Studies (e.g., Tiruvaimozhi et al. 2025) compare datasets (e.g., Anamalais, Pakke) to assess resolution and overlap, showing potential for coarse-scale trends.

SeasonWatch Initiative:

Tracks 171 tree species with weekly/annual observations, though multi-year data remains limited.

Provides open-access data (with guidelines) for climate research, education, and outreach, including analyses of environmental drivers (rainfall, elevation) on phenology.

Cultural and Ecological Insights:

Links phenology to cultural events (e.g., Vishu festival’s 50-year flowering averages).

Explores mutualist relationships (e.g., bees and flowering plants) and urban/rural phenological shifts.

The Future Goals this work is validating forecasting models and expanding educational resources. The goal main this cooperation is underscores how citizen science democratizes ecological monitoring while addressing data limitations through robust collaborations and open science.