Climate change disruption of the annual cycle - questions

[The Snark]

@schmiggle and you other botanically inclined.
This temperature zone, from temperate into sub tropical is undergoing a subtle seasonal change. In the past it has had the four basic seasons with autumn sort of crowded in between winter and the hot season. IE, November into early March-winter. Late March into July-summer, July to the end of October-spring (rainy season).

We are losing the winter season. This year looks like the alteration is here to stay. Where we used to have a cold snap at the beginning of November, day and night time temperatures dropped 10-15 F, the mild rainy season is now extending into or even through December well into January. The most extreme cold time of the year around January 15th is averaging 10 F higher than normal going by the almanac.

I would like to observe what obvious (visual) effects this shift is having on the perennials and the (mostly deciduous) forests. It's like a major shift. A chunk of the planet suddenly got moved from semi temperate to the sub tropical-tropical.

So what should I be looking at? Watching for? My observations are general. 3-4 hours each day out on my bike observing the flora.

 

[schmiggle]

Well I can tell you what I look for, but keep in mind your climate is pretty different.

Trees here usually leaf out around the same time every year, because they wait for a particular day length. However, perennials that die back to roots or bulbs every year wait for appropriate temperatures. Snowdrops, daffodils, and the like have come up in February, which I don't think used to happen (although I've been told that people think they come out early every year; then again, they probably do, given how long global warming has been going on). They also sometimes come up out of season in the fall, although it can be hard to tell if it's the same species or not (some perennials are spring-blooming, before forests leaf out, and others are fall blooming, after the leaves have fallen off). There's no doubt, however, that the lilac in our yard has become confused some years and flowered in the fall, whereas it would like to flower in the spring.

A lot of what's actually really clear around here is changing bird ranges and migration dates, but that's perhaps another story.

 

[The Snark]

Thanks. Can go by leaves falling off here since it rams straight from cold to hot. Trees like Albizia Saman shed leaves to bare branches and have new leaves in about 3 weeks. I'm going to keep a closer eye on perennials. I'm still wondering why all the Nightshade has vanished from this area.