Date: April 2nd, 2025
When exploring these five different trees across the UVM campus, I noticed that even though it is already April, there are still little signs of new life and all of the trees were generally in the same phenophase. Non of the buds were peaking and all of the leaves and fruit that I saw were left over from last fall. All of the trees did have new buds, but that was the only sign of new blooms that I noticed this spring so far. This is likely due to the inconsistent temperatures and cold fronts that keep occurring in the Burlington area, slightly stunting the development of new leaves.
NPN’s Website
The National Phenology Network (NPN) provides many important figures depicting phenology trends each Spring, including predictions of first leaf and bloom compared to previous years. Not only do these interactive, visual maps help track the timing of seasonal changes, but they offer a visual representation of how spring is progressing each year. This is valuable for studying the impacts of climate change, managing agriculture and wildlife, and understanding ecological patterns. As of April 7, 2025, the NPN’s “Status of Spring” maps indicate that spring’s onset in Vermont is occurring earlier than the historical average. By tracking the Spring Leaf Index, these maps reveal that Vermont’s trees, such as sugar maples, birches, and red maples, are budding earlier than average, reflecting long-term climate trends towards warmer winters and earlier temperature shifts. These factors can disrupt ecosystems by causing mismatches between pollinators and blooming schedules, altering the seasonal flow of maple sap and increasing vulnerability to late frosts.
