One day in Latvia – invites you to participate in a nature observation flash event

Photo: Morning coffee

For the third year already, the Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences of the University of Latvia (LU) invites Latvian residents to participate in the nature observation flash event “One Day in Latvia”. To participate in the flash action, you must send photos of seasonal natural phenomena to scientists on Tuesday, April 30.

The spring months of 2024 have also been warmer than the climatic norm, which is a clear signal of climate change. Changes in air temperature also affect seasonal processes such as leaf development, flowering, fruit ripening times studied by phenology. Observations of natural rhythms (phenological) are considered the easiest and most convenient way to justify climate change, changes in the landscape, because plants and animals react most sensitively to changes in the surrounding environment, explains LU.

“Volunteer observers, or public scientists, play an invaluable role in obtaining phenological data, for example, in the 2022 flash event, almost 1,500 photos from 365 inhabited places in Latvia were received in one day. Such data are an important support for scientists as they help characterize both regional changes and the effects of climate change,” says the flash action coordinator, the leading researcher of LU dr. geogr. Gunta Kalvane.

In order to better understand natural processes and regional differences, the scientists of the LU ŽZZF invite every citizen of Latvia to participate in the flash action and become a public scientist.

The “One Day in Latvia” event will take place on April 30 this year throughout the territory of Latvia. Residents are invited to take close-up photos (preferably the branches on the south side at eye level): of the common driveway; outdoor birch; for the house apple tree.

Scientists are asked to send photos of the mentioned plant species using the app https://ej.uz/gadalaiki2024

Easily recognizable and common tree species were selected for the study. If not all species can be found nearby, residents are invited to send in pictures of the available species, for example close-ups of only the house apple or, for example, photos of three or four outdoor birches that can be found in the immediate vicinity. The number of photos is not limited. Before sending photos, scientists ask to make sure that the photo does not contain sensitive information, such as the name of the house, the person’s face, the number of the car.

Digital photographs are increasingly used in phenology studies, in parallel with other methods such as satellite data data analysis, herbarium materials, and information collected by volunteer observers, says LU.

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