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The Nature's Notebook plant protocols.
Basic Botany and Intensity
The Nature's Notebook plant protocols ask you a series of questions about the presence of phenophases and the degree to which these phenophases are expressed, which we call intensity. This series of quizzes was designed to help you learn to identify phenophases and estimate intensity of your plants.
As you will learn from reading through the information below, estimating intensity can be tricky. While the questions answered in the slide decks below present the single answer we feel is most correct, you might find that in your actual observations of your plants, more than one answer is possible. Give your best estimate, and don't be afraid to mark a ? or uncertain until you get to know your plants!
Learn why we select the phenophases in the Nature's Notebook protocols, and the different types of intensity questions we ask you. Download the Slides |
In Part 2, we look more closely at the questions whose answers contain counts in number bins. This part covers how many buds are breaking? How many flowers or flower buds are present? How many fruits? And How many ripe fruits recently dropped? Download the Slides |
In Part 3, we look more closely at the questions whose answers contain percentage bins. This part covers what percent of flowers are open, and what percent of fruit are ripe. Download the Slides |
In Part 4, we look more closely at percent canopy cover.This part covers what percent of the potential canopy space is full with leaves? What percent is full with non-green leaf color? And what percent of the plant is green, which we use for grasses. Download the Slides |
In Part 5, we look more closely at the categories of leaf size and pollen. For the phenophase intensity question about leaf size, we use the same percentage bins as for open flowers, ripe fruits, and leaf canopy. Download theSlides |