You call this spring?
After a harsh winter and an April reluctant to warm, New Englanders are keeping their eyes peeled for signs of a lasting spring. Among them is Elizabeth Wolkovich, a Harvard assistant professor of organismic and evolutionary biology who observes changes in trees and other plants with more than casual interest. Wolkovich, appointed in January and based at the Arnold Arboretum and the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, is an authority on plant phenology, or the timing of natural life cycle events, and how those may be affected by climate change. The Gazette spoke with her to get an insider’s view of this slow-blooming spring and how it fits into the puzzle of past and future climate change. GAZETTE: What is phenology, and how does your research relate to it? WOLKOVICH: Phenology is the timing of recurring life history events. That could be the day that a bird starts its migration. It could...