1. USA-NPN National Coordinating Office
Feb 26-27, 2016

2. PHENOLOGY

3. What is USA-NPN all about?
Advancing Science
Informing Management
Communicating & Connecting
Collect • Store • Share
phenology data & information

4. A multi-taxa, national-scale plant and animal phenology observation program
Standardized protocols for 732 plant and 284 animal species
Web and mobile apps for data entry
Data download
Training and engagement resources

5. ~6,400 active observers
~7,800 active sites
6.5M+ records
Lilac data from 1956
Many taxa from 2009

6. Citizen Science
AKA crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic monitoring, volunteer monitoring, networked science, participatory monitoring/research
Scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessional scientists
Volunteers contribute ~$2.5B annually to biodiversity research
Photo credit: Brian F Powell

7. What USA-NPN Provides
Vetted protocols for species of interest

8. What USA-NPN Provides Vetted protocols for species of interest
Data infrastructure

9. What USA-NPN Provides Vetted protocols for species of interest
Data infrastructure
Training on data collection, entry

10. What USA-NPN Provides Vetted protocols for species of interest
Data infrastructure
Training on data collection, entry
Data download and visualization

11. Quality Assurance/Control
Available at

12. USA-NPN Partnerships

13. USA-NPN Capacity Data Products Non-standard or Historical data
National Phenology Database
The USA-NPN provides scientifically vetted, standardized protocols for phenology monitoring of over 1000 species of plants and animals (species list available at
The USA-NPN partners with the US Fish & Wildlife Service and National Park Service to deliver phenology monitoring protocols and guidance on implementing phenology monitoring programs at Refuges and Parks across the country. Through the California Phenology Project, standardized protocol framework was developed, with specific site-level protocols for 7 individual Park units. The CPP Survey Protocol Framework is available in ServCat (Reference Code: 31176).
Partners such as USFWS and NPS collect phenology data directly through the Nature’s Notebook plant and animal observation online program, which can be used by professional and citizen scientists alike.
Other agencies, including NEON and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, utilize the USA-NPN’s monitoring protocols outside of the Nature’s Notebook interface.
All records are deposited in the National Phenology Database, from which customized, QC’ed raw and summarized datasets can be freely downloaded to support scientific discovery and ecosystem management decisions. The Database also supports historic and non-standard datasets such as the historic cloned lilac dataset which dates back to the 1950s.
The USA-NPN aims to deliver derived phenology data products which are outlined in the Data Product Development Framework and Data Product Catalog, available at
USA-NPN Standard Protocols