Abstract: Spring ephemerals are photosensitive wildflowers found in temperate deciduous forests that typically display aboveground shoots for a period of two months or less. Early spring, before canopy leaf-out, marks the beginning of the aboveground growth period where ephemerals acquire nutrients and resources via leaves and aboveground tissues. Several studies have shown that spring ephemeral reproduction is affected by spring temperature, but few, if any, have looked at how weather conditions of past seasons, including both precipitation and temperature, influence a change in aboveground growth for the following year. We aimed to address this lack of knowledge by examining the response of a spring ephemeral community in a Northeastern Ohio hardwood temperate forest to weather conditions during their growing season the previous year. For 12 years, from 2010 – 2022, we estimated the percent cover of each species within our study community. We highlighted five dominant spring ephemeral species within this community: wild leek (Allium tricoccum), cutleaf toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), spring beauty (Claytonia virginica), squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis), and trout lily (Erythronium americanum). We compared changes in cover on both a community and species level from one year to the next with average precipitation and temperature of the previous year.
We found that precipitation and temperature influence a change in cover at both the community and species level, but the strength of that influence varies by species. Overall, precipitation and cover change are positively correlated, while temperature and cover change are negatively correlated. Cooler, wetter springs lead to an increase in aboveground shoot growth during the next year. Learning how individual species within a forest community respond to weather conditions is a crucial part of understanding how future community structures may differ as a result of our changing climate.
