UK Biodiversity Indicator B4, Pressure from climate change - spring index

This spreadsheet is the underlying data for the biodiversity indicator B4, Pressure from climate change - spring index. Phenology is the study of the timing of recurring natural events in relation to climate, and such observations provide year-on-year information on how nature is responding to a changing climate. This indicator illustrates the stress that one aspect of climate change (spring warming) can place on biological systems. Differential responses among species may cause problems for life cycles (e.g. pollinating insects emerging out of synchrony with flowers opening in spring), increasing vulnerability to extreme events such as late frosts, disruption of food webs, and changing the balance of competition between species. This is a context indicator, and is not assessed; it is shown to highlight a biological response to climate change and a potential pressure on biological systems. It shows the impact of temperature change on the timing of biological events such as flowering or migration in the spring. This is one of a suite of 24 UK biodiversity indicators published by JNCC on behalf of Defra; the latest publication date was 19 January 2016 - for indicator B4 the latest data are for 2015.