Plant reproductive phenology-the timing of reproduction-is shifting rapidly with global climate change. Many studies focus on flowering responses to climate, but few investigate how post-flowering processes, such as how quickly plants develop from flowering to seed dispersal, respond to environmental factors. We examined the climatic drivers of post-flowering phenology in 28 species of Western North American subalpine meadow plants over large spatial and temporal climate gradients. We took a Bayesian hierarchical approach to address whether and how climate influences the time it takes for wildflower populations to transition from flower to seed. Our previous work on the same species demonstrated that the initiation of flowering depends on snowmelt timing, with warmer temperatures and soil moisture also playing a role. Here, we found that for the majority of the flowering community, the same climate drivers also affected the time it takes to move from flowering to seed dispersal. Climate-sensitive species shortened flower-seed transitions when snow melted earlier, temperatures were warmer, and/or soil dried down more quickly-conditions we expect with higher frequency under climate change. Our work underscores the fact that predicting the impact of climate change on plant reproductive phenology demands empirical data on phases beyond flowering. Additionally, it suggests that some species face a future in which multiple environmental factors will push them towards more rapid transitions from flowering to post-flowering phases, with potential effects on plants themselves and the many animal associates that rely on them, including frugivores and seed predators.

中文翻译：

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早期融雪和温暖干燥的夏季缩短了亚高山野花开花后的过渡时间

植物繁殖物候——繁殖的时间——随着全球气候变化而迅速变化。许多研究关注开花对气候的反应，但很少研究开花后的过程，例如植物从开花到种子传播的速度如何对环境因素作出反应。我们研究了 28 种北美西部亚高山草甸植物在大时空气候梯度上开花后物候的气候驱动因素。我们采用贝叶斯分层方法来解决气候是否以及如何影响野花种群从花过渡到种子所需的时间。我们之前对同一物种的研究表明，开花的开始取决于融雪时间，温度升高和土壤湿度也起作用。这里，我们发现，对于大多数开花社区，同样的气候驱动因素也会影响从开花到种子传播所需的时间。当雪更早融化、温度升高和/或土壤干燥得更快时，气候敏感物种会缩短花种子的过渡期，我们预计在气候变化下频率更高。我们的工作强调了这样一个事实，即预测气候变化对植物生殖物候的影响需要有关开花以外阶段的经验数据。此外，它表明某些物种面临着一个未来，其中多种环境因素将推动它们从开花阶段更快地过渡到开花后阶段，这对植物本身和依赖它们的许多动物伙伴（包括食果动物和种子）产生潜在影响掠食者。