Phenology is the study of recurring plant and animal life-cycle stages which can be observed across spatial and temporal scales that span orders of magnitude (e.g., organisms to landscapes). The variety of scales at which phenological processes operate is reflected in the range of methods for collecting phenologically relevant data, and the programs focused on these collections. Consideration of the scale at which phenological observations are made, and the platform used for observation, is critical for the interpretation of phenological data and the application of these data to both research questions and land management objectives. However, there is currently little capacity to facilitate access, integration and analysis of cross-scale, multi-platform phenological data. This paper reports on a new suite of software and analysis tools – the “Pheno-Synthesis Software Suite,” or PS3 – to facilitate integration and analysis of phenological and ancillary data, enabling investigation and interpretation of phenological processes at scales ranging from organisms to landscapes and from days to decades. We use PS3 to investigate phenological processes in a semi-aride, mixed shrub-grass ecosystem, and find that the apparent importance of seasonal precipitation to vegetation activity (i.e., “greenness”) is affected by the scale and platform of observation. We end by describing potential applications of PS3 to phenological modeling and forecasting, understanding patterns and drivers of phenological activity in real-world ecosystems, and supporting agricultural and natural resource management and decision-making.

物候学是对反复出现的植物和动物生命周期阶段的研究，这些阶段可以在跨越数量级的空间和时间尺度上进行观察（例如，生物体到景观）。物候过程运行的各种尺度反映在收集物候相关数据的方法范围以及专注于这些收集的程序中。考虑进行物候观测的规模以及用于观测的平台对于解释物候数据以及将这些数据应用于研究问题和土地管理目标至关重要。然而，目前几乎没有能力促进跨规模、多平台物候数据的访问、整合和分析。本文报告了一套新的软件和分析工具——“Pheno-Synthesis Software Suite”或 PS3——以促进物候和辅助数据的集成和分析，从而能够在从生物到景观的尺度上调查和解释物候过程从几天到几十年。我们使用 PS3 研究半干旱、灌木-草混合生态系统中的物候过程，发现季节性降水对植被活动（即“绿度”）的明显重要性受观测规模和平台的影响。我们最后描述了 PS3 在物候建模和预测、了解现实世界生态系统中物候活动的模式和驱动因素以及支持农业和自然资源管理和决策方面的潜在应用。