The Relationship Between Cumulative Temperature and Leaf Development in Three UBC Campus
This project investigated how cumulative temperature affected leaf development in three UBC campus tree species: Saucer Magnolia, Yoshino Cherry, and Red Maple. Daily mean temperatures from the Vancouver UBC weather station were converted into cumulative mean temperature beginning on March 27. Five trees from each species were monitored near Orchard Commons for 21 days, and mean leaf length, width, and colour were compared across species. A simple growth rate was calculated by dividing the change in mean leaf length by the change in cumulative temperature. All three species showed positive relationships between cumulative temperature and leaf expansion. Saucer Magnolia had the fastest response and reached the largest final mean leaf length. Red Maple showed a moderate response with a clear colour shift from red brown to green. Yoshino Cherry expanded more steadily and ended with the smallest final mean length. Overall, the results suggested that cumulative spring heat was closely linked to leaf development, but the strength of the response differed among species.
Zhuocheng Yang is a first-year Vantage Science student at the University of British Columbia. His work on this project focuses on the connection between accumulated temperature and the timing of visible leaf development in campus trees. He became interested in this topic because it links everyday observations at UBC with broader questions about how plants respond to seasonal environmental change.
Xinqi Li is studying in the Vantage Science program at UBC, where she is developing an interest in biology and environmental observation. In this project, she helped compare the growth patterns of Saucer Magnolia, Yoshino Cherry, and Red Maple across the observation period. She is especially interested in how small differences among species can reveal different responses to the same spring temperature conditions.
Qingyue Zhuang is a first-year student in the Vantage Science program at the University of British Columbia. Her role in the project involved helping interpret the group’s data and thinking about what the observed patterns suggest about heat accumulation and leaf growth. Through this conference, she hopes to learn how other groups turn local observations into clear scientific explanations.
