Growing season changes in the last century

An increasing number of studies have reported on shifts in timing and length of the growing season, based on phenological, satellite and climatological studies. The evidence points to a lengthening of the growing season of ca. 10-20 days in the last few decades, where an earlier onset of the start is most prominent. This extension of the growing season has been associated with recent global warming. Changes in the timing and length of the growing season (GSL) may not only have far reaching consequences for plant and animal ecosystems, but persistent increases in GSL may lead to long-term increases in carbon storage and changes in vegetation cover which may affect the climate system. This paper reviews the recent literature concerned with GSL variability. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.