From this summary of reported changes it is clear that there has been a marked
advance in leafing, flowering and fruiting dates of plants in the last half-century and
a delay in leaf fall. One of the consequences of this is an increase in the length of the
growing season. This affects not only native species as outlined here but also forestry
and agriculture (e.g. Chmielewski et al., 2004; Williams & Abberton, 2004).