A Climate Transect through Tropical Montane Rain Forest in Hawaii

Abstract

Two years of climate data from a transect of three surface meteorological stations on the windward slopes of Mauna Loa, Hawaii, are analyzed. The stations constitute a transect between 700 and 1640 m through the wet, montane rain forest zone below the trade-wind inversion. Data are compared with previous short-term measurements for the area, and previously unreported climate elements such as photosynthetically active radiation and soil temperature are presented. While absolute values vary between the sites, annual and diurnal climate patterns for the sites are remarkably similar, despite the altitudinal range involved and the close proximity of the trade-wind inversion level to the upper station.