Abstract
With the expected changes in summer weather due to global warming, knowledge of the microclimatic variability at the forest floor dramatically increased in importance for silviculture, wildfire management and biodiversity issues. Thus, during the warm season in 2014, thermal aspects within a heterogeneous forest were recorded at nine sites and compared to data from a nearby weather station. It was found that soil (−5 cm) and near-surface (0–2 cm) temperatures under shaded conditions stayed remarkably cooler than temporarily or fully radiated spots inside and outside the forest; largest differences occurred in maxima (July: 22.5 °C to 53.5 °C). Solar radiation was found to be the main driver for the strong heating of near-surface microhabitats, which could be reinforced by the vegetation type (moss). The weather station widely reflected the average condition on forest floor, but lacks the biological meaningful temperature extremes. The measurement system (internal versus external sensor) resulted in differences of up to 6 K. The findings underline the importance of old or dense stands for maintaining cool microrefugia. However, also the need for careful selection and analysis of microclimatic measurements in forests, representative for specific microhabitats, under consideration of ground vegetation modifications.
Highlights
IntroductionGreen spaces inside and outside the city, and especially larger forest areas, contribute to mitigating these stress effects through physical mitigation processes, which today are often denoted as ecosystem services [2,3,4]
The study year 2014 was the hottest year in Germany since weather records began, with very hot and dry conditions in June and early July, but rather cool and rainy conditions in mid-summer month of late July and August [47]
The conclusions refer mainly to the radiation absorbing medium near the ground, not solely to factors normally considered such as air and soil temperatures
Summary
Green spaces inside and outside the city, and especially larger forest areas, contribute to mitigating these stress effects through physical mitigation processes, which today are often denoted as ecosystem services [2,3,4]
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