Abstract
A study was carried out on “Impact of micro-climatic variations on forest ecosystem in mid hills of Himachal Pradesh” during winter and summer seasons of 2015-16. Comparisons of below forest canopy and open sites were carried out for abiotic and biotic factors under five forest ecosystems (chir pine forest, mixed forest, ban oak forest, agriculture field and bare area) and analysed the forest influence on local winter and summer climate according to forest type, soil type, slope orientation, tree height and diameter at breast height by using RBD design. Seasonal and diurnal variations in microclimatic variables viz., air temperature, soil temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction were measured with Portable weather station (Delta T) at afternoon 2:00-4:00 PM fortnightly in each forest ecosystem and bare area during winter and summer season. Solar radiation and albedo were measured with Pyranometer (Kipp and Zonen) at 1.35 m height. A significant decrease was attained in below forest canopy and bare area data for ambient temperature (2.5-5.0 oC), soil temperature (1.5-3.6 oC) solar radiation (13.2-47.4 Wm-2), albedo (0.15-0.21) and increased relative humidity (7-18%), soil moisture (8.0-15.2%). Among different forest ecosystem, the diurnal trends in microclimatic parameters showed large variations. The ambient air temperature ranged from 02.2-16.3 oC and 14.2- 30.7 oC where as soil temperature ranged from 07.4- 16.5 oC and 15.4-32.7 oC, however relative humidity ranged from 37- 88 per cent and 14-60 per cent among different forest ecosystem during winter and summer seasons, respectively. Mico-climatic variables under Ban-Oak forest revealed significant lowest air temperature, highest relative humidity and less wind speed.
Highlights
Forest cover act as buffer and creates a specific understory microclimate that differs from the surrounding local climate[1]
The research area was divided into five different sites as Chir Pine forest (F1), Mixed forest (F2), Ban Oak forest (F3), Agricutural field (F4) and Bare area (F5)
Significant differences in average air temperature and relative humidity recorded among different forest ecosystem during the year 2015-16
Summary
Forest cover act as buffer and creates a specific understory microclimate that differs from the surrounding local climate[1]. Monitoring the microclimatic data in various micro-habitats of different ecosystems would provide unique data on the long-term impact of global change on microclimate changes[2]. As microclimatic variations effects are usually stronger during summer and the middle of the day in different types of forests[3,4]. Microclimatic variations under overstory canopies of different types of forests are critically important in understanding overall ecosystem structure and function. As it directly influences the ecological and physiological processes e.g. germination, abundance and distribution of understory vegetation and decomposition. Soil temperature and moisture are known to influence biotic and abiotic process rates such as nutrient availability[5], soil carbon sequestration/emission[6] and microbial activity[7]
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