Microclimate buffering of winter temperatures by pine stumps in a temperate forest

Abstract

In the presented study we evaluated the role of wood in buffering its inhabitants against winter temperatures. We followed the microscale temperature patterns inside and outside decaying pine stumps during two winter periods. We analyzed the data by extracting the minimum, maximum and mean temperatures for the episodes of snow, frost or no frost. We compared the temperature variation by applying an absolute values calculation (=modulus) for the subsequent measurements. Finally, we tested the buffering effect of the horizontal depth inside the stumps by comparing the pattern for 5 and 15 cm depths. The results show that (1) the minimum temperature was significantly higher inside than outside the stumps, while temperature variation tended to be larger outside than inside, (2) the dynamics of temperature varied between weather episodes, i.e. the periods characterized by the presence/absence of snow and of frost, (3) the minimum temperature inside the stumps increased with the horizontal depth, while temperature variation decreased. The results presented are the first truly microclimatic data on wood buffering and they are important for the understanding of the possible effects of climate change on the thermal relationships at the microscale.