Tree Surface Temperature in a Primary Tropical Rain Forest

Qinghai Song,Liqing Sha,He Bai,Wenjun Zhou,Yuntong Liu,Yiping Zhang,Chenna Sun,Hui Yu,Yun Deng,Jing Zhang

doi:10.3390/atmos11080798

Abstract

As one of the important factors affecting plant productivity and plant distribution, temperature also affects the physiological and ecological characteristics of plants to a large extent. We report canopy leaf temperature distribution over a 36 m tall primary tropical rain forest and samplings of 28 tree species in SW China by means of two high resolution thermal cameras (P25, Flir systems, Wilsonville, OR, USA). The leaf temperature of dominant tree Species Pometia tomentosa was the highest (31.8 °C), 10.2 °C higher than that of tree species Mezzettipsis creaghii (21.6 °C). The mean leaf to air temperature difference (Tc–Ta) of Pometia tomentosa was the highest (6.4 K), the second highest was Barringtonia pendula (6.1 K), and Mezzettipsis creaghii had the lowest (Tc–Ta) (1.9K). (Tc–Ta) of tree species with smaller leaves and larger stomatal conductance was lowly sensitive to climate factors. Leaf size and stomatal conductance together decided the effect of climate change to (Tc–Ta) of the different tree species. We have shown that the composition of tree species in tropical rain forest areas is important to the climate through our research.

Highlights

There are many factors that affect plant productivity and plant distribution, such as climate, topography, water, soil, microorganisms, and so on
Our experiment was conducted in a tropical rain forest in Xishuangbanna, southwestern
Wind speed was very low in this site

Summary

Introduction

There are many factors that affect plant productivity and plant distribution, such as climate, topography, water, soil, microorganisms, and so on. As one of the important factors affecting plant productivity and plant distribution, temperature affects the physiological and ecological characteristics of plants to a large extent. Temperature influences rates of plant photosynthesis and respiration, litter decomposition and microbial activity [1], and other biological processes will affect the fixation and release of carbon dioxide [2]. Leaf size, leaf shape, petiole length, and other traits can affect leaf temperature [5,6,7].As a result, global warming is expected to affect carbon pools on land, increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere [8,9]. The rate of ecosystem respiration will increase with increasing temperature. At the same time, rising temperatures may lead to plant stomata closing, reducing the primary productivity of tropical rainforest ecosystems

Methods

Discussion

Conclusion