The microclimate of a dry tropical forest

✍ Scribed by R. Pinker

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1980
• Weight: 730 KB
• Volume: 22
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0002-1571
• DOI: 10.1016/0002-1571(80)90005-9

✦ Synopsis

A microclimatic characterization of a dry tropical evergreen forest and a nearby clearing is presented. It is based on meteorological data for selected time intervals of approximately two weeks each, which span different stages of the monsoon cycle.

It was found that the intensity of interaction between the forest canopy and the layer adjacent to it varies seasonally, as does the shielding effect of the canopy on the ground surface temperature. The mode of heating and the soil moisture control the variability in the forest and clearing temperature-microclimate. The forest is almost impermeable to the wind field, resulting in a very weak canopy flow. A comparison of the diurnal velocity traces, for the various periods under investigation, shows two distinct patterns in the position of the daily maximum. The clearing, though a very small enclave in the forest, maintains to a large degree its own microclimate.