Seasonal drivers of understorey temperature buffering in temperate deciduous forests across Europe

0521736 - BÚ 2020 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Zellweger, F. - Coomes, D. - Lenoir, J. - Depauw, L. - Maes, S. L. - Wulf, M. - Kirkby, K. J. - Brunet, J. - Kopecký, Martin - Máliš, F. - Schmidt, W. - Heinrichs, S. - den Ouden, J. - Jaroszewicz, B. - Buyse, G. - Spicher, F. - Verheyen, K. - De Frenne, P.
Seasonal drivers of understorey temperature buffering in temperate deciduous forests across Europe.
Global Ecology and Biogeography. Roč. 28, č. 12 (2019), s. 1774-1786. ISSN 1466-822X. E-ISSN 1466-8238
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA17-13998S
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : microclimate * temperate forests * climate change
OECD category: Ecology
Impact factor: 6.446, year: 2019
Method of publishing: Open access

We quantified seasonal effects of understorey microclimate predictors describing canopy structure, canopy composition and topography (i.e., local factors) and the forest patch size and distance to the coast (i.e., landscape factors). The maximum temperature during the summer was on average cooler by 2.1 °C inside than outside forests, and the minimum temperatures during the winter and spring were 0.4 and 0.9 °C warmer. The local canopy cover was a strong nonlinear driver of the maximum temperature offset during summer, and we found increased cooling beneath tree species that cast the deepest shade. Seasonal offsets of minimum temperature were mainly regulated by landscape and topographic features, such as the distance to the coast and topographic position. Changes in canopy cover and composition will thus strongly modulate the warming of maximum temperatures in forest understories, with important implications for understanding the responses of forest biodiversity and functioning to the combined threats of land‐use change and climate change.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0306322