Altitudinal and Microclimatic Relationships of Soil Temperature Under Natural Vegetation

Shanks, Royal E.

doi:10.2307/1929663

Cited by 36 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The soil characteristics (pH, temperature, moisture, organic-matter content) reported here to be associated with hemlock are well documented for pure hemlock forests (Moore et al 1924, Daubenmire 1930, Friesner and Potzger 1931, Cobb 1932, Friesner and Potzger 1936, Oosting and Hess 1956, Shanks 1956. The soil characteristics (pH, temperature, moisture, organic-matter content) reported here to be associated with hemlock are well documented for pure hemlock forests (Moore et al 1924, Daubenmire 1930, Friesner and Potzger 1931, Cobb 1932, Friesner and Potzger 1936, Oosting and Hess 1956, Shanks 1956.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Influence of Microtopography and Canopy Species on Spatial Patterns of Forest Understory Plants

Beatty¹

1984

Ecology

462

327

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In a maple-beech forest in eastern New York, equal numbers of mounds, pits, and adjacent undisturbed soil microsites were censused for plant species density and cover over the growing seasons of 1978 and 1979. Several soil properties were also measured for each microsite. Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and chi-square goodness-of-fit tests were used to test whether the species were uniformly distributed over the microrelief positions. Comparisons of species composition, diversity, and vegetative phenologies were made between microsites and between hemlock-and hardwood-dominated forest areas. Differences in soil properties between microsites and between the two forest areas were assessed with one-tailed paired t tests and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests, respectively.Microrelief created a mosaic of soil properties and a vegetation pattern in the understory, both of which were affected by the presence of hemlock in the canopy. Ordinations (DCA) indicated two factors that affected species composition of the microsites: (I) presence of hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) as the nearest canopy tree, and (2) microtopography (whether the microsite was a mound, pit, or undisturbed-soil site). Species in non-hemlock areas had patchy distributions in the forest community: eight species grew mainly on mounds, six in pits, and five on undisturbed soil. The mounds and pits had characteristic assemblages of species. Species richness and total density and cover of plants in each microsite were constant over the growing season. In contrast, little spatial or temporal community pattern was apparent in forest areas influenced by hemlock.The effect of hemlock on species distributions was due in part to its effect on soil properties. For all microsites, forest areas with hemlock had greater soil organic matter content, available nitrogen, cation exchange capacity, and litter depth, lower soil calcium content, moisture content, temperature, pH, and A1 horizon depth; and no frost heaving.Microrelief also affected soil properties significantly. In comparison with pits, mounds were drier and poorer in nutrient content, and had a lower cation exchange capacity, less organic matter, less litter cover, a thinner A1 horizon, and less snow accumulation. In areas without hemlock, the mounds were also more acid, warmer in summer and colder in winter, and more subject to frost heaving than pits. Hemlock-influenced areas had no consistent microsite differences in pH or temperature.The different microenvironments, created by the interaction of microrelief and hemlock, resulted in patchy distributions of most understory species. This pattern was likely a result of species requirements for and tolerances of environmental conditions, tempered by competitive interactions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Influence of Microtopography and Canopy Species on Spatial Patterns of Forest Understory Plants

Beatty¹

1984

Ecology

462

327

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“…Thus, compared to air temperatures, soil temperatures did not vary as consistently with elevation. In comparison, in the Great Smoky Mountains of the Southern Appalachians, Shanks (1956) found that the elevational gradient for mean soil temperature (at 15 cm depth) was similar to that for air temperature from May to October. Similarly, Siccama (1974) reported that mean annual soil temperature (15 cm) on Camels Hump, Vermont, decreased linearly with elevation, from 7.2 • C at 549 m to 3.9 • C at 1158 m (0.54 • C/100 m).…”

Section: Soil Temperaturesmentioning

confidence: 84%

Microclimatology of treeline spruce?fir forests in mountains of the northeastern United States

Richardson

Lee

Friedland

2004

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology

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The objective of this study was to characterize the temporal and altitudinal variation in microclimate of high elevation spruce-fir (Picea rubens-Abies balsamea) forests in three major mountain ranges of the northeastern United States. Mean lapse rates of air temperature were comparable to those previously reported for this region, but lapse rates varied considerably in relation to diurnal (and, to a lesser degree, seasonal) effects. Mean annual soil temperatures and soil temperature heat sums did not show a consistent pattern with regard to elevation. Within our study region, it has been suggested that frequent cloud immersion at high elevation results in radiation fluxes at that are dramatically reduced compared to those at mid and low elevation, but results of this study appear not to support this hypothesis. The frequency of very high (≥90%) relative humidities increased with elevation, but although clear-sky fluxes of photosynthetically active radiation increased moderately with increasing elevation, mean mid-day fluxes during the growing season were almost identical between mid and high elevation.

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“…Closed tree canopies at the treeline create cold soils, which impair root activity (e.g. DaÈ niker 1923;Shanks 1956;Wardle 1968;Ballard 1972;Munn et al 1978;KoÈ rner et al 1986;Holtmeier and Broll 1992; Fig. 3), an aspect so far not seriously considered in discussion of the treeline.…”

Section: Growth and Development: A Hypothesis For Treeline Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A re-assessment of high elevation treeline positions and their explanation

1998

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In this review I ®rst compile data for the worldwide position of climate-driven alpine treelines. Causes for treeline formation are then discussed with a global perspective. Available evidence suggests a combination of a general thermal boundary for tree growth, with regionally variable``modulatory'' forces, including the presence of certain taxa. Much of the explanatory evidence found in the literature relates to these modulatory aspects at regional scales, whereas no good explanations emerged for the more fundamental global pattern related to temperature per se, on which this review is focused. I hypothesize that the life form``tree'' is limited at treeline altitudes by the potential investment, rather than production, of assimilates (growth as such, rather than photosynthesis or the carbon balance, being limited). In shoots coupled to a cold atmosphere, meristem activity is suggested to be limited for much of the time, especially at night. By reducing soil heat¯ux during the growing season the forest canopy negatively a ects root zone temperature. The lower threshold temperature for tissue growth and development appears to be higher than 3°C and lower than 10°C, possibly in the 5.5±7.5°C range, most commonly associated with seasonal means of air temperature at treeline positions. The physiological and developmental mechanisms responsible have yet to be analyzed. Root zone temperature, though largely unknown, is likely to be most critical.

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Altitudinal and Microclimatic Relationships of Soil Temperature Under Natural Vegetation

Cited by 36 publications

References 7 publications

Influence of Microtopography and Canopy Species on Spatial Patterns of Forest Understory Plants

Influence of Microtopography and Canopy Species on Spatial Patterns of Forest Understory Plants

Microclimatology of treeline spruce?fir forests in mountains of the northeastern United States

A re-assessment of high elevation treeline positions and their explanation

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