Eco‐meteorological characteristics of the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

Abstract

This study introduces the set-up of a new meteorological station network on the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, since 2010 and presents the recorded characteristics of air temperature, air humidity and precipitation in both a plot-based and area-wide perspectives. The station set-up follows a hierarchical approach covering an elevational as well as a land-use disturbance gradient. It consists of 52 basic stations measuring ambient air temperature and above-ground air humidity and 11 precipitation measurement sites, with recording intervals of 5 min. With respect to precipitation observations, the network extends the long-term recordings of A. Hemp who has installed and maintained up to 117 multi-month accumulating rainfall buckets in the region since 1997. The meteorological characteristics of the study region based on the derived data since 2010 are mostly in line with previous studies, although we see increased precipitation amounts at higher elevations during these years when compared with long-term means. We furthermore identify a mean annual condensation level at about 2300 m a.s.l. which has not been reported before. Finally, this is the first study to provide high resolution maps of mean monthly and mean annual temperature, humidity and precipitation for Kilimanjaro, which are of great value for geographically oriented meteorological or ecological investigations. Detailed performance statistics of the geo-statistical and machine learning techniques used for the gap filling of the recorded meteorological time series and their regionalization to the Kilimanjaro region indicate that the presented data sets provide reliable measurements of the meteorological reality at Kilimanjaro.

Climate rather than dung resources predict dung beetle abundance and diversity along elevational and land use gradients on Mt. Kilimanjaro

“…The distribution of mean annual precipitation (MAP) is unimodal, with a peak of ~2,700 mm at around 2,200 m a.s.l. (Appelhans et al, ). For this project, 66 permanent study plots (50 m × 50 m) of the DFG research unit FOR1246 were selected on the southern slopes of Mt.…”

Leaf traits mediate changes in invertebrate herbivory along broad environmental gradients on Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

“…It has a northwest–southeast diameter of ~90 km and rises from the savanna plains at ~700 m elevation to a snow‐clad summit at 5,895 m above sea level (asl). The mean annual temperature (MAT) decreases quasi‐linearly with elevation (lapse rate of 0.56°C per 100 m) starting with 25°C at the foothills and decreasing to −8°C at the top of the mountain (Appelhans et al, ). The annual pattern of rainfall is bimodal with periods of long‐heavy rains between March and May and short rains around November (Hemp, ).…”

“…The annual pattern of rainfall is bimodal with periods of long‐heavy rains between March and May and short rains around November (Hemp, ). Annual precipitation shows a unimodal pattern along the elevation gradient with the peak of precipitation (~2,700 mm) in the montane forest belt (Appelhans et al, ). The mountain encompasses several distinct vegetation zones: colline (lowland) savanna (871–1,153 m asl), lower montane rainforest (1,560–2,040 m asl), Ocotea forest (2,120–2,750 m asl), Podocarpus forest (2,752–3,060 m asl), Erica forest (3,500–3,880 m asl) and Alpine Helichrysum (3,849–4,548 m asl) habitats.…”

“…At each study site, MAT was measured for the duration of 2 years using temperature sensors erected approximately 2 m above the ground on each study site (Appelhans et al, ). Mean annual precipitation (MAP) was calculated using a co‐kriging approach with rainfall data collected from a network of 70 rain gauges placed on the mountain for over 15 years.…”

A Comparative Study of Cross-Product NDVI Dynamics in the Kilimanjaro Region—A Matter of Sensor, Degradation Calibration, and Significance

“…The region is characterized by a highly dynamic relief with elevations rising from the savanna plains at around 700 meters above sea level (in the following simply referred to as "m") to the glaciated areas encircling Kibo summit (5895 m). Considering the climatic gradient that such a broad elevation profile entails -Appelhans et al [13] recently reported mean annual air temperatures of more than 25°C in the savanna plains and less than −5°C on the summit-the horizontal distance between prevailing land covers is relatively short when moving upward along the mountainside [14]. The region's equatorial daytime climate [15] is shaped by a bimodal distribution of annual rainfall [16] that can roughly be subdivided into "long rains" (March to May) and "short rains" (around November) according to the passing of the intertropical convergence zone.…”