Investigating micrometeorological differences between saline steppe, forest-steppe and forest environments in northern Serbia during a clear and sunny autumn day

Abstract

Saline habitats of the Pannonian plain are specific regarding their extraordinary biodiversity with many endemic species, yet they are among the most threatened European Communities with limited spatial distribution. These habitats are present in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina in the North of Serbia, in the area of Srednja Mostonga, and they are in the procedure of protection as the II category protected area - "region of exceptional characteristics". Great variety of rare and endemic species makes this area interesting for recreational and educational activities. In this paper we investigate micrometeorological and outdoor thermal comfort conditions in different natural environments at the area of Srednja Mostonga. This is the first micrometeorological field measurement study conducted in this region. Measurements were performed during the daytime of a sunny autumn day in 2019. The results showed that daytime air temperature was up to 3.4 °C lower in forest compared to steppe, while relative humidity was up to 5-6% higher in forest than in steppe with up to 3.2 m/s lower wind speeds in forest than in steppe area. Micrometeorological values were similar between forest-steppe and steppe. However, the outdoor thermal comfort conditions expressed via Humidex showed that 'some discomfort' was most often observed in forest-steppe during 27% of measurement time, followed with 13% of 'some discomfort' observed in steppe and only 1% of 'some discomfort' was observed in forest. Accordingly, during the warmest daytime hours outdoor activities could be performed in forest, while early morning and evening hours could be spent in steppe and forest-steppe areas of Srednja Mostonga.

Developing ecological indicators of sustainable tourism in new protected areas: A case study of saline steppe and forest steppehabitats in Serbia

“…(Mádl-Szőnyi,Tóth, 2009).It is certain that these areas are not for farming development, that is the reason why they were bypassed by the development of intensive agriculture, but the areas of saline steppes are traditionally places of livestock development, which is attributed to preserving the original features of saline steppes to nowadays. Significant attention is provided, at the international level and in the European Union, to the protection of saline steppes because such habitats are a priority for protection (ŠefferováStanová et al, 2008;Milošević et al, 2020).…”

Slope Micrometeorological Analysis and Prediction Based on an ARIMA Model and Data-Fitting System

“…Tall trees and vegetation on the slope can block sunlight and significantly reduce the temperature and humidity of shaded areas. Extreme weather and an abrupt change in micrometeorology have an important influence on the growth of slope vegetation [ 9 , 10 ], resulting in its destruction and a large number of exposed soil and rock slopes. Soil erosion causes an ecological imbalance, which greatly raises the requirements of slope protection design and ecological protection [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Tree species composition mapping with dimension reduction and post-classification using very high-resolution hyperspectral imaging

“…The species composition of forest trees can be important from several aspects, such as quantitative estimation of wood raw material, biomass estimation 1 – 3 , nature conservation 4 , and invasive tree species 5 , 6 . Furthermore, the change of the species structure and spatial distribution of forests can be a proxy of climate change monitoring, this aspect makes forests one of the important research areas of the twenty-first century 6 , 7 .…”