The effect of forest disturbance on landscape temperature

Abstract

Since the 1990s, the territory of the Šumava National Park (Czech Republic) has faced significant changes in land cover, especially deforestation, in conjunction with several bark beetle disturbances and hurricane Kyrill in 2007. The aim of the study is to review the hydrological and climatic function of the forest and deforestation impacts on the landscape temperature. As a case study, surface temperature changes of the selected area of Šumava National Park from the satellite Landsat thermal data is presented from 1991 to 2016. At the sites with decayed forest, the surface temperature increased by 2-4°C. Images from ground temperature measurements illustrate extreme temperature differences (∼35°C) at locations where dead wood has not been removed; in the live forest, they are around 5°C. Further, we show the increase in air temperature is associated with the decay of forest stands, including snow melting. The duration of the permanent snow cover on the mountaintops with the growing forest in the last four years is, on average, 11 days longer than the areas with decayed forest. The results show that the increase in surface temperature in the large area causes changes in the local climate and hydrological regime. These changes may have a negative impact on the surrounding ecosystems, including the Šumava wetlands and peat bogs belonging to the Ramsar sites. 1. Forests promote precipitation. 2. Trees and forests are natural cooling systems. 3. Forests generate air and moisture flows. 4. Trees and forests can improve groundwater recharge. 5. Forests can moderate flooding. The authors bring evidence both from ecophysiological studies and from evaluation of how large forest complexes function. They emphasize the direct role of forests in the distribution of solar energy, cooling, water cycle, and local climate. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and mainstream science focus on the role of forests and wetlands in global climate change in terms of the greenhouse effect: forests affect climate by serving as a sink/source for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). Forests affect the climate positively through carbon dioxide

Land Use/Land Cover Changes and the Relationship with Land Surface Temperature Using Landsat and MODIS Imageries in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

“…This is done, due to the study area comprising of both vegetative and non-vegetative details. Similarly, this was done by Tavares et al [32], Hesslerová et al [34], Kumari et al [35], and Walawender et al [36].…”

“…where L λ is the TOA spectral radiance in units W/(m2.sr. µm), M L is the band-specific multiplying rescale factor in the metadata, A L is the band-specific additive rescaling factor in the metadata, Q cal is the calibrated and quantized pixel values (DN), and O i represents the offsets supplied by USGS for the TIRS band calibration [15,34,40]. To convert the DN to radiance for Landsat 7 ETM+, the "gain and bias" method was used.…”

Áreas Úmidas Brasileiras: Bases Para O Gerenciamento, Serviços Ecossistêmicos E Estratégias De Manejo

“…parques lineares, áreas permeáveis) (GUIDA; REMO; SECCHI, 2016; WATSON et al, 2016) nas áreas urbanas e rurais. Hesslerová et al (2018) destacam que o desmatamento e a drenagem de áreas úmidas situam-se entre os fatores mais significativos para as mudanças climáticas, além de que o emprego de espécies vegetais mais tolerantes ao calor e a falta de água pode ser uma medida a ser adotada em projetos de recuperação que visem reduzir a produção de GEE. Sendo assim, estratégias que visem a reabilitação ou restauração desses sistemas contribuem para à conservação ou recuperação desses ecossistemas.…”

Science in the Vanguard of Rethinking the Role of Forests in the Third Millennium: Comments on the Draft Concept of the Federal Law “Forest Code of the Russian Federation

“…Повышение температуры является одним из основных факторов пожароопасности . Теряет смысл традиционное деление факторов пожароопасности на климатические (climate change) и связанные с землепользованием (land-use) (Molinari et al, 2018 (Hesslerová et al, 2018).…”

“…В одновозрастном древостое, сформировавшемся после пожара или вырубки, все деревья достигают зрелого возраста и затем стареют практически одновременно. Если не предпринять никаких мер по их защите, то такие древостои отомрут, и сформировавшийся большой запас мёртвой древесины станет потенциальной угрозой пожаров и распространения вредителей (Hesslerová et al, 2018). При одновременном вывале большого числа деревьев повышается температура, понижается влажность, что ещё более повышает пожароопасность.…”