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Comment on "Forest microclimate dynamics drive plant responses to warming".
Peter Schall1, Steffi Heinrichs2
1Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|December 11, 2020
Summary
European forest understories do not exhibit a significant microclimatic debt. The study found that understory responses to the thermal environment are generally weak, challenging previous canopy buffering theories.
Area of Science:
- Forest ecology
- Microclimatology
- Environmental science
Background:
- Previous research suggested a microclimatic debt in European forest understories, primarily attributed to canopy buffering.
- This debt was proposed to influence the understory environment significantly.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate the methodology and conclusions of Zellweger et al. regarding microclimatic debt in forest understories.
- To reassess the role of canopy buffering and understory thermal responses.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the statistical approach used by Zellweger et al.
- Review of understory microclimate data and its relationship with canopy cover and thermal variations.
Main Results:
- The analysis by Zellweger et al. was found to be based on circular reasoning, explaining a phenomenon by one of its constituent parts.
- Empirical evidence indicates a generally weak response of the forest understory to the broader thermal environment.
Conclusions:
- The concept of a significant microclimatic debt, as described by Zellweger et al., is not supported by a robust analysis.
- Forest understory microclimates are less sensitive to canopy buffering than previously claimed, and their thermal response is weak.
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