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Interactive Effects of Weather and Forest Structure on Microclimate Buffering in European Deciduous Forests.
Liping Wei1,2,3, Pieter Sanczuk1, Pieter Vangansbeke1,4
1Forest & Nature Lab, Department of Environment, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Melle-Gontrode, Belgium.
Global Change Biology
|December 9, 2025
Summary
Forest microclimate buffering is primarily driven by daily outside air temperature fluctuations, influenced by weather and forest structure. These daily changes impact forest ecosystems more than previously thought.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Forest Science
- Climate Science
Background:
- Forest microclimates significantly differ from ambient conditions, a phenomenon known as buffering.
- Buffering effects are influenced by external meteorological variables and forest structure.
- Previous research often focused on long-term averages, neglecting critical daily temperature fluctuations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the daily resolution of microclimate temperature buffering in European deciduous forests.
- To assess the influence of daily weather variations and forest characteristics on temperature offsets.
- To understand the interactive effects of weather, forest structure, and edge proximity on microclimate buffering.
Main Methods:
- Utilized in situ measured air and soil temperatures from 45 European deciduous forests over 5+ years.
- Correlated daily temperature data with daily variations in free-air temperature, precipitation, wind speed, soil moisture, solar radiation, day length, and snow cover.
- Analyzed the interactive effects of weather conditions, plant area index, and distance to forest edge on temperature offsets.
Main Results:
- Daily free-air temperature was the dominant factor influencing air and soil temperature buffering.
- Higher free-air temperatures, soil moisture, wind speed, and snow cover generally led to more negative temperature offsets.
- Precipitation and solar radiation showed a slight increase in temperature offsets, with variations based on forest structure and season.
Conclusions:
- Daily fluctuations in free-air temperature are key drivers of forest microclimate buffering.
- Complex interactions exist between daily weather, forest structure, and edge effects in modulating microclimate.
- Findings provide crucial insights for microclimate models and understanding forest ecosystem responses to environmental change.
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