The impact of forest structure on near-ground temperatures during two years of contrasting temperature extremes

The thermal environment of clear-cut, partially cut, and uncut forest sites in northern Wisconsin are examined for a warm year and a cool year. Temperatures at 0.5 m above and 0.05 m below ground, as well as base 5 degreesC heat sums are computed for each site between May and September and differences between cut and uncut sites compared for the 2 years. Differences in average and minimum air temperature and soil temperature are less than instrumental error, epsilon = 0.3 degreesC. Maximum air temperature differences between the clear-cut and uncut sites drop from 5.7 degreesC in the cool year to 4.7 degreesC in the warm year, while the difference for the partial cut drops from 3.2 to 2.7 degreesC. The results suggest that studies of tree growth or forest development acid climate change should consider the effects of forest structure on changes in daily extreme temperatures. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.