The temperature profile in a forest

Abstract

The temperature profile of a mature forest seldom has been observed. Temperatures at specific locations are of interest to the forester because they may help explain many phenomena, such as growth or death of seedlings and freezing of terminals and floral parts of trees. The opportunity to combine a vertical succession of such temperature measurements into a temperature profile was afforded the author by a battery of thermometers installed in a study of natural regeneration at the Stanislaus Branch of the California Forest and Range Experiment Station. This branch station is located on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada at latitude 38°11' north, longitude 120°02' west. One phase of the study was conducted in mature mixed conifer stand near the bottom of an east-facing slope at an elevation of 5170 feet. The stand is composed of the following species: ponderosa pine, sugar pine, Jeffrey pine, white fir, and California incense-cedar. This paper presents a summary of the temperatures observed therein.

Citation

Fowells, H.A. 1948. The temperature profile in a forest. Journal of Forestry. 46(12): 897-899