L6: Forest and temperature

(climate)

Jeroen Engelhart

MI0533: Forest Ecology

M.Sc. course plan: fall semester 2016

Summary:

• 8 lecture days – 14 lectures – 10 exercises

• ‘Forest Ecology’ course assessment: written exam

• Website: emuforestecology.weebly.com

• Books:

- Forest Ecology

J.P. Kimmins

- Forest Ecosystems (2nd Edition)

David A. Perry - Ram Oren - Stephen C. Hart

MI0533: Forest Ecology

M.Sc. course plan: fall semester 2016

05.09.2016

Lecture 1: Introduction to forest ecology (Jeroen Engelhart: JE)

Lecture 2: Forest ecosystem: structure (Kalev Jõgiste: KJ)

Exercise 1: Forest ecosystem: structure (KJ)

12.09.2016

Lecture 3: Forest ecosystem productivity (KJ)

Lecture 4: : Forest hydrology (Floor Vodde: FV)

Exercise 2: Forest ecosystem and irradiance (light demanding trees) (JE)

19.09.2016

Lecture 5: Forest soil and carbon (KJ)

Exercise 3: Forest ecosystem and irradiance (KJ)

Exercise 4: Forest soil (soil temperature) (KJ)

September

MI0533: Forest Ecology

25.09.2015

o 10:15-12:00 Lecture 6: Forest and temperature (climate) –

Jeroen Engelhart

o 12:15-14:00 Lecture 7: Forest Genetics– Tiit Maaten

o 14:15-15:00 Exercise 5: Forest and temperature (climate,

microclimate) – Jeroen Engelhart

Wikimedia commons

‘Cedrus libani’

Olivier Bezes - 2005

Cèdre du Liban, Barouk

Al Shouf Cedar Nature

Reserve on the slopes of

Barouk mountain

Cedrus libani

Range: Lebanon,

Palestine, Israel,

northwest

Jordan, western

Syria, south west

and central

Turkey

40m

6,8 m

Garip Village,

Egirdir, Isparta,

Turkey

Planted in ±1388

>> 628 years

altitude 1,000-2,000 m

Ceder Forest Remnants The largest stands are in southern Turkey in the Taurus Mountains where there are extensive forests occurring from Boz

Mountain (Acipayam) in the west and Ahir and Nur (Amanos) mountains in the east. Its distribution continues towards

the southern boundary of Inner Anatolia (Atalay and Recep 2010). Approximately one third of these forests are in a

degraded state (Boydak 1996). In Lebanon the subpopulation is in the form of 15 fragmented stands, more than half of

which have an area of occupancy of less than 1 km2 and are in a state of severe degradation (Talhouk 2001). In Syria the

species forms isolated pockets on the crest of Djebel Ansarieh (Rolley n.s.). There are five separate stands in Cyprus, the

largest at Triplyos comprises about 16,000 mature individuals (Eliades 2008).

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Lecture 6:

Forest and temperature (climate)

Jeroen Engelhart

1. Temperature on planet earth

2. Occurrence of climatic zones

3. Climatic influence on vegetation

4. Temperature effect on trees

5. Forest effect on climate

1. Temperature on planet earth

Temperature

“A measure of intensity or concentration of heat energy in an

object.” Kimmins 1987

Temperature = amount of heat energy + the heat capacity of the

object

All matter with a temperature greater than absolute zero emits

thermal radiation.

The higher the t°C, the shorter is

the wavelength of radiation

emitted

Different materials have different thermal

capacities. Wood has a lower thermal capacity

when compared to iron.

Question 1. What object (wood or iron of the

same size) has a higher temperature when

both contain the same amount of heat energy?

Question 2. What object contains more energy

when they have the same temperature ?

Temperature test

Temperature Scales

Absolute zero

All gases → change to liquid → then to solid → −273.15°

At temperatures near 0 K, nearly all molecular motion

ceases

Start of big bang,

100 billion Kelvin

Universe Today

T=2.735 degrees above absolute zero

Robert Boyle 1627-1691

Temperature extremes

Surface of sun

5505 ° C

Inside of sun

16 million° C

Temperature of the sun

Water = liquid

→

Life

Earth’s habitable zone

• Earth’s Core 5000° C

• Core-Mantle boundary

3000° C

• Mantle 500-900° C

• Lava 700-1200° C

• Average air temperature

14,6° C

Temperatures on Earth

Some high temperature records:

• 56,7° C, 10 July 2013,

Furnace Creek Ranch, Death

Valley, California

• 58,0° C, 13 Sept. 1922, El

Azizia, Lybia

• 70,7° C, 2005, Lut desert,

Iran (NASA satellite record)

Temperature records (hot)

Some low temperature records:

• -89,2° C, 21 July 1983,

Soviet Vostok Station.

Antarctica (1300 km from the

geographic South Pole.

Located 3488 m above sea

level)

• -67,8° C, 13 January 1885,

Verkhoyansk, Siberia

Temperatures records (cold)

Variation of temperatures

Tropics:

• Only a few degrees

Continential regions biggest daily variation

• In winter; -49 to 6,5° C, Montana

• In summer; 2 to 50° C, some deserts

Continential regions biggest season variation

• Winter –summer; 107° C (-70 to 37° C),

Siberia

2. Occurrence of climatic zones

Cause: radiation

Surface temperature:

• Mainly driven by

solar radiation (not

earth’s inner core)

Effect of latitude

Insolation = the solar irradiance integrated over time

Seasonality

Seasonality

Global circulation

• Wind directions between

zones

• Rotation of earth causes

askew wind directions

between zones

Global circulation

• Wind directions between

zones

• Rotation of earth causes

askew wind directions

between zones

“The reflecting power of a surface”

Effect of albedo

“The reflecting power of a surface”

Surface Typical

albedo

Conifer

forest

(Summer)

0.08, 0.09 to 0.15

Deciduous

trees 0.15 to 0.18

Bare soil 0.17

Green grass 0.25

Desert sand 0.40

Ocean ice 0.5–0.7

Fresh snow 0.80–0.90

Effect of albedo

Effect of oceans

• Large bodies of water act as heat sinks, they store heat in

warm periods and release it in cold periods.

• Thermal capacity of water >> to increase temperature of

water it takes five times more thermal energy than an equal

amound of dry mineral soil

• Different parts of the ocean have different parts of surface

temperature currents

Effect of oceans

• Large bodies of water act as heat sinks, they store heat in

warm periods and release it in cold periods.

• Thermal capacity of water >> to increase temperature of

water it takes five times more thermal energy than an equal

amound of dry mineral soil

• Different parts of the ocean have different parts of surface

temperature currents

Effect of oceans

• Large bodies of water act as heat sinks, they store heat in

warm periods and release it in cold periods.

• Thermal capacity of water >> to increase temperature of

water it takes five times more thermal energy than an equal

amound of dry mineral soil

• Different parts of the ocean have different parts of surface

temperature currents

Effect of altitude

Troposphere:

• per 1000 m in

altitude

• 4° C temperature

decrease

• Altitudinal

Zonation System

in Latin America

Effect of altitude

Troposphere:

• per 1000 m in

altitude

• 4° C temperature

decrease

• Altitudinal

Zonation System

in Latin America

Global topography

Global topography

Global topography

• Latitude

• Seasonality

• Global circulation

• Oceans (currents)

• Albedo

• Altitude (topography)

Causes for climatic zones

Climatic zones

Quiz!

• Berlin, Germany

• In Salah, Algeria

• Manaus, Brazil

• Tomsk, Russia

• Vancouver,

Canada