Micro Climate

Plant life, especially the occurrence of different plant species, is influenced by local climate. However plants can also modify their own microclimate. For example, transpiration enhances the humidity of the air, trees slow down the wind and the light on the ground is filtered by the canopy.

In the botanical garden you can compare temperatures, measured in different locations in a hornbeam (Carpinus betulus): Depending on daytime and weather, temperatures in crown trunk and root area can be quite different.

• Crown temperatures are influenced, besides the air-temperature, mainly by wind and radiation.
• Temperatures in the root area are lower and change less during the day
• Trunk-temperatures are determined by the air temperature, the radiation that falls ont the trunk, and the cool soil-water, which is transported upwards in the tree.