Summary
Winter minimum temperatures were recorded at four sites in Station Cove, a forested flat-bottomed ravine in the southern Appalachians of South Carolina, U.S.A. Unlike minimum temperatures found in frost hollows, cove minima were warmer than those found outside of the cove. Within the cove, minimum temperatures at study sites in the narrow, gorge-like western portion near a 20 m high cascade were warmer than those in the broader, eastern portion. Additionally, minimum temperatures near the ground were warmer than those at 1.4 m height above the surface. Selected spring-flowering plant species bloomed earlier in the western portion of the cove, while for the same plant species, within cove flowering dates were 2 to 3 weeks earlier than those outside of the cove. Station Cove, therefore, appears to harbor a microclimate that allows for much earlier flowering and leafing out of plant species in spring than does the surrounding region.
Zusammenfassung
Winter-Minimumtemperaturen wurden an vier Meßstellen in Station Cove, einer bewaldeten Schlucht mit flachem Boden in den südlichen Appalachen von South Carolina, U.S.A., registriert. Im Gegensatz zu den Minimumtemperaturen, die in Frostlöchern auftreten, waren die Talschluchtminima wärmer als die außerhalb der Schlucht gemessenen. Innerhalb des Tales waren die Minimumtemperaturen im schluchtartigen, westlichen Ende in der Nähe eines 20 m hohen Wasserfalls wärmer als die im breiteren, östlichen Teil des Tales. Außerdem waren die Minimumtemperaturen in Bodennähe wärmer als die in 1,4 m Höhe gemessenen. Einige Arten von Frühlingsblumen blühten im westlichen Teil der Talschlucht früher als im östlichen Teil. Dieselben Arten blühten in der Schlucht 2 bis 3 Wochen früher als außerhalb der Schlucht. Station Cove ist daher durch ein Mikroklima charakterisiert, das im Vergleich zum umliegenden Terrain ein früheres Austreiben und Blühen der Pflanzen im Frühling erlaubt.
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Gaddy, L.L., Suckling, P.W. & Meentemeyer, V. The relationship between winter minimum temperatures and spring phenology in a Southern Appalachian Cove. Arch. Met. Geoph. Biocl., Ser. B 34, 155–162 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02275681
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02275681