define microclimate

What does microclimate mean?

Microclimate, any climatic condition in a relatively small area, within a few metres or less above and below the Earth's surface and within canopies of vegetation.

What is a microclimate give an example?

A microclimate is a small area within a climate zone where the climate is slightly different from the zones predictions. A good example of a microclimate that is fairly large would be a valley where cold air settles. ... Large bodies of water or urban area temperatures may also provide causes of a microclimate to form.

What is a microclimate in geography?

A microclimate is the distinctive climate of a small-scale area, such as a garden, park, valley or part of a city. ... Indeed, it is the amalgam of many, slightly different local microclimates that actually makes up the microclimate for a town, city or wood.

What is climate and microclimate?

Climate is the set of characteristic temperatures, humidities, sunshine, winds, and other weather conditions that prevail over large areas of space for long periods of time. Microclimate refers to a climate that holds over a very small area. ... Microclimates are parts of a complex web of climates that exist on Earth.

What causes microclimate?

Microclimates are caused by local differences in the amount of heat or water received or trapped near the surface. A microclimate may differ from its surroundings by Page 2 80 Microclimates and vegetation [Ch. 4 receiving more energy, so it is a little warmer than its surroundings.

Why are microclimates important for human activity?

Microclimates are significant within deserts because they offer less arid conditions for plants, animals, and humans. ... The single most important microclimate is provided by mountains, which offer the maximum modifications with respect to overall climatic variables.

How do you identify a microclimate?

The conditions of microclimates are determined by plant orientation and exposure to heat, light, water, and wind. For example, inland urban areas are typically warmer than surrounding rural areas since the buildings and pavement reflect and generate additional heat.

How do you create a microclimate?

One way to create a warm microclimate for early spring or late fall is to put shade trees on the northern side of your garden. This will increase the amount of heat you get from the sun, by absorbing the heat during the day and then emitting it at night. Water also affects the amount of heat or cold in an area.

What are three things that can create microclimates?

Topography, large bodies of water and urban areas are three things that can create microclimates on a large scale.

What can affect a microclimate?

There are five main factors that affect microclimates.

Topography. The shape of the land is a significant influence on microclimates. ...
Soil. The composition of the soil affects microclimates primarily through how much water it retains or which evaporates from it. ...
Water. ...
Vegetation. ...
Artificial Structures.

What is the difference between rural and urban microclimates?

urban winds are different from rural ones in terms of their speed and direction. Winds in an urban microclimates are affected by it surroundings. The general pattern is that winds decrease in urban areas than in suburbs or rural areas. ... Buildings affect the winds due to their size, shape and spacing.

How is microclimate different than weather?

is that weather is the short term state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, including the temperature, humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, wind, etc while microclimate is a small, local region having a unique pattern of weather or weather effects that differ from the local climate.

How does microclimate affect climate?

The turbulent microclimate created by air blowing over uneven vegetation surfaces also helps to propel heat and moisture higher up into the atmosphere, altering the temperature on the ground and feeding broader scale climate processes.

How does climate impact life?

Human health is vulnerable to climate change. The changing environment is expected to cause more heat stress, an increase in waterborne diseases, poor air quality, and diseases transmitted by insects and rodents. Extreme weather events can compound many of these health threats.

Are there benefits from global warming?

Yes, there will probably be some short-term and long-term benefits from global warming. For example, the flip side of increased mortality from heat waves may be decreased mortality from cold waves.

What are the 5 main climate types?

There are approximately five main climate types on Earth:

Tropical.
Dry.
Temperate.
Continental.
Polar.

How do you get a microclimate in your yard?

Plan Your Garden to Create Perfect Microclimates

Covering beds with plastic helps dry out and warm up soil.
Water-filled plastic bottles will absorb heat during the day and release it at night.
Grow cool-season crops in the shade of taller plants.
Windbreaks made from willow or hazel filter harmful gusts.

Is a large city a microclimate?

Microclimates occur naturally and can be quite small. They can also be quite large. For instance, a city creates its own climatic patterns, and the larger the urban area, the more significant these will be. A large urban microclimate can not only affect temperatures, but also rainfall, snowfall, air pressure, and wind.

How do oceans affect climate?

The oceans influence climate by absorbing solar radiation and releasing heat needed to drive the atmospheric circulation, by releasing aerosols that influence cloud cover, by emitting most of the water that falls on land as rain, by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it for years to millions of ...

What is definition of climate?

Climate is the average weather in a given area over a longer period of time. ... Climate change is any systematic change in the long-term statistics of climate variables such as temperature, precipitation, pressure, or wind sustained over several decades or longer.

What is crop microclimate?

Microclimate refers to climatic conditions in a. smaller area i.e. a few meters above or below the. earth surface or within the crop canopy (Yoshino, 1974). It is the local climatic condition near the.