Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Part I General perspectives
- Part II Regional floristic and animal diversity
- Part III Hydrometeorology of tropical montane cloud forest
- 20 Hydrometeorological patterns in relation to montane forest types along an elevational gradient in the Yungas of Bolivia
- 21 Structure and dynamics of tropical montane cloud forests under contrasting biophysical conditions in north-western Costa Rica
- 22 Quantitative measures of immersion in cloud and the biogeography of cloud forests
- 23 Understanding the role of fog in forest hydrology: stable isotopes as tools for determining input and partitioning of cloud water in montane forests
- 24 Using stable isotopes to identify orographic precipitation events at Monteverde, Costa Rica
- 25 Using “biosensors” to elucidate rates and mechanisms of cloud water interception by epiphytes, leaves, and branches in a sheltered Colombian cloud forest
- 26 Water dynamics of epiphytic vegetation in a lower montane cloud forest: fog interception, storage, and evaporation
- 27 Epiphyte biomass in Costa Rican old-growth and secondary montane rain forests and its hydrological significance
- 28 Comparison of passive fog gages for determining fog duration and fog interception by a Puerto Rican elfin cloud forest
- 29 Fog interception in a Puerto Rican elfin cloud forest: a wet-canopy water budget approach
- 30 Fog gage performance under conditions of fog and wind-driven rain
- 31 The wet-canopy water balance of a Costa Rican cloud forest during the dry season
- 32 Measured and modeled rainfall interception in a lower montane forest, Ecuador
- 33 Measuring cloud water interception in the Tambito forests of southern Colombia
- 34 Relationships between rainfall, fog, and throughfall at a hill evergreen forest site in northern Thailand
- 35 History of fog and cloud water interception research in Hawai'i
- 36 Interpreting canopy water balance and fog screen observations: separating cloud water from wind-blown rainfall at two contrasting forest sites in Hawai'i
- 37 Historical background of fog water collection studies in the Canary Islands
- 38 Effects of fog on climatic conditions at a sub-tropical montane cloud forest site in northern Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)
- Part IV Nutrient dynamics in tropical montane cloud forests
- Part V Cloud forest water use, photosynthesis, and effects of forest conversion
- Part VI Effects of climate variability and climate change
- Part VII Cloud forest conservation, restoration, and management issues
- References
38 - Effects of fog on climatic conditions at a sub-tropical montane cloud forest site in northern Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)
from Part III - Hydrometeorology of tropical montane cloud forest
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 May 2011
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Foreword
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Part I General perspectives
- Part II Regional floristic and animal diversity
- Part III Hydrometeorology of tropical montane cloud forest
- 20 Hydrometeorological patterns in relation to montane forest types along an elevational gradient in the Yungas of Bolivia
- 21 Structure and dynamics of tropical montane cloud forests under contrasting biophysical conditions in north-western Costa Rica
- 22 Quantitative measures of immersion in cloud and the biogeography of cloud forests
- 23 Understanding the role of fog in forest hydrology: stable isotopes as tools for determining input and partitioning of cloud water in montane forests
- 24 Using stable isotopes to identify orographic precipitation events at Monteverde, Costa Rica
- 25 Using “biosensors” to elucidate rates and mechanisms of cloud water interception by epiphytes, leaves, and branches in a sheltered Colombian cloud forest
- 26 Water dynamics of epiphytic vegetation in a lower montane cloud forest: fog interception, storage, and evaporation
- 27 Epiphyte biomass in Costa Rican old-growth and secondary montane rain forests and its hydrological significance
- 28 Comparison of passive fog gages for determining fog duration and fog interception by a Puerto Rican elfin cloud forest
- 29 Fog interception in a Puerto Rican elfin cloud forest: a wet-canopy water budget approach
- 30 Fog gage performance under conditions of fog and wind-driven rain
- 31 The wet-canopy water balance of a Costa Rican cloud forest during the dry season
- 32 Measured and modeled rainfall interception in a lower montane forest, Ecuador
- 33 Measuring cloud water interception in the Tambito forests of southern Colombia
- 34 Relationships between rainfall, fog, and throughfall at a hill evergreen forest site in northern Thailand
- 35 History of fog and cloud water interception research in Hawai'i
- 36 Interpreting canopy water balance and fog screen observations: separating cloud water from wind-blown rainfall at two contrasting forest sites in Hawai'i
- 37 Historical background of fog water collection studies in the Canary Islands
- 38 Effects of fog on climatic conditions at a sub-tropical montane cloud forest site in northern Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)
- Part IV Nutrient dynamics in tropical montane cloud forests
- Part V Cloud forest water use, photosynthesis, and effects of forest conversion
- Part VI Effects of climate variability and climate change
- Part VII Cloud forest conservation, restoration, and management issues
- References
Summary
ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses microclimatic conditions at a ridge crest site in northern Tenerife carrying an impoverished and stunted forest, locally called fayal–brezal. The site is characterized by persistent fog and low cloud brought in by the prevailing trade winds. Temperatures, relative humidity, and wind speed differed between times with and without fog, with lower temperatures and wind speeds, and increased humidity occurring during times of fog. Average rainfall was low (474 mm year−1) with a long dry period in summer. Fog incidence as measured with “standard fog collectors” placed on the windward edge of the forest suggested potentially large amounts of fog water may be available for capturing by the vegetation during rain-free periods. This extra water is thought to explain the survival of an evergreen forest despite the low and strongly seasonal rainfall.
INTRODUCTION
Tenerife is the largest island within the Canaries with a surface area of 2065 km2 (Figure 38.1). Despite an annual influx of 5 million tourists, nearly half of the island's area is protected as belonging to one of the six categories of environmental protection established under Spanish law (Martín et al., 1995). The steep relief and particular atmospheric conditions prevailing in this part of the Atlantic have produced a distinct altitudinal vegetation zonation that closely corresponds with changes in climatic conditions (Kämmer, 1974; Arozena, 1991; Fernández-Palacios, 1999).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Tropical Montane Cloud ForestsScience for Conservation and Management, pp. 359 - 364Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
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