Near-Surface Conditions Across The Forest-Farmland Ecotone

Conference: AMS Student Conference

Session: Boundary Layer Meteorology

Near Surface Conditions Across the Forest-Farmland Ecotone

Author: Logan Wallen

Affiliation: The Ohio State University

The earth’s surface is a mosaic of ecosystems, and where there is an ecosystem there must be a boundary. These areas of transition, known as ecotones, have microclimates driven by the prevailing conditions of both adjacent land covers. Abrupt transitions, such as from farmland to forest, change the physical character of the land suddenly and modulate how the atmosphere interfaces with the land. Continued anthropogenic alteration of the natural landscape creates more fragmented ecosystems, bringing more ecotones and elevating their prevalence. Therefore, understanding the interactions that happen there cannot be overstated. Work has been done to measure and describe processes in these ecotones: through different microclimatological variables, at different scales and in both vertical and horizontal orientations. However, the complexity of microclimate processes as well as of the ecosystems themselves, this region calls for continued inquiry. I will be examining the near surface changes of microclimatological variables such as wind, temperature, and humidity, as well as radiative and soil fluxes at and across the boundary of a harvested farm field and temperate deciduous forest. My study aims to expand on the understanding of conditions in this ecotone, in the hopes it can be utilized to provide more effective land use at the forest edge and for consideration in forest expansion.