The Relationship between the Macro - and M [ Croclimate

Recent impetus has been given to research concerning the relationship between biological systems and the microclimate. However, extensive and detailed microclimatological measurements have been made only for limited situations. It would be of great value if quantitative relationships could be obtained between the highly variable microclimate and the relatively homogeneous macroclimate. There are at least two reasons why such relationships would be valuable. In the first place, a rather extensive network of macroclimatic observing stations is in existence and many years of data are available. If relationships between the microand macroclimates were established, many areas could be at least nominally categorized with regard to microclimate. Such categorization would be of value to ecologists and others interested in zonation for agricultural crops and for distribution of natural species of plants, animals, insects (microhabitats), etc. Secondly, to observe adequately the highly varied nature of the microclimate, detailed observation in both time and space is required. Thus, many specialized personnel and a prodigious instrumentation budget are required for an adequate microclimatic program. Satisfactory relationships between macroand microclimates should stand between the extremes of oversimplification on the one hand and excessive refinement on the other. Oversimplification is likely to be seriously misleading because of the