Due to the complexity of built environment, urban design patterns considerably affect the microclimate and outdoor thermal comfort in a given urban morphology. Variables such as building heights and orientations, spaces between buildings, plot coverage alter solar access, wind speed and direction at street level. To improve microclimate and comfort conditions urban design elements including veg...

This paper is a part of study about the impact of the microclimate on the space use and the user’s behaviours. The purpose of our study is to get an in-depth understanding of how people use out door public spaces in different climatic conditions, how their behaviour and perception of the space change with the climatic variations. We have employed a multi-method approach which combines a “qualit...

In arid and semi-arid ecosystems, shrubs may act as fertility islands but theireffect may vary depending on their morphology and ecological impacts. This research wasaimed to study effect of three shrubs Scariola orientalis, Astragalus heratensis, and Rosapersica on soil properties and on the microclimate conditions (temperature, luminance, andsoil moisture) of their understory in the steppe ra...

The Noheda archaeological site is unique and exceptional for its size, and the quality and conservation condition of the Roman mosaic pavement covering its urban pars. In 2008 a tent was installed as protection from rain and sun. Being of interest to characterise the microclimate of the remains, six probes with relative humidity and temperature sensors were installed in 2013 for this purpose. M...

Roughness length is a critical parameter for estimation of wind conditions, and it is therefore also relevant for the estimation of human thermal conditions in urban areas. The high density of buildings in urban areas causes large changes in land coverage, thereby increasing surface roughness. This influence atmospheric flow and also leads to a reduction in urban air ventilation, thus increasin...

The rate at which CO2 is released from woody debris post-clearcut affects the long term carbon consequences of such disturbances. Changes in microclimate post-clearcut may alter the rate of woody debris decomposition from that in a mature forest. However, very few studies have explored post-disturbance rates of woody debris respiration and the possible influence of an altered microclimate, and ...

Understanding the impacts of disturbances in forest ecosystems is essential for long-term biodiversity conservation. Many studies have evaluated wildlife responses to various disturbances but most generally do not use changes in microclimate features or microhabitat structure to explain these responses. We examined lizard responses to two common forest management practices (prescribed burning a...

In summer, many temperate bat species use daytime torpor, but breeding females do so less to avoid interferences with reproduction. In forest-roosting bats, deep tree cavities buffer roost microclimate from abrupt temperature oscillations and facilitate thermoregulation. Forest bats also switch roosts frequently, so thermally suitable cavities may be limiting. We tested how barbastelle bats (Ba...

Environmental and leaf trait effects on herbivory are supposed to vary among different feeding guilds. Herbivores also show variability in their preferences for plant ontogenetic stages. Along the vertical forest gradient, environmental conditions change, and trees represent juvenile and adult individuals in the understorey and canopy, respectively. This study was conducted in ten forests sites...