Soil temperature dynamics in the forest shelterbelt and in the field

This study compares soil temperature data collected between 2019 and 2022 in Hrušky, South Moravia, Czech Republic. Soil temperature was measured at five depths (5, 10, 20, 50, 100 cm) in the forest shelterbelt (windbreak) and at three distances from it to investigate the impact of the shelterbelt on the climatic conditions of adjacent field plots. In particular, monthly averages, calculated from average daily temperatures, were employed to characterise the temperature course. These are calculated as averages of measured temperatures at 15-minute intervals. Absolute and relative differences and, where appropriate, base indices, were calculated to facilitate the comparison of individual measurement points (sites) and soil depths. The soil temperature values and their dynamics during the year differ between the measurement point in the forest shelterbelt (90-0) and those in the field. Additionally, the field measurement points exhibit some degree of variation, with the more distant field measurement point (180-90) displaying distinct characteristics from the closer field measurement points (90-45, 90-90). During the winter months (December, January, February), the temperature increases with soil depth, being highest within the windbreak. In spring (February and March), the temperature at different soil depths starts to equalise; however, in April, the temperature decreases with soil depth. Throughout the summer, the measurement station within the windbreak has lower temperatures than in the field, where the soil shows higher temperatures at all depths compared to the windbreak measurement station. In August, the temperature differences in depth begin to equalise again. In September, the temperature trend reverses, and from October, the temperatures increase with soil depth, especially in the lower layers of the soil. The temperature trend in November has a more or less winter character. Soil temperatures in the forest shelterbelt are lower in the summer months and higher in the winter months than in the field. The protective effect of the windbreak is more pronounced at measurement stations closer to the belt, as the temperatures at the farthest field measurement station are higher in summer and lower in winter compared to the closer field measurement stations.