Predictors and Strength of Microclimate Buffering in the Gunnison Valley

Abstract

Microclimate is an incredibly important factor in understanding how organisms behave and interact with their environment. Microclimate is defined as climate on a very small spatial resolution, referring to areas that may have differing climates than their surrounding macroclimate. Depending on the context, microclimate can refer to areas of many sizes, but in this study, microclimate refers to areas on the order of magnitude of about 1 square kilometer. In order to truly understand the interplay between organisms and climate, accurate climate understanding is necessary. Unfortunately, the majority of climate models are created at coarse spatial resolution, and weather measurements don’t typically represent the near-surface environments where most organisms are found. Since an organism depends on the local microclimate in its specific area, understanding of microclimate behavior at small spatial scales is crucial for comprehending the interplay between climate and ecology. In this study, we explore the buffering capability of four microclimates in the Gunnison Valley against summer season temperature extremes. Buffering is a measure of resistance against extreme temperature change. Buffered microclimates have relatively stable conditions compared to the average climate at large scales, and thus can serve as a barrier against drastic change in macroclimate. We found that near-surface microclimate buffering, measured at 10 cm and compared to a valley wide average temperature measurement, is relatively weak, and in many cases was negative, where near surface microclimate temperatures had more extreme daily minimums and maximums than the reference macroclimate. This weak buffering is relevant because it represents the fact that the measured microclimate areas had relatively little capacity to prevent extreme temperature fluctuation. The ability of an area to act as a biological refuge against climate stresses, like drought and frost events, depends on its ability to prevent large scale temperature fluctuations. Especially as climate may drastically change in the future, microclimate buffering could become increasingly important for protecting against species extinction.

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