@Article{taiwania2006514317,
AUTHOR = {I-Ling Lai, Shih-Chieh Chang, Po-Hsiung Lin, Chang-Hung Chou and Jiunn-Tzong Wu},
TITLE = {Climatic Characteristics of the Subtropical Mountainous Cloud Forest at the Yuanyang Lake Long-Term Ecological Research Site, Taiwan},
JOURNAL = {Taiwania},
VOLUME = {51},
YEAR = {2006},
ISSUE = {4},
PAGES = {317-329},
URL = {https://taiwania.ntu.edu.tw/abstract/510},
ABSTRACT = {To better understand the climatic characteristics in a subtropical mountainous cloud
forest at the Yuanyang Lake long-term ecological research site, weather data collected from January
1994 to December 2004 were analyzed in the present study. The obvious seasonal changes in climatic
factors were observed at this site. The annual mean air temperature was 12.7°C. The lowest
temperature was recorded in February (monthly mean 5.9°C), and the highest one was taken in July
(monthly mean 18.1°C). Winter featured light rain with a prolonged occurrence of fog, resulting in a
large reduction of radiation. In summer, fog occurred once in the early morning and the other time
from afternoon to evening. The latter one was associated with the wind direction changes and usually
accompanied with short moderate to heavy convective rain. Consequently the photosynthetic photon
flux density (PPFD) was high in the morning but reduced drastically in the afternoon. Typhoons
occurred in the summer had contributed to 37% of the annual rainfall, usually resulting in torrential
rain events and sharp increases in the water level of this lake. As a matter of fact, perhumid
environment of this site was attributed to abundant rainfall (mean annual precipitation 3396 mm) and
high frequency (up to 40%) of foggy time. Such conditions would reduce the intensity of solar
radiation and PPFD. The average annual solar radiation at the site was 2475 MJ m-2, and annual PPFD
was 5713 mol m-2. The average degree of reduction of PPFD under foggy condition was up to 88%.
Such climatic characteristics are suggested to constrain the growth of plants and play an important role
in competition among plant species in this cloud forest. It is considered that the distinct seasonal
fluctuation in environmental factors, perhumid and dim light conditions are the most distinguished
characteristics of this subtropical mountainous cloud forest ecosystem.},
DOI = {10.6165/tai.2006.51(4).317}
}