The understory evergreen trees showed maximal photosynthetic capacity in winter, while the overstory deciduous trees showed this capacity in spring. The time lag in productive ecophysiologically active periods between deciduous overstory and evergreen understory trees in a common temperate forest was clearly related to the amount of overstory foliage.

Few studies have examined the influence of land use and terrain on the cooling effect of green areas on surrounding urban areas. We investigated the spatial distribution of the cooling effect of green areas on surrounding urban areas in Heiwa Park, Nagoya, central Japan, by applying surface temperature (Ts) information obtained from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) image data. The cooling effect was found to extend in many directions into the urban areas. The spatial distribution of Ts showed that commercial areas interrupted the flow of park cooling, whereas other types of urban areas expanded park cooling more effectively. We hypothesise that this was the result of differences in geometric and thermal properties and anthropogenic heat release between commercial and other areas. The spatial distribution of Ts also reflected the effects of topography on park cooling. The green area at our study site was located on a hill, and the downward slope and valley terrain inside the park increased the cooling effect towards the surrounding urban areas. To improve the thermal environment of urban areas and the comfort levels of residents, effective utilisation of the cooling effect of green areas should be incorporated into urban designs that consider the effects of land use and topography.

We measured air temperature in an urban green area that includes forest and grassland and in the surrounding urban area for a full year in Nagoya, central Japan, to elucidate seasonal variations of the difference in air temperature between urban and green areas. We determined the range of the “cool-island” effect as well as the relationship between vegetation cover and air temperature throughout the year. The temperature difference between urban and green areas was large in summer and small in winter. The maximum air temperature difference was 1.9°C in July 2007, and the minimum was −0.3°C in March 2004. The difference was larger during the day than during the night in summer, whereas in winter the opposite relationship was true. However, winter diurnal variation was not particularly noticeable, a behaviour thought to be related to reduced shading by deciduous trees in the green area. During the night, the cooling effect of the green area reached 200–300 m into the urban area. During the day, the cooling effect between August and October 2006 exceeded 300m and varied widely, although there was no correlation beyond 500m. The correlation between air temperature and forest-cover ratio within a radius of 200m from each measurement site was significant from 16:00 to 19:00. There was also a correlation during the night; this correlation was weakest in the early morning. The effect of the forest-cover ratio on air temperature was most pronounced in August 2006 and June 2007.

Seasonal changes in the water and energy exchanges over a pine forest in eastern Siberia were investigated and compared with published data from a nearby larch forest. Continuous observations (April to August 2000) were made of the eddy‐correlation sensible heat flux and latent heat flux above the canopy. The energy balance was almost closed, although the sum of the turbulent fluxes sometimes exceeded the available energy flux (Rn − G) when the latent heat flux was large; this was related to the wind direction. We examined the seasonal variation in energy balance components at this site. The seasonal variation and magnitude of the sensible heat flux (H) was similar to that of the latent heat flux (λE), with maximum values occurring in mid‐June. Consequently, the Bowen ratio was around 1·0 on many days during the study period. On some clear days just after rainfall, λE was very large and the sum of H and λE exceeded Rn − G. The evapotranspiration rate above the dry canopy from May to August was 2·2 mm day−1. The contributions of understory evapotranspiration (Eu) and overstory transpiration (Eo) to the evapotranspiration of the entire ecosystem (Et) were both from 25 to 50% throughout the period analysed. These results suggest that Eu plays a very important role in the water cycle at this site. From snowmelt through the tree growth season (23 April to 19 August 2000), the total incoming water, comprised of the sum of precipitation and the water equivalent of the snow at the beginning of the melt season, was 228 mm. Total evapotranspiration from the forest, including interception loss and evaporation from the soil when the canopy was wet, was 208–254 mm. The difference between the incoming and outgoing amounts in the water balance was from +20 to −26 mm. The water and energy exchanges of the pine and larch forest differed in that λE and H increased slowly in the pine forest, whereas λE increased rapidly in the larch forest and H decreased sharply after the melting season. Consequently, the shape of the Bowen ratio curves at the two sites differed over the period analysed, as a result of the differences in the species in each forest and in soil thawing. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.