Intra-annual variation in microclimatic conditions in relation to vegetation type and structure in two tropical dry forests undergoing secondary succession

•In seasonally dry tropical forest, later successional vegetation is wetter than early successional vegetation, but only in the dry season.•Open, early successional vegetation experiences more temperature and moisture extremes.•Simulated microclimate variables in Ecosystem Demography model only partially correspond to field observations in a seasonally dry tropical forest.