A method of characterizing the thermal relations in mountainous areas / the lower Beskid range in the Polish Carpathians as example

The method discussed in the present paper permits the determination in detail of the mesoclimatic conditions on the basis of standard data provided by a network of a measurement stations. The passage from the data available at certain points and obtained from meteorological stations to spatial conceptions leads along the determination of the relationships between the altitude, various forms of the relief, and the thermal indices of climate. Resulting from these data, the duration of the frostless period is a sensitive index in the scale of mesoclimate, besides all the other indices connected with the minimum air temperatures. The nomographs applied by the authors make it possible to construct detailed climatic maps, which — with the maps of other elements of the geographical environment — form a basis for the elaboration e.g. an agrocological map of habitats. Presented method of the evaluation of climate conditions can be applied to all mountain territories, in which a network of measurement stations enables the determination of the interdependencies between the chosen thermal parameters and the altitude, and the distinction of the impact of the convex and concave forms.