The microclimatic differences between and within canopy gaps in the dry-hot season in Shorea chinensis forest

The horizontal and vertical differences of the microclimatic elements in three canopy gaps of different sizes [200m~(2)、140m~(2)、60m~(2)] and in the understory within a tropical rain forest (Dominated by Shorea chinensis ) in Xishuangbanna were measured using light intensity, air temperature, air relative humidity and ground surface temperature The results indicated that the variation of the air temperature, ground surface temperature and air relative humidity were greater in all the gap center than in understory, with the largest gap had the greatest variation. And the light intensity in the gap center was at least ten times than that in the understory The range of ground surface temperature, air temperature and air relative humidity at 0.5m above canopy in the largest gap center were 15.8℃,3.9℃ and l4% greater than that in the smaller gap.