ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses some results of heat balance daily dynamics on the basis of in situ investigations in different conditions carried out by the Agrometeorology Department of the Agricultural University in Poznan. In the 1990s, developments in micrometeorological technology and theory made it possible to study regularly the interactions between vegetation and atmosphere. The seasonal courses of heat balance components differ significantly when a different type of vegetation is taken into consideration. Plant cover and landscape structure are the main factors determining the partitioning of net radiation into different internal energy processes of the ecosystem. The proportion of energy used for air and soil heating also depends on plant cover. Soil and air heat fluxes depend mainly on temperature gradients existing in the air and soil strata near the active surface. The solar energy partition, the amount of energy fluxes, and the mass exchange between the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere strongly depend on plant cover type and its condition.
