Low Temperature and Frost as Environmental Factors

  • Sakai A
  • Larcher W
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Abstract

Cold and frost are important environmental factors limiting the productivity and distribution of plants (Dilley et al. 1975; Larcher 1981a; Larcher and Bauer 1981). In tropical mountains air temperatures below 8{\textdegree} to 10 {\textdegree}C and soil temperatures below +15 {\textdegree}C set the limits for the altitudinal range of chilling-sensitive wild plants and plantation crops. Recurrent frost plays a decisive role in determining the distribution area of tropical and the majority of subtropical plants. It is very probable that low winter temperatures are responsible for the latitudinal and altitudinal limits of broad-leaved evergreen woody plants of regions with mild winters. Freezes with minimum temperatures of −5{\textdegree} to −10 {\textdegree}C frequently cause severe damage to citrus and olive plantations in regions with Mediterranean climate. In the cool temperate and the boreal zones spring frost has been considered as an important factor limiting the distribution of various woody plant species. Spring frosts also represent a regularly occurring risk for horticulture and sylviculture in the temperate zone. The chief problem involved in establishing tree plantations for energy farming in tundra regions is summer frost. In arctic and subarctic regions the low summer temperatures are the main obstacle to successful agriculture and horticulture, thus rendering permanent settlement impracticable.

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Sakai, A., & Larcher, W. (1987). Low Temperature and Frost as Environmental Factors (pp. 1–20). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71745-1_1

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