9. I chose 4 areas in my garden which I thought might be warmer than the air temperature around The warmest place was next to the Garage and the coldest was under the BBQ
11. Experiment I chose three places in our garden to test for microclimates. The first place is the lawn where my brother and I play football. This is quite open and is the ‘normal’ area. I also chose one location either side of our house. At the front, there is a narrow walled courtyard. At the back, there is a long strip of grass behind the house.
12. The Lawn The lawn is quite wide open and exposed. It should be a good place to get an idea of what ‘normal’ temperatures, wind speeds and rainfall are.
13. The Courtyard The courtyard has a wall all around it so it should be more sheltered from wind. It might be a bit hotter than the lawn because the walls and stone floors act as a sun trap.
14. The Back Garden The back garden is open at each end so it might be a bit more windy than the courtyard, but maybe not as windy as the main lawn. It has shade for more of the day so it might be cooler.
15. Results Temperature Lawn = 27C Courtyard = 28C Back Garden = 27C Wind My wind speed meter wasn’t very accurate. There isn’t much wind where we live except it gets blustery when it’s about to rain. I couldn’t really tell much difference, thought the lawn did seem windier. Rain We haven’t had all that much rain in the last few days. I used three glasses to measure the rain and they all had about the same in them.
16. Summary It was a bit hard to tell if there are microclimates in our garden. The temperature in the courtyard was definitely hotter than the rest of the garden, but I couldn’t really tell much difference in wind or rainfall. Maybe I need to keep trying or choose other places.
19. Microclimate 1- next to bunaglow door DAY ONE /Thursday 3 rd November 2011 Soil Temperature : 3.30pm 17degrees C Wind speed : 10,force2 Wind direction : paper and compass N.E. Rain collected : 4cm….heavy rainfall Litmus soil test….p.h.6 Ground felt wet but dryer nearer the wall. Area :Semi- sheltered by the wall but depends on wind direction. DAY TWO/Friday 4 th November 2011 Soil temperature :3.30pm 15 degreesC Wind speed : force 1, less than 10…protractor Wind direction:N.E Rain collected 1cm Litmus paper..p.h.6 Area : semi-sheltered DAY THREE/Saturday 5 th November 2011 Soil temperature : 15 degreesC 3.30pm Wind speed: force 1 (5 on protractor)
20. Microclimate 1 – next to bungalow door Continued DAY THREE: Wind speed ; force one Wind direction : N.W. Rain collected: 2 cm Litmus paper : slightly acidic Area :semi-sheltered by house wall DAY FOUR :Sunday 6 th November 2011 Soil temperature :3.30pm 12degreesC Wind speed : force 1, less than 10…protractor Wind direction:N.E Rain collected 1cm Litmus paper..p.h.6 Area : semi-sheltered DAY Five :Monday 7th November 2011 Soil temperature :3.30pm 17degreesC Wind speed : force 1, less than 10…protractor Wind direction:N.E Rain collected 1cm Litmus paper..p.h.6 Area : semi-sheltered
21. Microclimate 2- next to outer fence DAY ONE /Thursday 3rd November 2011 Soil Temperature : 3.30pm 15degrees C Wind speed : 10,force2 Wind direction : paper and compass N.E. Rain collected : 4.5cm….heavy rainfall Litmus soil test….p.h.6 Ground felt wet but dryer nearer the wall. Area :Semi- sheltered by the fence but depends on wind direction. DAY TWO/Friday 4th November 2011 Soil temperature :3.30pm 12degreesC Wind speed : force 1, less than 10…protractor Wind direction: N.E Rain collected 2cm Litmus paper..p.h.6 Area : semi-sheltered DAY THREE/Saturday 5th November 2011 Soil temperature : 14 degrees C 3.30pm Wind speed: force 1 (5 on protractor Wind speed ; force one Wind direction : N.W. Rain collected: 2.5 cm Litmus paper : slightly acidic Area :semi-sheltered by fence
22. Microclimate : Next to outer fence –Grandma’s garden DAY FOUR :Sunday 6th November 2011 Soil temperature :3.30pm 10degreesC Wind speed : force 1, less than 10…protractor Wind direction:N.E Rain collected 1.5cm Litmus paper..p.h.6 Area : semi-sheltered DAY Five :Monday 7th November 2011 Soil temperature :3.30pm 14degreesC Wind speed : force 1, less than 10…protractor Wind direction:N.E Rain collected 1.5cm Litmus paper..p.h.6 Area : semi-sheltered
23. Microclimate 3– Middle of garden –near small tree DAY ONE /Thursday 3rd November 2011 Soil Temperature : 3.30pm 15degrees C Wind speed : 15,force3 Wind direction : paper and compass N.E. Rain collected : 6cm….heavy rainfall Litmus soil test….p.h.6 Ground felt wet Area : not sheltered/fully exposed DAY TWO/Friday 4th November 2011 Soil temperature :3.30pm 12degreesC Wind speed : force 2, 10-15 protractor Wind direction: N.E Rain collected 2cm Litmus paper..p.h.6 Area : exposed DAY THREE/Saturday 5th November 2011 Soil temperature : 13 degrees C 3.30pm Wind speed: force 1 (5 on protractor Wind speed ; force one Wind direction : N.W. Rain collected: 3.5 cm Litmus paper : slightly acidic Area :exposed
24. Microclimate 3 ; Middle of garden -exposed DAY FOUR :Sunday 6th November 2011 Soil temperature :3.30pm 10degreesC Wind speed : force 2, 15 on protractor Wind direction:N.E Rain collected 2.5cm Litmus paper..p.h.6 Area : exposed…ground felt cold and wet DAY Five :Monday 7th November 2011 Soil temperature :3.30pm 13degreesC Wind speed : force 2 , 15 on the protractor Wind direction:N.E Rain collected 2.5cm Litmus paper..p.h.6 Area : exposed..ground felt cold and wet
25. Microclimate 1, 2 , 3…Conclusion The wall and fence seemed to affect the amount of water I collected and I had less wind speed and it was warmer by the house wall. The middle of the garden was colder and wetter and windy. I can see different plants , insects prefer different areas. The warmer attracts more insects like woodlice, ants and spiders make their web ‘s semi –sheltered but higher up to catch the wind. Under the leaves by the outer fence was full of bugs but in the centre of the garden, I could only see worms under the soil.