Microclimate complexity in temperate grasslands: implications for conservation and management under climate change

Abstract As climate change advances, there is a need to examine conditions at scales that are ecologically relevant species. While microclimates in forested systems have been extensively studied, grasslands received little attention despite the vulnerability of this endangered biome. We employed novel combination iButton temperature and humidity measurements, fine-scale spatial observations vegetation topography collected by unpiloted aircraft system, gridded mesoclimate products model microclimate anomalies temperate grasslands. found harbored diverse primary productivity (as represented normalized difference index), canopy height, were strong drivers these anomalies. Microclimate heterogeneity likely ecological importance grassland organisms seeking out refugia, thus consider complexity management conservation biodiversity.