Welcome to the Query Page for Soil Surface Temperatures

Soil temperatures are an important factor in the rate of biological processes.  Plants grow and insects and microorganisms develop more quickly as soil temperatures rise.  When the prairie is burned in the spring, last year's plant growth and thatch are removed.  The soil is left with a coat of black ash.  Radiant heat warms the soil surface, the top layer warming more quickly than deeper layers.  The soil under unburned prairie is covered by a blanket of old vegetation.  It takes some time for the temperature to change beneath this blanket.  What effects of these temperature differences in burned and unburned prairie soil might you see above ground?

Occasional anomalies occur due to temperature probes malfunctioning for various reasons.  Can you tell which temperatures are not correct?  In each case consider why the data may be wrong. Here are a couple of possibilities:  a probe has been pulled out of the soil and is laying in the sun or a rodent has damaged the cable or probe. Can you think of any others?

1. What is the hourly soil surface temperature at 2 cm and 10 cm depth from burned and unburned treatments?

2. This is the gallery of hourly soil surface temperatures at 2 cm and 10 cm depth for burned and unburned treatments. 

3. What is the average daily soil surface temperature at 2 cm and 10 cm depth for burned and unburned treatments? 

4. This is the gallery of average daily soil surface temperatures at 2 cm and 10 cm depth for burned and unburned treatments. 

5. What is the original database of average daily soil surface temperatures?

6. What is the original table of hourly soil surface temperatures?