Name: Randy
Status: other
Grade: 12+
Location: Outside U.S.
Country: USA
Date: Winter 2012-2013
Question
Do pine trees produce more heat than deciduous trees? Do they produce any heat at all? Is it that deciduous trees shade better, hence feeling cooler walking through them in the summer?
Answers from Our Expert Staff
Hello Randy,
The major temperature effect of all plants is the cooling that happens
as liquid water in the plant vaporizes inside the plant and is
released to the air on the leaf surfaces. Pine trees have less
evaporative cooling than deciduous trees, therefore, it is not as cool
in a pine forest than a deciduous forest. There are a few plants,
mainly the Arums, that will generate heat and be warmer than the
surrounding air, but generally, plants do not add heat to the
environment.
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