. The Ecology of arboreal folivores : a symposium held at the Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, May 29-31, 1975. Folivores; Forest ecology; Leaves; Mammals; Mammals. Figure 2. Data from the meteorological station of Makokou con- cerning the main period of phenological observations. Tem- peratures are monthly means (broken lines show maxima and minima). Insolation is the total time of bright sunshine per month. The records of daily rainfall show the different patterns of distri- bution during the rainy season and total absense of precipitation
. The Ecology of arboreal folivores : a symposium held at the Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, May 29-31, 1975. Folivores; Forest ecology; Leaves; Mammals; Mammals. Figure 2. Data from the meteorological station of Makokou con- cerning the main period of phenological observations. Tem- peratures are monthly means (broken lines show maxima and minima). Insolation is the total time of bright sunshine per month. The records of daily rainfall show the different patterns of distri- bution during the rainy season and total absense of precipitation during the major dry season (also characterized by minimum inso- lation and minimum temperature).. Figure 1. A view inside the rain forest at Ipassa showing the im- portance of lianas in the forest structure. (1) June-July-August (approximately): major dry season with no rain, minimum insolation, min- imum temperature, and minimum evaporation. (2) September-October-November: major rainy sea- son with maximum rainfall and average insolation. (3) December-January-February: minor dry season with low rainfall and maximum insolation. (4) March-April-May: minor rainy season with im- portant rainfall and tropical storms, and average insolation. The temperatures shown (Figure 2) are from the Makokou meteorological station at the airport. In the forest, the vegetation has an important buffering effect. The maximum daily variation above the canopy is 10° C to 14° C while near the forest floor it is no more than 2°C to 6°C, with a gradient of vertical variation. Relative humidity may be less than 50 per- cent above the canopy but never less than 80 percent in the forest (Cachan and Duval, 1963, in Ivory Coast). The average relative humidity is 96 percent at the meteorological station and, thus, higher inside the forest. In its structure and floristic composition, the Makokou forest does not differ from other rain forests of the Congo-Guinea block, though rainfall there often is consid
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcolle, booksubjectleaves, booksubjectmammals
