Agricultural meteorology-meteorological monographs

Agricultural Meteorology - ELsevierPublishingCompany, Amsterdam- Printed in The Netherlands

Book Reviews Grundlagen der Meteorologie fiir Landwirtschaft, Gartenbau und Forstwirtschaft. WALTER HESSE. Akad. Verlagsges. Geest und Portig, Leipzig, 1966, 568 S., 410 Abb., 64 Tabellen, M D N 63.00. lm Vorwort dieses Buches schreibt der Autor: "Dieses Werk enth~ilt die Grundlagen der Meteorologie und Klimatologie mit Hinweisen auf die Anwendung in der Landwirtschaft, im Gartenbau und in der Forstwirtschaft... Es hat den Charakter eines erweiterten Lehrbuches... Es ersetzt aber auf keinen Fall ein spezielles Werk der Agrarmeteorologie". Es handelt sich hier also um ein meteorologisches Lehrbuch, welches fast alle Teilgebiete der Meteorologie und Klimatologie anschneidet. Es ist aber meines Erachtens in manchen Abschnitten ffir einen Studierenden der Meteorologie nicht ausfiihrlich genug, andererseits bringt es ftir Studierende der Landwirtschaft, des Gartenbaus und der Forstwirtschaft oft schon zu viele meteorologische Details. Das Buch ist tibersichtlich und verst~indlich geschrieben und gut illustriert. Die Hinweise ftir die Landwirtschaft kommen jedoch etwas zu kurz. Zu begriissen ist die Ausfiihrlichkeit, mit der die verschiedenen Messmethoden dargelegt werden. Das Buch kann als Nachschlagewerk fiir Landwirte, G~irtner und F6rster empfohlen werden, welche sich tiber meteorologische und klimatologische Begriffe und Erscheinungen informieren wollen. Zahlreiche Tabellen und Karten vermitteln ebenfalls einen ~berblick tiber das Klima bzw. die Verteilung von Klimaelementen auf der Erde. J. VAN EIMERN (Weihenstephan)

Agricultural Meteorology--Meteorological

Monographs, Vol.6, No.28. PAUL E. WAGGONER (Editor). American Meteorological Society. Boston, Mass., 1965, 188 pp., 90 illus., 23 tables, $18.00 (cloth-bound), $16.00 (paper-bound).

This carefully planned monograph with contributions by sixteen selected biologists and physicists presents, not new knowledge, but a survey of the principles on which agricultural meteorology is based. The contributions range from the fundamentals of the receipt of radiant energy, through biological responses to the primary meteorological elements--warmth, wind and water-- and concludes with a chapter on the use of climatology in agricultural planning. The four-page prologue by the very able editor furnishes an insight that would be difficult to equal in a brief review. The introductory chapter by D. M. Gates covers the basic principles for measuring and understanding solar and thermal radiation. A full-page figure presents the spectral distribution of solar energy on a wave number basis, clearly showing approximately half the extraterrestrial solar energy contained in the infrared portion of the

Agr. Meteorol., 4 (1967) 209-213

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spectrum, a fact often overlooked. Incidentally, the ordinate of fig.1 should be as m fig.4. Fig. 12 suffers from the same oversight. This first chapter touches on the effects of various wave lengths of energy on plants; examines the details of the energy budget of isolated plants as well as plant canopies; shows the shortcomings of using measures of light intensity when studying plant responses to radiation: and discusses water vapor in the atmosphere in relation to radiation. The author stressed the distinction between albedo and reflectance, contending that albedo should be reserved for only the visible part of the spectrum. Modern useage in the literature suggests that this view is likely to be greeted by widespread apathy. Experts in micrometeorology will find Chapter 2 by E. K. Webb a handy summary of the state of the art and a ready source of references in the field. However, those unfamiliar with the mathematical intracacies which develop when one attempts to deal quantitatively with the small-scale processes dominating the lowest few meters of the atmosphere, will find this presentation too condensed, and must turn to references for more detailed grounding in fundamentals. As a conclusion to the basic processes phase of this monograph, W. R. van Wijk, in Chapter 3, follows the energy from the atmosphere into the soil, The physical processes which control heat flow in soils are presented, along with a brief discussion of the effects of soil heat on biological processes. In all, the first three chapters list 337 references representing work from abdut twelve countries. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 follow up on the heat and energy theme by looking into the influences of radiant and sensible heat on organisms. The first of the three also treats the problems of artificial amelioration of the thermal environment, namely, frost protection by irrigation (J. A. Businger) and, heaters and wind machines (I'. V. Crawford). It is a little surprising to find that the 24 references do not include W. M. O. Technical Note No.51, "Protection Against Frost Damage", 1963. In the third section of Chapter 4, C. H. Hendershott very briefly describes some of the problems as well as promises in the use of maleic hydrazide to increase the cold resistance of citrus trees by inducing temporary dormancy. Chapter 5 brings us to the amazingly complex interface where the problem is to learn how the various events and their sequences in the physical environment affect biological processes in plants. This complexity is well illustrated by D. N. Moss as he recites the various efforts of biologists to learn the effects of solar energy on plants. Starting with the incomprehensible correlations of annual yield with gross meteorological measures, he proceeds to describe work on short-term growth measures such as change in plant height, the attempts to quantify daily or weekly growth in terms of the leaf area index, some of the growth chamber work, and finally to the recent work to determine instantaneous growth rates by means of measurements of rates of photosynthesis and assimilation of carbon dioxide. It is interesting to note that this chapter contains some of the items that Gates admonished against in the first chapter. The need for standardized symbols and nomenclature in biometeorology becomes quite apparent at this point in the book. Agr. Meteorol., 4 (1967) 209-213

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Chapter 6 by H. D. Johnson concludes the treatment of the heat aspects of the environment. The responses of animals (mostly cattle) to conditions of heat stress are treated first in terms of energy balance, then from the physiological viewpoint, and finally by examples showing productivity comparisons between individuals, breeds and species. Those interested in the effects of cold environments on animal productivity will find leads among the 75 listed references. Chapters 7 and 8 at least make a bow in the direction of the second member of the meteorological triad, heat, wind and water. Agriculturally, wind is probably more important than is suggested by the few pages allotted to it. In Chapter 7, W. S. Chepil discusses the various forces acting when wind blows over an erodible surface and presents various practical methods for field control of wind erosion. Incidentally, it is a bit of a surprise to find an undocumented statement that severe wind erosion conditions tend to occur in cycles. Chapter 8 is brief and concise. In it, W. R. Henson and P. E. Waggoner illustrate the known and the mystery regarding the aerial transport of small organisms. For example, the dispersal of spores over short distances is closely predicted by a meteorological theory of turbulence, while distant dispersal requires more study. On the other hand, long distance aerial migration of insects has been investigated more than has local dispersal. This chapter convincingly demonstrates the rewards from cooperation between entomologists and meteorologists. Finally, the other absolute essential in agriculture, water, gets its share of attention. In Chapter 9 W. R. Gardner covers the movement of water over, into and through soils. The problems in measuring and computing surface and subsurface runoff and soil erosion are touched on, along with very brief reviews of the physical aspects of the infiltration, retention and movement of moisture in soils. Some readers will find that in spite of the unusual clarity of expression, Gardner covered too much material too briefly. A number of the figures are very difficult to interpret, owing to the lack of adequate explanation, a situation created by the necessity for brevity in a survey article. He does, however, point the reader to references on those aspects of soil physics which are of concern to all who must deal with water in soils. Chapter 10 is a very learned but, in places, somewhat obscure discussion of the botanical aspects of water movement in plants. B. Slavik traces the flow from root hairs to stomata and describes some of the physiological consequences of water deficits in plants. The magnitude of the problems remaining is illustrated by the fact that there is no completely satisfactory explanation as to how water is conducted upward through plant stems. This article points up one of the stumbling blocks confronting those engaged in agricultural meteorology; viz., it is an interdisciplinary science requiring teamwork, but communication between the various sciences involved is, at best, difficult. In Chapter 11 C. W. Thornthwaite and F. K. Hare present the general physical principles which govern the transfer of water from the earth (soil, water or plant surfaces) to the atmosphere. Both the aerodynamic and the energy balance approach Agr. Meteorol., 4 (1967) 209-213

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are briefly presented, lollowed by a discussion of three of the systems (Penman. Thornthwaite and Budyko} which have been devised for estimating evapotranspiration from standard meteorological observations. Unfortunately, the references do not include other empirical formulas which have been used, such as those of Blaney-Criddle, Turc, Uhlig and Kohler. The final chapter by J. D. McQuigg on decision making in agriculture seems somewhat out of place in a volume devoted otherwise to discussions of physical environments and their effects on biological processes. On the other hand, there is little point in trying to develop agricultural meteorology if no use is to be made of the knowledge and information. McQuigg points out a number of situations in which one can couple decision theory with a knowledge of meteorological effects and methodically arrive at appropriate farm management decisions. From a practical standpoint, the chapter is not entirely convincing, but the logic and need for such an approach are inescapable. Though the lack of a modern comprehensive textbook in agricultural meteorology remains, this monograph will serve as an excellent reference. The book may be a milestone in the renewed development of a science which most meteorologists chose to ignore for nearly a quarter of a century. WAYNE C. PALMER(Silver Spring, Md.}

Descriptive Micrometeorolog)'--Advances in Geophysics, Supplement 1. R. E. MUNN. Academic Press, New York, N.Y., 1966, 245 pp., 82 illus., 29 tables, US $ 9,75.

One of the greatest tasks for the present agricultural meteorologists is to understand well the physics of the atmospheric surface layer, especially that over vegetated covers. R. E. Munn well recognizes this fact and his Descriptive Micrometeorology provides most successfully the necessary and up-to-date information for the agricultural meteorologists. This volume is stated in the foreword by the editors to be a natural outgrowth of a major theme dominating the Symposium Volume 6 of the Advances in Geophysics published in 1959 in which the diverse aspects of atmospheric diffusion and air pollution were dealt with. Munn states also in the preface that he has given considerable attention to the properties of the underlying medium, which was not taken so much into account in the preceding Symposium Volume. He separates intentionally the micrometeorology into seven aspects, i. e., soil, short vegetation, forest, water, ice, snow, and built-up urban surfaces. Of all the 22 chapters in the whole volume the following chapters are especially attractive to the agricultural meteorologist: Chapter 9, "Turbulent transfer of heat

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