A few weeks ago, near the Sint-Jansberg close to Nijmegen, we found a path that felt like an invitation.

A winding dirt trail leading to a sturdy wooden gate. Beyond it, the path continued into a lush green forest, where sunlight filtered through the canopy in shifting beams. Patches of light moved gently across leaves and ground, shaped by the wind above.

Captured with a Canon 5DSR and Sigma 24–70mm Art, I chose a wider perspective to hold the structure of the scene—the leading lines, the contrast between shadow and light, the quiet depth of the forest beyond the gate.

But the image only tells part of the story.

We stood there for a while. Not photographing. Just listening. The soft rustle of leaves, birds calling from unseen branches, the warmth of sunlight breaking through the shade. A moment that exists beyond what a camera can record.

From a scientific perspective, forests like these create their own microclimates—cooler air, higher humidity, filtered light. It shapes not just the vegetation, but the entire sensory experience.

And that’s the part a photograph cannot fully capture.

So perhaps this image is not the moment itself—but an invitation to imagine it.

#SintJansberg #Nijmegen #ForestPath #NaturePhotography #LandscapePhotography #Canon5DSR #Sigma2470Art #WideAngle #LeadingLines #LightAndShadow #ForestLight #DutchNature #NatureLovers #InTheField #OutdoorPhotography #Woodland #GreenSpaces #NatureWalk #QuietMoments #VisualStorytelling #EarthPerspective #NaturalBeauty #ExploreNature #ForestLife #Microclimate #NatureObservation #ThroughTheLens #ByMaikeldeBakker #MaikeldeBakkerPhotography #WonderingLens

【🎉Latest accepted article】
Asymmetric #Microclimate effects of #Afforestation across vertical stratification: a five-year field observation on the #LoessPlateau

#ClimateChange | #Long_termFieldMonitoring

https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtag091

Cherry: The Final Flowering

April is always a strange time here in our particular corner of the PNW where our house seems to sit in its own tiny pocket of micro-climate. We have what I believe is the last-to-bloom cherry tree in Seattle.

Three days ago the tree was bare and the sky brilliant blue. Two days ago we had thunder, lightning, hail…and a waterspout over Puget Sound. Waterspout sounds sort of cute ad friendly, doesn’t it? It’s not. It’s a tornado over water—you do not want to encounter one if you’re in a boat. (Both these images are screen grabs from local news video—like the cats, I was very sensibly safe indoors; sorry for the poor quality.)

Yesterday? The cherry tree decided, Okay, the weather has thrown its final spring curveball, safe to bloom! And so it did.

Every year the speed of change surprises me. One day nothing—no leaves, no flowers—then one morning buds with tiny pink frills peeking from the tips. Then, hours or days later (always unexpected), spang! Leaves and flowers at once. Within a week the whole tree will look like a puff of cotton candy; three of four days after that they’ll all fall off and turn the lawn into a pink carpet. For days the cats will come home covered in petals, tracking them everywhere. Sadly (for us—Kelley really likes cherries), despite all the flowering there will be no fruit. There never is. I don’t know why. The tree is at least 25 years old, so it’s not a question of age. I don’t think it’s a nutrient or sunlight issue, either. I think our cherry just doesn’t have any suitable friends close enough to cross-pollinate.

Perhaps one day someone will plant something compatible, and one day there will be tiny little cherry trees springing up all over. Until then, the birds love the tree. The cats love the tree. And I love the tree. It seems content.

#april #cherryBlossom #cherryTree #flowers #garden #gardening #hail #microClimate #nature #seattle #spring #waterspout #weather
Singapore study finds green space the size of a basketball court can cool surroundings by up to 5°C

SINGAPORE, March 23 — A recent study from Singapore reportedly found that green space the size of a basketball court in Singapore can cool surrounding areas by up to...

Malay Mail

Missing the forest for the trees. Forests are not just stands of trees, there are layers of complexity intertwining with each other, with complex vegetation structure, deadwood, epiphytes, beds of bryophytes and lichen, more open light regimes and more shaded ones interwoven like a story.

#forest #woodland #nature #microbiome #microclimate #naturephotography

Sign of #spring in SE #Michigan! crocuses are blooming. OK, they are in a warm #microclimate at the base of a south-facing doorwall and nothing has sprouted up yet in the yard, but still...

Very small #mites are subject of my research as they are associated with other arthropods (#phoretic#dispersal), and even #influence the #microclimate in their #habitats in complex ways, by fungal #spore transport+chemical fungal growth regulation via own #fungicides. #Histiostoma #sapromyzarum is subject of my current#Behance project exploring it also #aestheticslly.

©#StefanFWirth

I depend on support, please buy me a coffee
https://ko-fi.com/sfwirth

Behance S F.Wirth
https://www.behance.net/gallery/244398767/Fragile-Transparency

Small persistent humid forest clearings drive tropical forest biomass losses

"Tropical forests store about half of the global forest above ground carbon (AGC), yet extensive areas are affected by disturbances, such as deforestation from agricultural expansion and degradation from fires, selective logging, and edge effects...Findings highlight the disproportionate impact of small clearings on tropical carbon losses, suggesting the need to curb land-use changes and protect young and recovering forests."
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Xu, Y., Ciais, P., Santoro, M. et al. Small persistent humid forest clearings drive tropical forest biomass losses. Nature 649, 375–380 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09870-7 (paywall)
#Deforestation #Climate #LoggingImpacts #degradation #FCNSW #NSWLogging #PostHarvestBurn #DeliberatelyBurningAForest #EPA #MicroClimate #bushfires #NativeForests #AGC #BookkeepingApproach #ESA #TropicalForests #biodiversity

#microclimate impacts of man made systems are shifting with the #climatecrisis . We are seeing it now.

It's the small changes that add up to big ones.

https://phys.org/news/2026-01-overlooked-threat-trigger-temperature-driven.html

Overlooked threat: Dams trigger temperature-driven disease in iconic salmonid fish

A new study published in Communications Biology reveals a critical, yet previously overlooked, environmental consequence of man-made dams constructed across rivers and streams. By investigating a key indicator species of ecosystem health, the brown trout (Salmo trutta), researchers from the Estonian University of Life Sciences and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences demonstrated that small river impoundments significantly elevate water temperatures and drastically increase the pathogenic impact of Proliferative Kidney Disease (PKD).

Phys.org

zone 6a. Looking for diys to increase raised bed temp earlier - hot peppers. Companion planting but only with low growing plants - don't want to use ground plastic.

Considering a mini greenhouse (fancy cold frame) in the bed [see also f'ing groundhogs] with auto drip watering under it, but concerned about moisture leading to fungus issues, even if I have automatic vents. I work full time+ and with health limits I won't be checking it daily.

#garden #SeasonExtension #MicroClimate