3.3. Soil temperature
Soil temperature of 5 cm depth at each of the four slope positions exhibited a general decreasing trend over time corresponding to cooler air temperatures later in the growing
season. All four slope positions showed the same daily soil temperature fluctuations tracking daily changes in mean air temperature (Fig. 2b). The soil temperature at summit was always the greatest during the entire 47 day measurement period; soil temperature for the toe-slope was the lowest, and soil temperature for shoulder and back-slope was intermediate. Differences in soil temperature among the lower three slope positions were generally not significant (Fig. 2b, Table 2).The maximum difference in mean temperature among the four slope positions in the initial 27 days and the last 20 days was 0.3 C and 0.2 C, respectively. The difference in mean soil temperature at 5 cm depth among four positions in the initial 27 days was greater than in the last 20 days (Table 2).