Published in the journal “Global Change Biology”, the study used a database obtained from 1,200 temperature sensors and satellite images across Europe’s forests.

“To improve the assessment of climatic conditions and climate change-related impacts on forest-floor biodiversity and functioning, high-resolution temperature grids reflecting forest microclimates are thus urgently needed,” the authors say in a press release.

According to their observations, the insulating effect of trees allows temperatures to drop by 2.1°C in summer and maintains a temperature 2°C higher than the ambient air temperature in winter throughout Europe.

“This insulating effect undeniably provides shelter for forest-dwelling wildlife.

“If, however, droughts, human activity and storms continue to intensify in the future, the insulation provided by forests could be jeopardised, endangering these ecosystems,” the researchers state.

According to the study, the average monthly difference between the temperature under the canopy – foliage of trees directly exposed to sunlight – and that of the open air is 15cm above the surface for the period between 2000 and last year.

“This offset was used to evaluate the difference between microclimate and macroclimate across space and seasons, and finally enabled us to calculate mean annual and monthly temperatures for European forest understories,” the study authors note.

The scientists hope that these new mappings will allow research in the future to more accurately model biological processes and patterns beneath the canopy, as well as the distribution of species in forests.