DAILY CHARACTERIZATION OF AIR-TEMPERATURE AND RELATIVE-HUMIDITY PROFILES IN A COCOA PLANTATION

The behaviour of daily cycles of air temperature and relative humidity outside and inside a Brazilian cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) plantation was studied under contrasting conditions, for one week in both the wet and dry seasons. It was found that temperature, relative humidity and rainfall are interrelated in affecting the seasonality of the microcl imatic conditions inside the plantation. Rainfall was associated with rapid drops in temperature at all canopy levels immediately after a sh ower and a rise in relative humidity one or two hours later.