Infrared Thermal Profiles in Silvopastoral and Full-Sun Pastures in the Eastern Amazon, Brazil

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear colleagues! The article is devoted to the consideration of a very important topic - the ability of plant communities, populations or plantings of different types of trees to form microclimatic conditions. These ecosystem services of plant communities are widely known and used in practice. This article describes in great detail the methodology and methodological part of the work on the study of the influence of trees on the microclimate using infrared thermography. New quantitative results have been obtained, the conclusions are logical and justified. This work is of great scientific and practical importance in order to improve the efficiency of pasture management for livestock using forest plantations in a hot climate. The methodology of the work can be recommended for use in similar studies. There are no significant comments and suggestions on the work

Author Response

Dear reviewer, I would like to thank you for your evaluation and considerations regarding our article. Your comments were very important to our team of authors.

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear authors. I am grateful for the opportunity to review the article "Infrared thermal profiles in silvopastoral and full-sun pastures in the eastern Amazon, Brazil". I would like to note its high scientific level and extreme relevance. I will not dwell on the merits of this article, they are already obvious. I will note only those shortcomings and questions that I found when I read the article. 

 

1. Figure 1. Show the position of the studied region on the map of Brazil. 

2. Bring clearer legends to the maps in Figure 4. 

3. In Section 4, give the limitations of the study and the prospects for further research.

Author Response

Dear reviewer, thank you for taking the time and effort to evaluate our article. Your suggestions were considered by our team of authors and we recognize them as extremely important. All suggestions were accepted as described below:

Point 1: Figure 1. Show the position of the studied region on the map of Brazil.
Response 1: The map of Brazil was inserted in the image, as well as the study area identified in it according to the new file.

Point 2: Bring clearer legends to the maps in Figure 4.
Response 2: The legend has been changed for clarity in reading.

3. In Section 4, give the limitations of the study and the prospects for further research.
Response 3: As suggested, this information was added in section 4, lines 589-595.

Kind regards.

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear authors,

 

I have read your article and would like to share some comments that have arisen for me. Overall, I consider the article to be a comprehensive and well-executed scientific study. The article is relevant and addresses an interesting scientific problem. In my opinion, the article could be improved in the following aspects:

 

1. I recommend checking the English language style throughout the entire article.

2. Provide an inset map of the research area in South America or Brazil.

3. Lines 158-159. You present a map of a spatial object. Why do you specify the geographic coordinates of only one point?

4. In Section 2, I would recommend the authors to provide a graphical diagram of the entire study to make it clearer what the authors have accomplished.

 

Author Response

Dear reviewer, we appreciate your evaluation and suggestions for our article. All suggestions were carefully accepted/explained as described below:

Point 1: I recommend checking the English language style throughout the entire article.
Response 1: The English language style was checked throughout the article.

Point 2. Provide an inset map of the research area in South America or Brazil.
Response 2: The map of Brazil was inserted in Figure 1 as suggested and the study area highlighted.

Point 3. Lines 158-159. You present a map of a spatial object. Why do you specify the geographic coordinates of only one point?
Response 3: The geographic coordinates are the point where the study area begins, which is a Technological Reference Unit of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa). This point is used as a reference in published studies of this area and from this point on, all plantations can be located by their proximity to each other (same soil and same climate) and along all plots there are identification plaques.

Point 4. In Section 2, I would recommend the authors to provide a graphical diagram of the entire study to make it clearer what the authors have accomplished.
Response 3: The graphic diagram was inserted as recommended, in section 2, line 235.

Kind Regards