The effect of substrate properties, size, position, sheltering and shading on dew: An experimental approach in the Negev Desert

No significant differences were found in the dew amounts condensing on the limestone and the flint cobbles. Smooth Plexiglas surfaces yielded significantly higher amounts than a ragged Plexiglas surface. As for the substratum height and size, the dew amounts increased with height (from 0.7 to 10.0 cm) and size (from 2.5 × 2.5 cm to 40 × 40 cm). However, an increase in the long axis (a-axis) to 20, 30 and 40 cm while leaving the b-axis constant (at 10 cm) resulted in only a slight increase in the dew amounts in comparison to a 10 × 10 cm substratum. While confined to non-sheltered habitats, dew at partially sheltered habitats (such as the margin of a shrub or a cave, the vicinity of a cliff and on 7-cm-high cobble surrounded by 15-cm-high cobbles) was significantly lower than at the exposed habitats. The differences in dew amounts coincided with minute differences in the surface temperatures, explained as resulting from differences in the outgoing nocturnal longwave radiational cooling. The findings may shed light on the dew regime of lithobionts at different microhabitats and upon inconsistent values reported in the literature.