ALBERT

Notes: Summary The experimental site of the Department of Meteorology of Freiburg University at the Hartheim pine stand is first described. There, since 1973 long term measurements of net radiation and its components have been carried out. In addition we have been monitoring the different heat fluxes and components of the forest water budget. From May 11th to May 24th 1992 a special international and interdisciplinary observation period was organized in Hartheim (HartX 92). This took place in the frame of the international regional climatic project REKLIP (Regionales Klima Projekt). We then describe the permanent equipment and the special HartX installations. After that we show the climate of the region, in May 1992 and the weather during the HartX period. It was extraordinarily warm and the precipitation was much less than normal. The cloud cover was very small. We report the results of the radiation measurements (net radiation and its components). They are compared to the long standing measurements (1974–1988). Moreover the longstanding data of the components of the water budget (throughfall, canopy drip and stemflow, interception and transpiration) of the period 1978–1985 are dealt with. In addition we report the behaviour of the energy fluxes (soil-stand heat flux, turbulent sensible and latent heat fluxes) of the period 1974–1988. These estimations are compared to the conditions in May 1992 and the conditions during HartX 92.

Notes: Summary In May 1992 during the interdisciplinary measurement campaign HartX (Hartheim eXperiment), several independent estimates of stand water vapor flux were compared at a 12-m high Scots pine (Pinus silvestris) plantation on a flat fluvial terrace of the Rhine close to Freiburg, Germany. Weather during the HartX period was characterized by ten consecutive clear days with exceptionally high input of available energy for this time of year and with a slowly shifting diurnal pattern in atmospheric variables like vapor pressure deficit. Methods utilized to quantify components of stand water flux included porometry measurements on understory graminoid leaves and on pine needles and three different techniques for determining individual tree xylem sap flow. Micrometeorological methods included eddy covariance and eddy covariance energy balance techniques with six independent systems on two towers separated by 40 m. Additionally, Bowen ratio energy balance estimates of water flux were conducted and measurements of the gradients in water vapor, CO2, and trace gases within and above the stand were carried out with an additional, portable 30 m high telescoping mast. Biologically-based estimates of overstory transpiration were obtained by up-scaling tree sap flow rates to stand level via cumulative sapwood area. Tree transpiration contributed between 2.2 and 2.6 mm/day to ET for a tree leaf area index (LAI) of 2.8. The pine stand had an understory dominated by sedge and grass species with overall average LAI of 1.5. Mechanistic canopy gas exchange models that quantify both water vapor and CO2 exchange were applied to both understory and tree needle ecosystem compartments. Thus, the transpiration by graminoid species was estimated at approximately 20% of total stand ET. The modelled estimates for understory contribution to stand water flux compared well with micrometeorologically-based determinations. Maximum carbon gain was estimated from the canopy models at approximately 425 mmol/(m2day) for the tree needles and at 100 mmol/(m2day) for the understory. Carbon gain was suggested by the modelling analysis to remain relatively constant during the HartX period, while water use efficiency in carbon fixation increased with decreasing vapor pressure deficit. Biologically- and micrometeorologically-based estimates of stand water flux showed good general agreement with variation of up to 20% that reflects both errors due to the inherent assumptions associated with different methods as well as natural spatial variability in fluxes. The various methods support a reliable estimate of average ET from this homogeneous canopy during HartX of about 2.6 mm/day (a maximum of about 3.1 mm/day) with an insignificant decreasing trend in correlation with decreasing vapor pressure deficit and possibly soil moisture. Findings during HartX were embedded in local scale heterogeneity with greater roughness over the forest and much higher ET over the surrounding agricultural fields which results in weak but clearly existant circulation patterns. A variety of measurements were continued after the HartX campaign. They allow us to extend our findings for six months with changing environmental conditions, including shortage of soil moisture. Hydrological estimates of soil water extractions and micrometeorological estimates of ET by the one-propeller eddy covariance (OPEC) system were in very good agreement, supporting the use of this robust eddy covariance energy balance technique for long-term monitoring.

Notes: Summary This paper describes measurements of the Hartheim forest energy budget for the 157-day period of May 11 – Oct. 14, 1992. Data were collected as 30-min means. Energy available to the forest was measured with net radiometers and soil heat flux discs; sensible heat exchange between the canopy and atmosphere was measured with two “One-Propeller Eddy Correlation” (OPEC) systems, and latent energy (evapotranspiration orET) was determined as a residual in the surface energy balance equation. Net rediation, change in thermal storage, and sensible heat flux were verified by independent measurements during the Hartheim Experiment (HartX, May 11–12), and again during the “HartX2” experiment over 20 days late in the summer (Sep. 10–29). Specifically, sensible heat estimates from the two adjacent OPEC sensor sets were in close agreement throughout the summer, and in excellent agreement with measurements of sonic eddy correlation systems in May and September. The eddy correlation/energy balance technique was observed to overestimate occurrence of dew, leading to an underestimate of dailyET of about 5%. After taking dew into account, estimates of OPECET totaled 358 mm over the 5.1-month period, which is in quite good agreement with an ET estimate of 328 mm from a hydrologic water balance. An observed decrease in forestET in July and August was clearly associated with low rainfall and increased soil water deficit. The OPEC system required only modest technical supervision, and generated a data yield of 99.5% over the period DOY 144–288. The documented verification and precision of this energy budget appears to be unmatched by any other long-term forest study reported to date.

Notes: Summary During two measurement campaigns in 1992 (the Hartheim Experiment HartX- and an additional experiment in autumn), measurements of soil moisture were carried out in aPinus sylvestris stand at Hartheim on the Oberrhein. Several methods were used to determine soil water status. They were compared in terms of suitability for estimating stand evapotranspiration (ET) via soil water depletion. Measurements of tree water potential suggested that conductance of the trees was affected by soil water depletion during the period of the HartX campaign in spring 1992. We interpret the observations to indicate a lesser influence of soil water availability on tree transpiration during the autumn experiment. Eddy correlation and xylem sapflow measurements provided reference ET values with which to compare the stand ET calculations based on soil moisture measurements. Profile measurements of soil moisture showed that particularly in springtime when the lower soil layers are saturated with water, the water transport from depths below the major rooting zone is a very important factor affecting evaluation of stand ET. Decreases in soil water storage may be determined best with permanently installed soil moisture sensors such as used in tensiometric or TDR measurements that provide high resolution of changes over time.