Application of the Flux-Variance Technique for Evapotranspiration Estimates in Three Types of Agricultural Structures

Irrigation of protected crops requires sound knowledge of evapotranspiration. Previous studies have established that the eddy-covariance (EC) technique is suitable for whole canopy evapotranspiration measurements in large agricultural screenhouses. Nevertheless, the eddy-covariance technique remains...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ori Ahiman, Yonatan Mekhmandarov, Moran Pirkner, Josef Tanny
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2018-01-01
Series:International Journal of Agronomy
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/7935140
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832563375486271488
author Ori Ahiman
Yonatan Mekhmandarov
Moran Pirkner
Josef Tanny
author_facet Ori Ahiman
Yonatan Mekhmandarov
Moran Pirkner
Josef Tanny
author_sort Ori Ahiman
collection DOAJ
description Irrigation of protected crops requires sound knowledge of evapotranspiration. Previous studies have established that the eddy-covariance (EC) technique is suitable for whole canopy evapotranspiration measurements in large agricultural screenhouses. Nevertheless, the eddy-covariance technique remains difficult to apply in the farm due to costs, operational complexity, and postprocessing of data, thereby inviting alternative techniques to be developed. The subject of this paper is the evaluation of a turbulent transport technique, the flux variance (FV), whose instrumentation needs and operational demands are not as elaborate as the EC, to estimate evapotranspiration within large agricultural structures. Measurements were carried out in three types of agricultural structures: (i) a banana plantation in a light-shading (8%) screenhouse (S1), (ii) a pepper crop in an insect-proof (50-mesh) screenhouse (S2), and (iii) a tomato crop in a naturally ventilated greenhouse with a plastic roof and 50-mesh screened sidewalls (S3). Quality control analysis of the EC data showed that turbulence development and flow stationarity conditions in the three structures were suitable for flux measurements. However, within the insect-proof screenhouse (below the screen) and the plastic-covered greenhouse, R2 of the energy balance closure was poor; hence, the alternative simple method could not be used. Results showed that the FV technique was suitable for reliable estimates of ET in shading and insect-proof screenhouses with R2 of the regressions between FV latent heat flux and latent heat flux deduced from energy balance closure of 0.99 and 0.92 during validation for S1 and S2, respectively.
format Article
id doaj-art-a340951c320c4da5b2f23a850fd0c12c
institution Kabale University
issn 1687-8159
1687-8167
language English
publishDate 2018-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series International Journal of Agronomy
spelling doaj-art-a340951c320c4da5b2f23a850fd0c12c2025-02-03T01:20:18ZengWileyInternational Journal of Agronomy1687-81591687-81672018-01-01201810.1155/2018/79351407935140Application of the Flux-Variance Technique for Evapotranspiration Estimates in Three Types of Agricultural StructuresOri Ahiman0Yonatan Mekhmandarov1Moran Pirkner2Josef Tanny3Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 15159, Rishon LeZion 7528809, IsraelInstitute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 15159, Rishon LeZion 7528809, IsraelInstitute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 15159, Rishon LeZion 7528809, IsraelInstitute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 15159, Rishon LeZion 7528809, IsraelIrrigation of protected crops requires sound knowledge of evapotranspiration. Previous studies have established that the eddy-covariance (EC) technique is suitable for whole canopy evapotranspiration measurements in large agricultural screenhouses. Nevertheless, the eddy-covariance technique remains difficult to apply in the farm due to costs, operational complexity, and postprocessing of data, thereby inviting alternative techniques to be developed. The subject of this paper is the evaluation of a turbulent transport technique, the flux variance (FV), whose instrumentation needs and operational demands are not as elaborate as the EC, to estimate evapotranspiration within large agricultural structures. Measurements were carried out in three types of agricultural structures: (i) a banana plantation in a light-shading (8%) screenhouse (S1), (ii) a pepper crop in an insect-proof (50-mesh) screenhouse (S2), and (iii) a tomato crop in a naturally ventilated greenhouse with a plastic roof and 50-mesh screened sidewalls (S3). Quality control analysis of the EC data showed that turbulence development and flow stationarity conditions in the three structures were suitable for flux measurements. However, within the insect-proof screenhouse (below the screen) and the plastic-covered greenhouse, R2 of the energy balance closure was poor; hence, the alternative simple method could not be used. Results showed that the FV technique was suitable for reliable estimates of ET in shading and insect-proof screenhouses with R2 of the regressions between FV latent heat flux and latent heat flux deduced from energy balance closure of 0.99 and 0.92 during validation for S1 and S2, respectively.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/7935140
spellingShingle Ori Ahiman
Yonatan Mekhmandarov
Moran Pirkner
Josef Tanny
Application of the Flux-Variance Technique for Evapotranspiration Estimates in Three Types of Agricultural Structures
International Journal of Agronomy
title Application of the Flux-Variance Technique for Evapotranspiration Estimates in Three Types of Agricultural Structures
title_full Application of the Flux-Variance Technique for Evapotranspiration Estimates in Three Types of Agricultural Structures
title_fullStr Application of the Flux-Variance Technique for Evapotranspiration Estimates in Three Types of Agricultural Structures
title_full_unstemmed Application of the Flux-Variance Technique for Evapotranspiration Estimates in Three Types of Agricultural Structures
title_short Application of the Flux-Variance Technique for Evapotranspiration Estimates in Three Types of Agricultural Structures
title_sort application of the flux variance technique for evapotranspiration estimates in three types of agricultural structures
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2018/7935140
work_keys_str_mv AT oriahiman applicationofthefluxvariancetechniqueforevapotranspirationestimatesinthreetypesofagriculturalstructures
AT yonatanmekhmandarov applicationofthefluxvariancetechniqueforevapotranspirationestimatesinthreetypesofagriculturalstructures
AT moranpirkner applicationofthefluxvariancetechniqueforevapotranspirationestimatesinthreetypesofagriculturalstructures
AT joseftanny applicationofthefluxvariancetechniqueforevapotranspirationestimatesinthreetypesofagriculturalstructures