Dean E. Anderson

Comparing nocturnal eddy covariance measurements to estimates of ecosystem respiration made by scaling chamber measurements at six coniferous boreal sites

During the growing season, nighttime ecosystem respiration emits 30–100% of the daytime net photosynthetic uptake of carbon, and therefore measurements of rates and understanding of its control by the environment are important for understanding net ecosystem exchange. Ecosystem respiration can be measured at night by eddy covariance methods, but the data may not be reliable because of low turbulence or other methodological problems. We used relationships between woody tissue, foliage, and soil respiration rates and temperature, with temperature records collected on site to estimate ecosystem respiration rates at six coniferous BOREAS sites at half-hour or 1-hour intervals, and then compared these estimates to nocturnal measurements of CO2 exchange by eddy covariance. Soil surface respiration was the largest source of CO2 at all sites (48–71%), and foliar respiration made a large contribution to ecosystem respiration at all sites (25–43%). Woody tissue respiration contributed only 5–15% to ecosystem respiration. We estimated error for the scaled chamber predictions of ecosystem respiration by using the uncertainty associated with each respiration parameter and respiring biomass value. There was substantial uncertainty in estimates of foliar and soil respiration because of the spatial variability of specific respiration rates. In addition, more attention needs to be paid to estimating foliar respiration during the early part of the growing season, when new foliage is growing, and to determining seasonal trends of soil surface respiration. Nocturnal eddy covariance measurements were poorly correlated to scaled chamber estimates of ecosystem respiration (r2=0.06–0.27) and were consistently lower than scaled chamber predictions (by 27% on average for the six sites). The bias in eddy covariance estimates of ecosystem respiration will alter estimates of gross assimilation in the light and of net ecosystem exchange rates over extended periods.

Airflows and turbulent flux measurements in mountainous terrain: Part 1. Canopy and local effects

We have studied the effects of local topography and canopy structure on turbulent flux measurements at a site located in mountainous terrain within a subalpine, coniferous forest. Our primary aim was to determine whether the complex terrain of the site affects the accuracy of eddy flux measurements from a practical perspective. We observed displacement heights, roughness lengths, spectral peaks, turbulent length scales, and profiles of turbulent intensities that were comparable in magnitude and pattern to those reported for forest canopies in simpler terrain. We conclude that in many of these statistical measures, the local canopy exerts considerably more influence than does topographical complexity. Lack of vertical flux divergence and modeling suggests that the flux footprints for the site are within the standards acceptable for the application of flux statistics. We investigated three different methods of coordinate rotation: double rotation (DR), triple rotation (TR), and planar-fit rotation (PF). Significant variability in rotation angles at low wind speeds was encountered with the commonly used DR and TR methods, as opposed to the PF method, causing some overestimation of the fluxes. However, these differences in fluxes were small when applied to large datasets involving sensible heat and CO2 fluxes. We observed evidence of frequent drainage flows near the ground during stable, stratified conditions at night. Concurrent with the appearance of these flows, we observed a positive bias in the mean vertical wind speed, presumably due to subtle topographic variations inducing a flow convergence below the measurement sensors. In the presence of such drainage flows, advection of scalars and non-zero bias in the mean vertical wind speed can complicate closure of the mass conservation budget at the site.

SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF TURBULENT FLUXES IN THE ROUGHNESS SUBLAYER OF AN EVEN-AGED PINE FOREST

The spatial variability of turbulent flow statistics in the roughness sublayer (RSL) of a uniform even-aged 14 m (= h) tall loblolly pine forest was investigated experimentally. Using seven existing walkup towers at this stand, high frequency velocity, temperature, water vapour and carbon dioxide concentrations were measured at 15.5 m above the ground surface from October 6 to 10 in 1997. These seven towers were separated by at least 100m from each other. The objective of this study was to examine whether single tower turbulence statistics measurements represent the flow properties of RSL turbulence above a uniform even-aged managed loblolly pine forest as a best-case scenario for natural forested ecosystems. From the intensive space-time series measurements, it was demonstrated that standard deviations of longitudinal and vertical velocities (σu, σw) and temperature (σT) are more planar homogeneous than their vertical flux of momentum (u*2) and sensible heat (H) counterparts. Also, the measured H is more horizontally homogeneous when compared to fluxes of other scalar entities such as CO2 and water vapour. While the spatial variability in fluxes was significant (>15 %), this unique data set confirmed that single tower measurements represent the ‘canonical’ structure of single-point RSL turbulence statistics, especially flux-variance relationships. Implications to extending the ‘moving-equilibrium’ hypothesis for RSL flows are discussed. The spatial variability in all RSL flow variables was not constant in time and varied strongly with spatially averaged friction velocity u*, especially when u* was small. It is shown that flow properties derived from two-point temporal statistics such as correlation functions are more sensitive to local variability in leaf area density when compared to single point flow statistics. Specifically, that the local relationship between the reciprocal of the vertical velocity integral time scale (Iw) and the arrival frequency of organized structures (ū/h) predicted from a mixing-layer theory exhibited dependence on the local leaf area index. The broader implications of these findings to the measurement and modelling of RSL flows are also discussed.

Carbon Sequestration Studied in Western U.S. Mountains

The U.S. carbon budget has been the focus of recent scientific debate [Fan et al., 1998; Pacala et al., 2001; Gurney et al., 2002] Even conservative estimates suggest that U.S. ecosystems take up a significant amount of carbon, largely as a result of historical land use practices [Houghton et al., 1999; Schimel et al.,2000; Pacala et al., 2001]. In the western United States, a key cause of carbon sequestration is fire suppression. Fire suppression, of course, also sets the stage for the catastrophic losses that are occurring during fire season 2002. Increases in fire due to the effects of fire suppression, increased prescribed burning and thinning, and climate change could significantly affect the national carbon budget. At the continental scale, a comprehensive research approach—the North American Carbon Program (NACP)—is planned to quantify carbon exchange and improve our understanding of the contributing processes [Wofsy and Harriss, 2002].

Modeling and measuring the nocturnal drainage flow in a high‐elevation, subalpine forest with complex terrain

[1] The nocturnal drainage flow of air causes significant uncertainty in ecosystem CO2, H2O, and energy budgets determined with the eddy covariance measurement approach. In this study, we examined the magnitude, nature, and dynamics of the nocturnal drainage flow in a subalpine forest ecosystem with complex terrain. We used an experimental approach involving four towers, each with vertical profiling of wind speed to measure the magnitude of drainage flows and dynamics in their occurrence. We developed an analytical drainage flow model, constrained with measurements of canopy structure and SF6 diffusion, to help us interpret the tower profile results. Model predictions were in good agreement with observed profiles of wind speed, leaf area density, and wind drag coefficient. Using theory, we showed that this one-dimensional model is reduced to the widely used exponential wind profile model under conditions where vertical leaf area density and drag coefficient are uniformly distributed. We used the model for stability analysis, which predicted the presence of a very stable layer near the height of maximum leaf area density. This stable layer acts as a flow impediment, minimizing vertical dispersion between the subcanopy air space and the atmosphere above the canopy. The prediction is consistent with the results of SF6 diffusion observations that showed minimal vertical dispersion of nighttime, subcanopy drainage flows. The stable within-canopy air layer coincided with the height of maximum wake-to-shear production ratio. We concluded that nighttime drainage flows are restricted to a relatively shallow layer of air beneath the canopy, with little vertical mixing across a relatively long horizontal fetch. Insight into the horizontal and vertical structure of the drainage flow is crucial for understanding the magnitude and dynamics of the mean advective CO2 flux that becomes significant during stable nighttime conditions and are typically missed during measurement of the turbulent CO2 flux. The model and interpretation provided in this study should lead to research strategies for the measurement of these advective fluxes and their inclusion in the overall mass balance for CO2 at this site with complex terrain.

Eddy covariance measurement of CO2 flux to the atmosphere from an area of high volcanogenic emissions, Mammoth Mountain, California

Abstract Three pilot studies were performed to assess application of the eddy covariance micrometeorological method in the measurement of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) flux of volcanic origin. The selected study area is one of high diffuse CO 2 emission on Mammoth Mountain, CA. Because terrain and source characteristics make this a complex setting for this type of measurement, added consideration was given to source area and upwind fetch. Footprint analysis suggests that the eddy covariance measurements were representative of an upwind elliptical source area (3.8×10 3 m 2 ) which can vary with mean wind direction, surface roughness, and atmospheric stability. CO 2 flux averaged 8–16 mg m −2 s −1 (0.7–1.4 kg m −2 day −1 ). Eddy covariance measurements of flux were compared with surface chamber measurements made in separate studies [Geophys. Res. Lett. 25 (1998a) 1947; EOS Trans. 79 (1998) F941.] and were found to be similar.

A Multiscale and Multidisciplinary Investigation of Ecosystem- Atmosphere CO2 Exchange over the Rocky Mountains of Colorado

A significant fraction of Earth consists of mountainous terrain. However, the question of how to monitor the surface–atmosphere carbon exchange over complex terrain has not been fully explored. This article reports on studies by a team of investigators from U.S. universities and research institutes who carried out a multiscale and multidisciplinary field and modeling investigation of the CO2 exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere and of CO2 transport over complex mountainous terrain in the Rocky Mountain region of Colorado. The goals of the field campaign, which included ground and airborne in situ and remote-sensing measurements, were to characterize unique features of the local CO2 exchange and to find effective methods to measure regional ecosystem–atmosphere CO2 exchange over complex terrain. The modeling effort included atmospheric and ecological numerical modeling and data assimilation to investigate regional CO2 transport and biological processes involved in ecosystem–atmosphere carbon exch...

Deposition of Aerially Applied BT in an Oak Forest and Its Prediction with the FSCBG Model

Abstract Data are provided from 17 single-swath aerial spray trials that were conducted over a fully leafed, 16-m tall, mixed oak forest. The distribution of cross-swath spray deposits was sampled at the top of the canopy and below the canopy. Micrometeorological conditions were measured above and within the canopy during the spray trials. The USDA Forest Service FSCBG (Forest Service-Cramer-Barry-Grim) model was run to predict the target sampler catch for each trial using forest stand, airplane-application-equipment configuration, and micrometeorological conditions as inputs. Observations showed an average cross-swath deposition of 100 IU cm−2 with large run-to-run variability in deposition patterns, magnitudes, and drift. Eleven percent of the spray material that reached the top of the canopy penetrated through the tree canopy to the forest floor. The FSCBG predictions of the ensemble-averaged deposition were within 17% of the measured deposition at the canopy top and within 8% on the ground beneath the...

BOREAS TF-04 CO2 and CH4 Chamber Flux Data from the SSA

The BOREAS TF-4 team measured fluxes of CO2 and CH4 across the soil-air interface in four ages of jack pine forest at the BOREAS SSA during August 1993 to March 1995. Gross and net flux of CO2 and flux of CH4 between soil and air are presented for 24 chamber sites in mature jack pine forest, 20-year-old, 4-year-old, and clear cut areas. The data are stored in tabular ASCII files.