Helber C. Freitas

SEASONALITY OF WATER AND HEAT FLUXES OVER A TROPICAL FOREST IN EASTERN AMAZONIA

We used the eddy covariance technique from July 2000 to July 2001 to measure the fluxes of sensible heat, water vapor, and CO2 between an old-growth tropical forest in eastern Amazonia and the atmosphere. Precipitation varied seasonally, with a wet season from mid-December 2000 to July 2001 characterized by successive rainy days, wet soil, and, relative to the dry season, cooler temperatures, greater cloudiness, and reduced incoming solar and net radiation. Average evapotranspiration decreased from 3.96 ± 0.65 mm/d during the dry season to 3.18 ± 0.76 mm/d during the wet season, in parallel with decreasing radiation and decreasing water vapor deficit. The average Bowen ratio was 0.17 ± 0.10, indicating that most of the incoming radiation was used for evaporation. The Bowen ratio was relatively low during the early wet season (December–March), as a result of increased evaporative fraction and reduced sensible heat flux. The seasonal decline in Bowen ratio and increase in evaporative fraction coincided with an increase in ecosystem CO2 assimilation capacity, which we attribute to the growth of new leaves. The evaporative fraction did not decline as the dry season progressed, implying that the forest did not become drought stressed. The roots extracted water throughout the top 250 cm of soil, and water redistribution, possibly by hydraulic lift, partially recharged the shallow soil during dry season nights. The lack of drought stress during the dry season was likely a consequence of deep rooting, and possibly vertical water movement, which allowed the trees to maintain access to soil water year round.

Diel and seasonal patterns of tropical forest CO2 exchange

We used eddy covariance to measure the net exchange of CO2between theatmosphere and an old-growth tropical forest in Para , Brazil from 1 July 2000 to 1 July2001. The mean air temperature and daily temperature range varied little year-round; therainy season lasted from late December to around July. Daytime CO2uptake under highirradiance averaged 16–19mmol·m22·s21. Light was the main controller of CO2exchange,accounting for 48% of the half-hour-to-half-hour variance. The rate of canopy photosyn-thesis at a given irradiance was lower in the afternoon than the morning. This photosyntheticinhibition was probably caused by high evaporative demand, high temperature, an intrinsiccircadian rhythm, or a combination of the three. Wood increment increased from Januaryto May, suggesting greater rates of carbon sequestration during the wet season. However,the daily net CO2exchange measured by eddy covariance revealed the opposite trend, withgreater carbon accumulation during the dry season. A reduction in respiration during thedry season was an important cause of this seasonal pattern. The surface litter was desiccatedin the dry season, and the seasonal pattern of respiration appears to be a direct result ofreduced forest floor decomposition during drought. In contrast, canopy photosynthesis wasnot directly reduced by the dry season, probably because deep rooting allows the forest toavoid drought stress

BIOMETRIC AND MICROMETEOROLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS OF TROPICAL FOREST CARBON BALANCE

We used two independent approaches, biometry and micrometeorology, to determine the net ecosystem production (NEP) of an old growth forest in Para, Brazil. Biometric inventories indicated that the forest was either a source or, at most, a modest sink of carbon from 1984 to 2000 (+0.8 ± 2 Mg C·ha−1·yr−1; a positive flux indicates carbon loss by the forest, a negative flux indicates carbon gain). Eddy covariance measurements of CO2 exchange were made from July 2000 to July 2001 using both open- and closed-path gas analyzers. The annual eddy covariance flux calculated without correcting for the underestimation of flux on calm nights indicated that the forest was a large carbon sink (−3.9 Mg C·ha−1·yr−1). This annual uptake is comparable to past reports from other Amazonian forests, which also were calculated without correcting for calm nights. The magnitude of the annual integral was relatively insensitive to the selection of open- versus closed-path gas analyzer, averaging time, detrending, and high-frequency correction. In contrast, the magnitude of the annual integral was highly sensitive to the treatment of calm nights, changing by over 4 Mg C·ha−1·yr−1 when a filter was used to replace the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) during nocturnal periods with u* < 0.2 m/s. Analyses of the relationship between nocturnal NEE and u* confirmed that the annual sum needs to be corrected for the effect of calm nights, which resulted in our best estimate of the annual flux (+0.4 Mg C·ha−1·yr−1). The observed sensitivity of the annual sum to theu* filter is far greater than has been previously reported for temperate and boreal forests. The annual carbon balance determined by eddy covariance is therefore less certain for tropical than temperate forests. Nonetheless, the biometric and micrometeorological measurements in tandem provide strong evidence that the forest was not a strong, persistent carbon sink during the study interval.

Patterns of water and heat flux across a biome gradient from tropical forest to savanna in Brazil

[1] We investigated the seasonal patterns of water vapor and sensible heat flux along a tropical biome gradient from forest to savanna. We analyzed data from a network of flux towers in Brazil that were operated within the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA). These tower sites included tropical humid and semideciduous forest, transitional forest, floodplain (with physiognomies of cerrado), and cerrado sensu stricto. The mean annual sensible heat flux at all sites ranged from 20 to 38 Wm 2 , and was generally reduced in the wet season and increased in the late dry season, coincident with seasonal variations of net radiation and soil moisture. The sites were easily divisible into two functional groups based on the seasonality of evaporation: tropical forest and savanna. At sites with an annual precipitation above 1900 mm and a dry season length less than 4 months (Manaus, Santarem and Rondonia), evaporation rates increased in the dry season, coincident with increased radiation. Evaporation rates were as high as 4.0 mm d 1 in these evergreen or semidecidous forests. In contrast, ecosystems with precipitation less than 1700 mm and a longer dry season (Mato Grosso, Tocantins

Measurements of CO2 exchange over a woodland savanna (Cerrado Sensu stricto) in southeast Brasil

A tecnica de correlacao dos vortices turbulentos (eddy correlation) foi utilizada para se estimar a produtividade liquida do ecossistema (PLE) em uma area de Cerrado Sensu stricto, no sitio experimental da Gleba Pe de Gigante, no sudeste do Brasil. O conjunto de dados coletados incluiu tambem medidas de variaveis climatologicas e de respiracao do solo com câmaras estaticas, no periodo de 10 de Outubro de 1999 a 30 de Marco de 2002. A respiracao do solo media anual foi de 4.8 molCO2m-2s-1, com diferencas sazonais que variaram entre 2 a 8 molCO2 m-2s-1 durante a estacao seca (Abril a Agosto) e na estacao chuvosa, respectivamente, por um padrao de sensivel correlacao com a temperatura (Q10=4.9) e umidade do solo. Com base nos fluxos atmosfericos de CO2, a PLE mostrou uma variabilidade no ciclo diurno grandemente controlada pela radiacao solar, umidade e temperatura do ar. Na escala sazonal, a umidade do solo foi uma variavel de alta correlacao com a PLE, que aparentemente induziu a queda de folhedo, reducao da atividade fotossintetica e da respiracao do solo. O sinal da PLE foi negativo (sumidouro) na estacao chuvosa e no inicio da estacao seca, com taxas de -25 kgCha-1dia-1, e maximos de ate 40 kgCha-1dia-1. Na estacao seca o sinal foi positivo (emissao), o que foi revertido logo no inicio das chuvas. No fim da estacao seca, em dias de grande estresse hidrico, ainda observou-se a resposta da fotossintese na escala do ecossistema, mesmo tendo sido positiva a PLE. Paralelamente ao decorrer da estacao seca, a PLE progressivamente aumentou de 5 ate 50 kgCha-1dia-1. A soma annual da PLE mostrou-se aproximadamente balanceada, tendo sido no entanto, sob um vies de maior precisao, um pequeno mas significativo sumidouro de 0.1 0.3 tCha-1ano-1. Consideramos a hipotese de um pequeno sumidouro como possivelmente realista, dadas as restringentes correcoes impostas no calculo dos fluxos turbulentos, e algumas hipoteses favoraveis de sucessao de estagios do Cerrado, fertilizacao de CO2 atmosferico e variabilidade climatica.

Atmosphere and hydrological controls of the evapotranspiration over a floodplain forest in the Bananal Island region, Amazonia

influenced the energy exchange. Soil moisture, which was substantially depleted during the dry season, and adaptative vegetation mechanisms such as leaf senescence contributed to limit the dry season ET. Strong drainage within permeable sandy soils helped to explain the soil moisture depletion. These results suggest that the Bananal flooding area shows a different pattern in relation to the upland Amazon forests, being more similar to the savanna strictu senso areas in central Brazil. For example, seasonal ET variation was not in phase with Rn; the wet season ETwas higher than the dry season ET; and the system stored only a tiny memory of the flooding period, being sensitive to extended drought periods.

Water use in a sugarcane plantation

The evapotranspiration (E) from a sugarcane plantation in the southeast Brazil was measured by the eddy‐covariance method during two consecutive cycles. These represented the second (393 days) and third year (374 days) re‐growth (ratoon). The total E in the first cycle was 829 mm, accounting for 69% of rainfall, whereas in the second cycle, it was 690 mm, despite the total rainfall (1353 mm) being 13% greater. The ratio of E to available energy, the evaporative fraction, exhibited a smaller variation between the first and second cycles: 0.58 and 0.51, respectively. The estimated interception losses were 88 and 90 mm, respectively, accounting for approximately 7% of the total rainfall. The sugarcane yield in the second cycle (61.5 ± 4.0 t ha−1) was 26% lower than the first cycle, as well as lower than the regional average for the third ratoon (76 t ha−1). The below average yield was associated with less available soil water at the beginning of the cycle, with the amount of rainfall recorded during the first 120 days of re‐growth in the second cycle being 16% of that recorded in the first (203 mm).

How Reliable Is the Temperature Information of Street Thermometers? A Simple Case Study in São Paulo City

The public information of real time weather in urban places, especially air temperature and humidity, is generally acquired in locus, that is, using local instrumentation, and has also to inform in a convenient and easy way the passerby people, usually displayed in vertical boards of street clocks. These devices seldom use accurate sensors and are placed in vulnerable conditions which include the influence of buildings, trees, wires, vehicles, animals, people etc. This work envisages to discuss how reliable are the temperature data available in the street clocks for passers-by users. We questioned the accuracy of the temperature shown in street thermometers at the USP campus, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Data was taken during February to April 2014 using an experimental approach that compared the temperature displayed in boards of street clocks/thermometers to a reference air temperature measured in the adjacencies. The board temperature was generally warmer at daytime (mean deviation of 2 °C) in a site not shadowed by surrounding buildings, with extremes that reached about 8 °C, and less in a partially shadowed site. The deviations were larger with clear sky conditions, although the background with diffuse solar radiation was sufficient to show substantial daytime warming. Likewise, at night the board temperature appeared to be colder (mean deviation of about −1.5 oC).

CH4 FLUX IN FOREST AREA IN ARAGUAIA RIVER MARGIN – MT

The aim of this study was to estimate the methane flux in an area of upland forest on the Araguaia River margin, in Santa Terezinha - MT, 15 km far from the LBA project flux measurement tower on the Bananal island - TO. For this a micrometeorological tower was installed on the river margin, with climatic variables sensors, eddy covariance and methane concentration by open optical path and closed in days of the rainy season in the region. Estimates of CH4 concentration showed good correlation between the sensors, with the highest concentrations at night and lower concentrations during the day, likely effect of differences between CLN and CLC, and averages around 1.8 ppm, near to that found in other sites upland forest. Both the river and the forest are sources of methane to the atmosphere. with a higher methane flux from river directions, being double the average of the direction from forest, but the daytime maximum of the forest direction are larger and can reach up to 30 nmol m -2 s -1 .

PADRÕES DE EVAPOTRANSPIRAÇÃO EM ÁREA DE CERRADO PARA CENÁRIOS DE AQUECIMENTO COM SIMULAÇÕES DO MODELO SiB2

Atualmente, ha uma grande preocupacao cientifica sobre as mudancas climaticas, priorizadas pelo “World Climate Research” (WRCP) e pelo “Intergovernamental Panel on Climate Change” (IPCC, 2007). Para o entendimento destas mudancas, utilizam - se modelos fisico - matematicos para obtencao de prognosticos de futuros cenarios climaticos. A modelagem atmosferica vem se mostrando fundamental nos estudos sobre mudancas climaticas devido a mudanca do uso do solo e variabilidade climatica. O balanco energetico e uma excelente ferramenta para monitorar as condicoes ideais de manutencao de culturas agricolas e ecossistemas nativos, uma vez que muitos estudos monitoram ha anos os padroes sazonais da particao de energia nas condicoes climaticas atuais. Saber como esta particao sera alterada devido a mudancas no clima pode favorecer medidas mitigadoras com o intuito de minimizar danos irreparaveis ao meio ambiente e a sociedade. Com base nisto, avaliou-se o impacto do aumento de ate 5°C na temperatura do ar na evapotranspiracao em uma area de Cerrado, atraves de simulacoes do modelo SIB2.