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Title: Reliability of Turbulent Fluxes Measurements Provided by a Novel Sensor on a Pistachio Orchard
Crop evapotranspiration (ETc) measurement is usually performed by sophisticated sensors that require high technical knowledge and that are not economically affordable for most end users. The objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of a novel LI-710 sensor for measuring ETc on a pistachio orchard. This simplified and easy-to-use sensor applies the Eddy Covariance (EC) method to measure water vapor flux between the surface and the atmosphere, however, it is cheaper and less complex than traditional EC heat flux system. The LI-710 sensor was installed together to an EC tower and the measurements provided by both methodologies were compared. Initial results evidenced a good agreement in terms of the evaluated meteorological variables, except for relative humidity, where higher discrepancies among sensors were observed. Regarding the sensible (H) and latent (LE) heat fluxes, the values measured by both methodologies were similar, with R2 values of 0.96 and 0.80; and RMSE values of 19 and 29 W m−2, respectively. These results suggest that LI-710 sensor can be a valid alternative to traditional EC systems for deriving ETc. However, LI-710 continues to have the fetch limitations presented in traditional methodologies, so future efforts should be paid to reduce this requirement increasing its usability in medium-small sized agricultural plots.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2120906
PAR ID:
10648637
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  
Publisher / Repository:
IEEE
Date Published:
Page Range / eLocation ID:
107 to 111
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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