The monitoring activities focused on improving estimates of the carbon and water exchanges between this type of ecosystem and the atmosphere, as well as to study the response of these biogeochemical cycles to climate variability.
This study site (Moncada, Valencia) is located at, 39º35'N, 0º24'W , at about 60 m above sea level, and local topography is overall flat. The climate is Mediterranean with hot and dry summer (Köppen classification: Csa). The mean annual temperature is about 18 °C and mean annual precipitation about 475 mm. The station is located in the center of a 2 ha Citrus orchard managed by IVIA (Valencian Institute of Agricultural Research). It was planted in 2017 with a tree density of about 1200 trees per hectare. The orchard is irrigated by drip irrigation and fertilizer application is made by fertigation. The soil is maintained without vegetation cover mostly by mechanical weed control techniques.
The station includes the following suite of measurements.
For example, weather variables are measured above the canopy and along a profile from the soil to the canopy-top. Soil temperatures and water content (at different soil depth) and soil heat flux are monitored half-hourly as well as soil respiration. All these variables are used to calculate the carbon, water and energy balances of the forest, and characterize their variability at scales of hours to decades.
Most of the variables of interest are logged automatically by data loggers or computers at a half-hourly period. Data are downloaded every day from the experimental site to the Fundacion CEAM through a 3G mobile connection.
