IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v14y2024i9p1589-d1476877.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Ground Measurements and Remote Sensing Modeling of Gross Primary Productivity and Water Use Efficiency in Almond Agroecosystems

Author

Listed:
  • Clara Gabaldón-Leal

    (Remote Sensing and GIS Group, Regional Development Institute, Campus of Albacete, University of Castilla-La Mancha (IDR-UCLM), 02071 Albacete, Spain)

  • Álvaro Sánchez-Virosta

    (Remote Sensing and GIS Group, Regional Development Institute, Campus of Albacete, University of Castilla-La Mancha (IDR-UCLM), 02071 Albacete, Spain)

  • Carolina Doña

    (Remote Sensing and GIS Group, Regional Development Institute, Campus of Albacete, University of Castilla-La Mancha (IDR-UCLM), 02071 Albacete, Spain)

  • José González-Piqueras

    (Remote Sensing and GIS Group, Regional Development Institute, Campus of Albacete, University of Castilla-La Mancha (IDR-UCLM), 02071 Albacete, Spain)

  • Juan Manuel Sánchez

    (Remote Sensing and GIS Group, Regional Development Institute, Campus of Albacete, University of Castilla-La Mancha (IDR-UCLM), 02071 Albacete, Spain)

  • Ramón López-Urrea

    (Desertification Research Centre (CIDE), CSIC-UV-GVA, Carretera CV 315, km 10.7, 46113 Moncada, Spain)

Abstract

Agriculture plays a crucial role as a carbon sink in the atmosphere, contributing to a climate-neutral economy, which requires a comprehensive understanding of Earth’s complex biogeochemical processes. This study aims to quantify, for the first time, Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and ecosystem water use efficiency (eWUE) in almond orchards during their vegetative phase. The study was conducted over six growing seasons (2017–2022) across two drip-irrigated commercial almond groves located in Albacete, SE Spain. Eddy covariance flux tower systems were used to measure Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) and evapotranspiration (ET), which were then used to calculate GPP and eWUE. A novel approach was developed to estimate eWUE by integrating the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), reference ET, and air temperature. The results show similar almond orchard carbon-fixing capacity rates to those of other natural and agro-ecosystems. Seasonal and interannual variability in GPP and eWUE were observed. The NDVI-ET combination proved to be effective for GPP estimations (regression coefficient of 0.78). Maximum carbon-fixing values were observed at ET values of around 4–5 mm/d. In addition, a novel method was developed to estimate eWUE from NDVI, reference ET and air temperature (RMSE of 0.38 g·C/kg·H 2 O). This study highlights the carbon capture potential of almond orchards during their vegetative phase and introduces a novel approach for eWUE monitoring, with the intention of underscoring their significance in a climate change context and to encourage further research.

Suggested Citation

  • Clara Gabaldón-Leal & Álvaro Sánchez-Virosta & Carolina Doña & José González-Piqueras & Juan Manuel Sánchez & Ramón López-Urrea, 2024. "Ground Measurements and Remote Sensing Modeling of Gross Primary Productivity and Water Use Efficiency in Almond Agroecosystems," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:9:p:1589-:d:1476877
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/9/1589/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/14/9/1589/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Teresa R. Freitas & João A. Santos & Ana P. Silva & Helder Fraga, 2023. "Reviewing the Adverse Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Measures on Almond Trees ( Prunus dulcis )," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, July.
    2. Pardo, J.J. & Sánchez-Virosta, A. & Léllis, B.C. & Domínguez, A. & Martínez-Romero, A., 2022. "Physiological basis to assess barley response to optimized regulated deficit irrigation for limited volumes of water (ORDIL)," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    3. Elfarkh, Jamal & Johansen, Kasper & El Hajj, Marcel M. & Almashharawi, Samir K. & McCabe, Matthew F., 2023. "Evapotranspiration, gross primary productivity and water use efficiency over a high-density olive orchard using ground and satellite based data," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 287(C).
    4. Martín-Palomo, MJ & Andreu, L. & Pérez-López, D. & Centeno, A. & Galindo, A. & Moriana, A. & Corell, M., 2022. "Trunk growth rate frequencies as water stress indicator in almond trees," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    5. Pôças, I. & Calera, A. & Campos, I. & Cunha, M., 2020. "Remote sensing for estimating and mapping single and basal crop coefficientes: A review on spectral vegetation indices approaches," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    6. García-Tejero, I. & Romero-Vicente, R. & Jiménez-Bocanegra, J.A. & Martínez-García, G. & Durán-Zuazo, V.H. & Muriel-Fernández, J.L., 2010. "Response of citrus trees to deficit irrigation during different phenological periods in relation to yield, fruit quality, and water productivity," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 97(5), pages 689-699, May.
    7. Markus Reichstein & Michael Bahn & Philippe Ciais & Dorothea Frank & Miguel D. Mahecha & Sonia I. Seneviratne & Jakob Zscheischler & Christian Beer & Nina Buchmann & David C. Frank & Dario Papale & An, 2013. "Climate extremes and the carbon cycle," Nature, Nature, vol. 500(7462), pages 287-295, August.
    8. Teresa R. Freitas & João A. Santos & Ana P. Silva & André Fonseca & Helder Fraga, 2023. "Evaluation of historical and future thermal conditions for almond trees in north-eastern Portugal," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 176(7), pages 1-21, July.
    9. Garrido-Rubio, Jesús & González-Piqueras, Jose & Campos, Isidro & Osann, Anna & González-Gómez, Laura & Calera, Alfonso, 2020. "Remote sensing–based soil water balance for irrigation water accounting at plot and water user association management scale," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rouault, Pierre & Courault, Dominique & Flamain, Fabrice & Pouget, Guillaume & Doussan, Claude & Lopez-Lozano, Raul & McCabe, Matthew & Debolini, Marta, 2024. "High-resolution satellite imagery to assess orchard characteristics impacting water use," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    2. Huicai Yang & Shuqin Zhao & Zhanfei Qin & Zhiguo Qi & Xinying Jiao & Zhen Li, 2024. "Differentiation of Carbon Sink Enhancement Potential in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region of China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-15, March.
    3. Jovanovic, N. & Pereira, L.S. & Paredes, P. & Pôças, I. & Cantore, V. & Todorovic, M., 2020. "A review of strategies, methods and technologies to reduce non-beneficial consumptive water use on farms considering the FAO56 methods," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    4. Yujin Li & Juying Jiao & Zhijie Wang & Binting Cao & Yanhong Wei & Shu Hu, 2016. "Effects of Revegetation on Soil Organic Carbon Storage and Erosion-Induced Carbon Loss under Extreme Rainstorms in the Hill and Gully Region of the Loess Plateau," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, April.
    5. Tu, Anguo & Xie, Songhua & Mo, Minghao & Song, Yuejun & Li, Ying, 2021. "Water budget components estimation for a mature citrus orchard of southern China based on HYDRUS-1D model," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    6. Alejandro del Pozo & Nidia Brunel-Saldias & Alejandra Engler & Samuel Ortega-Farias & Cesar Acevedo-Opazo & Gustavo A. Lobos & Roberto Jara-Rojas & Marco A. Molina-Montenegro, 2019. "Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies of Agriculture in Mediterranean-Climate Regions (MCRs)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-16, May.
    7. Wang, Tianxin & Melton, Forrest S. & Pôças, Isabel & Johnson, Lee F. & Thao, Touyee & Post, Kirk & Cassel-Sharma, Florence, 2021. "Evaluation of crop coefficient and evapotranspiration data for sugar beets from landsat surface reflectances using micrometeorological measurements and weighing lysimetry," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    8. Simon Besnard & Nuno Carvalhais & M Altaf Arain & Andrew Black & Benjamin Brede & Nina Buchmann & Jiquan Chen & Jan G P W Clevers & Loïc P Dutrieux & Fabian Gans & Martin Herold & Martin Jung & Yoshik, 2019. "Memory effects of climate and vegetation affecting net ecosystem CO2 fluxes in global forests," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(2), pages 1-22, February.
    9. Zbigniew W. Kundzewicz & Adam Choryński & Janusz Olejnik & Hans J. Schellnhuber & Marek Urbaniak & Klaudia Ziemblińska, 2023. "Climate Change Science and Policy—A Guided Tour across the Space of Attitudes and Outcomes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-20, March.
    10. Zheng Fu & Philippe Ciais & I. Colin Prentice & Pierre Gentine & David Makowski & Ana Bastos & Xiangzhong Luo & Julia K. Green & Paul C. Stoy & Hui Yang & Tomohiro Hajima, 2022. "Atmospheric dryness reduces photosynthesis along a large range of soil water deficits," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    11. Pereira, L.S. & Paredes, P. & Melton, F. & Johnson, L. & Mota, M. & Wang, T., 2021. "Prediction of crop coefficients from fraction of ground cover and height: Practical application to vegetable, field and fruit crops with focus on parameterization," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    12. Isabel Dorado-Liñán & Blanca Ayarzagüena & Flurin Babst & Guobao Xu & Luis Gil & Giovanna Battipaglia & Allan Buras & Vojtěch Čada & J. Julio Camarero & Liam Cavin & Hugues Claessens & Igor Drobyshev , 2022. "Jet stream position explains regional anomalies in European beech forest productivity and tree growth," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-10, December.
    13. Pei Wang & Jingjing Ma & Juanjuan Ma & Haitao Sun & Qi Chen, 2021. "A Novel Approach for the Simulation of Reference Evapotranspiration and Its Partitioning," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-12, April.
    14. Meenakshi Sharma & Rajesh Kaushal & Prashant Kaushik & Seeram Ramakrishna, 2021. "Carbon Farming: Prospects and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, October.
    15. Patricia Arrogante-Funes & Carlos J. Novillo & Raúl Romero-Calcerrada, 2018. "Monitoring NDVI Inter-Annual Behavior in Mountain Areas of Mainland Spain (2001–2016)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-24, November.
    16. Shao, Guomin & Han, Wenting & Zhang, Huihui & Liu, Shouyang & Wang, Yi & Zhang, Liyuan & Cui, Xin, 2021. "Mapping maize crop coefficient Kc using random forest algorithm based on leaf area index and UAV-based multispectral vegetation indices," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 252(C).
    17. Consoli, S. & Stagno, F. & Roccuzzo, G. & Cirelli, G.L. & Intrigliolo, F., 2014. "Sustainable management of limited water resources in a young orange orchard," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 60-68.
    18. Yuhong Zhao & Ruirui Liu & Zhansheng Liu & Liang Liu & Jingjing Wang & Wenxiang Liu, 2023. "A Review of Macroscopic Carbon Emission Prediction Model Based on Machine Learning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-28, April.
    19. Salgado, Ramiro & Mateos, Luciano, 2021. "Evaluation of different methods of estimating ET for the performance assessment of irrigation schemes," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    20. Ballester, C. & Castel, J. & Intrigliolo, D.S. & Castel, J.R., 2011. "Response of Clementina de Nules citrus trees to summer deficit irrigation. Yield components and fruit composition," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(6), pages 1027-1032, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:9:p:1589-:d:1476877. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.