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Publications

NIBIOs employees contribute to several hundred scientific articles and research reports every year. You can browse or search in our collection which contains references and links to these publications as well as other research and dissemination activities. The collection is continously updated with new and historical material.

2015

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Abstract

The eddy covariance (EC) method is one key method to quantify fluxes in biogeochemical cycles in general, and carbon and energy transport across the vegetation-atmosphere boundary layer in particular. EC data from the worldwide net of flux towers (Fluxnet) have also been used to validate biogeochemical models. The high resolution data are usually obtained at 20 Hz sampling rate but are affected by missing values and other restrictions. In this contribution, we investigate the nonlinear dynamics of EC fluxes using Recurrence Analysis (RA). High resolution data from the site DE-Bay (Waldstein-Weidenbrunnen) and fluxes calculated at half-hourly resolution from eight locations (part of the La Thuile dataset) provide a set of very long time series to analyze. After careful quality assessment and Fluxnet standard gapfilling pretreatment, we calculate properties and indicators of the recurrent structure based both on Recurrence Plots as well as Recurrence Networks. Time series of RA measures obtained from windows moving along the time axis are presented. Their interpretation is guided by three different questions: (1) Is RA able to discern periods where the (atmospheric) conditions are particularly suitable to obtain reliable EC fluxes? (2) Is RA capable to detect dynamical transitions (different behavior) beyond those obvious from visual inspection? (3) Does RA contribute to an understanding of the nonlinear synchronization between EC fluxes and atmospheric parameters, which is crucial for both improving carbon flux models as well for reliable interpolation of gaps? (4) Is RA able to recommend an optimal time resolution for measuring EC data and for analyzing EC fluxes? (5) Is it possible to detect non-trivial periodicities with a global RA? We will demonstrate that the answers to all five questions is affirmative, and that RA provides insights into EC dynamics not easily obtained otherwise.

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Abstract

In this chapter, the potential of Recurrence Analysis (RA) for applications in the biogeosciences is demonstrated. We investigate the fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), an index based on multispectral reflectance properties of land surfaces which relates to the carbon uptake by plants. FAPAR is available with global coverage from satellites. We combine observations from two sensors, SeaWifs on board SeaStar and MERIS on board Envisat, to produce time series with 10 days resolution for a period of 14 years (1998–2011) at a spatial resolution of 0.5∘ latitude × 0.5∘ longitude. After careful quality checking and gap-filling, more than 30,000 individual time series are obtained covering all terrestrial ecosystems and climates apart from Antarctica and major deserts. To characterize the different dynamical behaviour as a function of spatial location, we employ Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA) and Recurrence Network Analysis (RNA). They deliver detailed information on the nonlinear dynamics in phase space through embedding. RQA and network measures are calculated for individual time series using identical recurrence parameters, and results are visualized on world maps. Taken together, the recurrence analysis leads to a partitioning of the terrestrial biosphere into regions with distinct dynamical patterns of photosynthetic activity.

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Abstract

Forest inventories based on field sample surveys, supported by auxiliary remotely sensed data, have the potential to provide transparent and confident estimates of forest carbon stocks required in climate change mitigation schemes such as the REDD+ mechanism. The field plot size is of importance for the precision of carbon stock estimates, and better information of the relationship between plot size and precision can be useful in designing future inventories. Precision estimates of forest biomass estimates developed from 30 concentric field plots with sizes of 700, 900, …, 1900 m2, sampled in a Tanzanian rainforest, were assessed in a model-based inference framework. Remotely sensed data from airborne laser scanning (ALS) and interferometric synthetic aperture radio detection and ranging (InSAR) were used as auxiliary information. The findings indicate that larger field plots are relatively more efficient for inventories supported by remotely sensed ALS and InSAR data. A simulation showed that a pure field-based inventory would have to comprise 3.5–6.0 times as many observations for plot sizes of 700–1900 m2 to achieve the same precision as an inventory supported by ALS data.