Machuqueira do Grou Experimental Plot
Location
Located in a private property near Coruche, Portugal.
Catchment size
Climate
Climate is semi-arid, with strong seasonality in precipitation and temperatures.
Geology
Topography
Vegetation/Land use
Mixed land use. Corkoaks are used for cork extraction. Understorey is used for pasture or recreational hunting.
Context of investigation
The experimental plot was initiated by the University of Lisbon, Centre of Forest Ecology. Most of the monitoring is focused on vertical carbon exchanges. As a by-product, a lot of hydrological variables have been monitored. The University of Potsdam is now investigating the understorey evapotranspiration in this stand. The objective is to understand the different stability regimes affecting the vertical transport of latent heat in different forest densities.
Measurements/Equipment
Eddy covariance tower 2 complete bowen ratio meteorological stations (soil heat flux, 4 component radiometer, wind velocity at different heights, soil moisture, psychrometry at different heights) 2 simplified micrometeorological stations (soil heat flux, 2 component radiometer, wind velocity, soil moisture) Sapflow measurements Monthly field spectrometry of leafs, grasses and shrubs