Inter-annual variability of land surface fluxes across vineyards: The role of climate, phenology, and irrigation management

Authors: BAMBACH, NICOLAS - University Of California, Davis; Kustas, William - Bill; Alfieri, Joseph; Gao, Feng; Prueger, John; HIPPS, LAWRENCE - Utah State University; McKee, Lynn; CASTRO-BUSTAMANTE, SEBASTIAN - University Of California, Davis; ALSINA, MARIA - E & J Gallo Winery; McElrone, Andrew

Submitted to: Irrigation Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/8/2022
Publication Date: 4/15/2022
Citation: Bambach, N.E., Kustas, W.P., Alfieri, J.G., Gao, F.N., Prueger, J.H., Hipps, L., McKee, L.G., Castro-Bustamante, S., Alsina, M.M., McElrone, A.J. 2022. Inter-annual variability of land surface fluxes across vineyards: The role of climate, phenology, and irrigation management. Irrigation Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-022-00784-0.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-022-00784-0

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Irrigation and other agricultural management practices play a key role in land surface fluxes and their interactions with atmospheric processes. Irrigated agriculture in California has expanded in recent years to bring water control and increase water productivity, especially for high-revenue perennial crops. The future of water in California is expected to be characterized neither by perpetual scarcity nor by widespread abundance. Thus, further advancing irrigation technologies and improving management practices will be key for California’s agriculture sustainability. In this study, we present micrometeorological observations from the Grape Remote Sensing Atmospheric Profile and Evapotranspiration eXperiment (GRAPEX) project. Daily, seasonal, and inter-seasonal surface flux patterns and relationships across five vineyards over three distinct California wine production regions were investigated. Vineyard actual evapotranspiration showed significant differences at the sub-daily and daily scale when comparison across wine production regions and varieties were performed. Water use in vineyards in the Central Valley was up to 65% larger compared to the vineyards on the North Coast. Inter-annual variability was also significant, even though, climate conditions were not as different. Irrigation and other management practices played a key role in seasonal water use, and given these differences, we conclude that further advancing techniques to accurately estimate actual evapotranspiration at operational scales will be a key component to guaranty the viability of California’s agriculture.