References

Biogeosciences

1726-4189

Copernicus Publications

Göttingen, Germany

10.5194/bg-11-4651-2014

Evaluation of a plot-scale methane emission model using eddy covariance observations and footprint modelling

Budishchev

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8251-0172

¹ Mi

¹ van Huissteden

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7730-2793

¹ Belelli-Marchesini

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8408-4675

¹ Schaepman-Strub

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4069-1884

² Parmentier

F. J. W.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2952-7706

³ Fratini

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2311-8971

⁴ Gallagher

¹ Maximov

T. C.

⁵ ⁶ Dolman

A. J.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0099-0457

Earth and Climate Cluster, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, VU University Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zürich, Winterhurerstraße 190, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland

Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, 223 62, Lund, Sweden

LI-COR Biosciences GmbH, Siemenstraße 25a, 61352, Bad Homburg, Germany

Biogeochemical Cycles of Permafrost Ecosystems Lab, Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone SB RAS, 41 Lenin ave., 678891, Yakutsk, Russia

International scientific and educational center of biogeochemistry and climatology BEST (Biogeoscience Educational and Scientific Trainings), Kulakovskogo 46, 677000, Yakutsk, Russia

03 09 2014

11 17 4651 4664

2014

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This article is available from https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/11/4651/2014/bg-11-4651-2014.html

The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/11/4651/2014/bg-11-4651-2014.pdf

Most plot-scale methane emission models – of which many have been developed in the recent past – are validated using data collected with the closed-chamber technique. This method, however, suffers from a low spatial representativeness and a poor temporal resolution. Also, during a chamber-flux measurement the air within a chamber is separated from the ambient atmosphere, which negates the influence of wind on emissions. Additionally, some methane models are validated by upscaling fluxes based on the area-weighted averages of modelled fluxes, and by comparing those to the eddy covariance (EC) flux. This technique is rather inaccurate, as the area of upscaling might be different from the EC tower footprint, therefore introducing significant mismatch. In this study, we present an approach to validate plot-scale methane models with EC observations using the footprint-weighted average method. Our results show that the fluxes obtained by the footprint-weighted average method are of the same magnitude as the EC flux. More importantly, the temporal dynamics of the EC flux on a daily timescale are also captured (r2 = 0.7). In contrast, using the area-weighted average method yielded a low (r2 = 0.14) correlation with the EC measurements. This shows that the footprint-weighted average method is preferable when validating methane emission models with EC fluxes for areas with a heterogeneous and irregular vegetation pattern.

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