• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.26-46
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• 2020

An irrigated-maize agroecosystem is viewed as an open thermodynamic system upon which solar radiation impresses a large gradient that moves the system away from equilibrium. Following the imperative of the second law of thermodynamics, such agroecosystem resists and reduces the externally applied gradient by using all means of this nature-human coupled system acting together as a nonequilibrium dissipative process. The ultimate purpose of our study is to test this hypothesis by examining the energetics of agroecosystem growth and development. As a first step toward this test, we employed the eddy covariance flux data from 2003 to 2014 at the AmeriFlux NE1 irrigated-maize site at Mead, Nebraska, USA, and analyzed the energetics of this agroecosystem by scrutinizing its radiation, energy and entropy exchange. Our results showed: (1) more energy capture during growing season than non-growing season, and increasing energy capture through growing season until senescence; (2) more energy flow activity within and through the system, providing greater potential for degradation; (3) higher efficiency in terms of carbon uptake and water use through growing season until senescence; and (4) the resulting energy degradation occurred at the expense of increasing net entropy accumulation within the system as well as net entropy transfer out to the surrounding environment. Under the drought conditions in 2012, the increased entropy production within the system was accompanied by the enhanced entropy transfer out of the system, resulting in insignificant net entropy change. Drought mitigation with more frequent irrigation shifted the main route of entropy transfer from sensible to latent heat fluxes, yielding the production and carbon uptake exceeding the 12-year mean values at the cost of less efficient use of water and light.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.57-72
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• 2018

Time series analysis of tower flux measurement can be used to build quantitative evidence for the achievement of climate-smart agriculture (CSA). In this study, we have assessed the first objective of CSA (regarding ecosystem productivity and efficiency) for rice paddy-dominated heterogeneous farmland. A set of quantitative indicators were evaluated by analysing the time series data of carbon, water and energy fluxes over the Haenam farmland site in Korea (HFK) during the rice growing seasons from 2003 to 2015. Four different varieties of rice were cultivated during the study period in chronological order of Dongjin No. 1 (2003-2008), Nampyung (2009), Onnuri (2010-2011), and Saenuri (2012-2015). Overall at HFK, gross primary productivity (GPP) ranged from 800 to $944g\;C\;m^{-2}$, water use efficiency (WUE) ranged from 1.91 to $2.80g\;C\;kg\;H_2O^{-1}$, carbon uptake efficiency (CUE) ranged from 1.06 to 1.34, and light use efficiency (LUE) ranged from 0.99 to $1.55g\;C\;MJ^{-1}$. Among the four rice varieties, Dongjin No. 1-dominated HFK showed the highest productivity with higher WUE and LUE, but comparable CUE. Considering the heterogeneous vegetation cover at HFK, a rule of thumb comparison suggested that the productivity of Dongjin No1-dominated HFK was comparable to those of monoculture rice paddies in Asia, whereas HFK was more efficient in water use and less efficient in carbon uptake. Saenuri-dominated HFK also produced high productivity but with the growing season length longer than Dongjin No.1. Although the latter showed better traits for CSA, farmers cultivate Saenuri because of higher pest resistance (associated with adaptability and resilience). This emphasizes the need for the evaluation of other two objectives of CSA (i.e. system resilience and greenhouse gas mitigation) for complete assessment at HFK, which is currently in progress.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.39-47
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• 2009

The importance of securing water resources and their efficient management has attracted more attention recently due to water deficit. In water budget analysis, however, evapotranspiration(${\lambda}E$) has been approximated as the residual in the water balance equation or estimated from empirical equations and assumptions. To minimize the uncertainties in these estimates, it is necessary to directly measure ${\lambda}E$. In this study, using the eddy covariance technique, we have measured ${\lambda}E$ in a mixed forest in the Seolmacheon catchment in Korea from September 2007 to December 2008. During the growing season(May-July), ${\lambda}E$ in this mixed forest averaged about $2.2\;mm\;d^{-1}$, whereas it was on average $0.5\;mm\;d^{-1}$ during the non-growing season in winter. The annual total ${\lambda}E$ in 2008 was $581\;mm\;y^{-1}$, which is about 1/3 of the annual precipitation of 1997 mm. Despite the differences in the amount and frequency of precipitation, the accumulated ${\lambda}E$ during the overlapping period(i.e., September to December) for 2007 and 2008 was both ${\sim}110$ mm, showing virtually no difference. The omega factor, which is a measure of decoupling between forest and the atmosphere, was on average 0.5, indicating that the contributions of equilibrium ${\lambda}E$ and imposed ${\lambda}E$ to the total ${\lambda}E$ were about the same. The results suggest that ${\lambda}E$ in this mixed forest was controlled by various factors such as net radiation, vapor pressure deficit, and canopy conductance. In this study, based on the direct measurements of ${\lambda}E$, we have quantified the relative contribution of ${\lambda}E$ in the water balance of a mixed forest in the Seolmacheon catchment. In combination with runoff data, the information on ${\lambda}E$ would greatly enhance the reliability of water budget analysis in this catchment.