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Is surface conductance theoretically independent of reference height?
Author(s) -
Komatsu Hikaru,
Kumagai Tomo'omi,
Hotta Norifumi
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
hydrological processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.222
H-Index - 161
eISSN - 1099-1085
pISSN - 0885-6087
DOI - 10.1002/hyp.5760
Subject(s) - evapotranspiration , environmental science , canopy conductance , conductance , energy balance , mathematics , atmospheric sciences , transpiration , physics , chemistry , ecology , thermodynamics , biochemistry , photosynthesis , combinatorics , vapour pressure deficit , biology
Many studies have compared surface conductance G s at different observation sites when examining physiological differences between sites and/or between vegetation categories. However, a theoretical analysis confirming the robustness of such comparisons has not yet been published. It is unclear whether G s is independent of the reference height where evaporative fluxes and meteorological factors are observed, as G s is a conceptual parameter rather than a purely physiological parameter. This short note shows that G s is independent of reference height when above‐canopy fluxes of evapotranspiration and available energy are independent of reference height, and when energy balance closure is complete. Thus, this note gives a theoretical basis for comparing G s values at different observation sites. Furthermore, we make recommendations for examining the G s dependency on reference height in field conditions. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.