Sensors 2011, 11(8), 7954-7981; doi:10.3390/s110807954
Review

Ground-Based Optical Measurements at European Flux Sites: A Review of Methods, Instruments and Current Controversies

Manuela Balzarolo1,* email, Karen Anderson2 email, Caroline Nichol3 email, Micol Rossini4 email, Loris Vescovo5 email, Nicola Arriga1 email, Georg Wohlfahrt6 email, Jean-Christophe Calvet7 email, Arnaud Carrara8 email, Sofia Cerasoli9 email, Sergio Cogliati4 email, Fabrice Daumard10 email, Lars Eklundh11 email, Jan A. Elbers12 email, Fatih Evrendilek13 email, Rebecca N. Handcock14 email, Jörg Kaduk15 email, Katja Klumpp16 email, Bernard Longdoz17 email, Giorgio Matteucci18 email, Michele Meroni4,19 email, Lenoardo Montagnani20,21 email, Jean-Marc Ourcival22 email, Enrique P. Sánchez-Cañete23 email, Jean-Yves Pontailler24 email, Radoslaw Juszczak25 email, Bob Scholes26 email and M. Pilar Martín27 email
1 DIBAF—University of Tuscia, Via S.C. de Lellis, 01100 Viterbo, Italy 2 Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK 3 School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JN Scotland, UK 4 DISAT—University of Milan-Bicocca, piazza della Scienza 1, 20126 Milano, Italy 5 CRI—Fondazione E. Mach, Viote del Monte Bondone, Trento, Italy 6 Institut für Ökologie, Universität Innsbruck, Sternwartestr. 15, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria 7 CNRM/GAME–Meteo-France, CNRS, URA 1357, 42 avenue Coriolis, 31057 Toulouse Cedex 1, France 8 Fundacion CEAM, Parque Tecnologico, Calle C.R. Darwin, Paterna, SP-46980, Valencia, Spain 9 Forest Research Centre, School of Agriculture, Technical University of Lisbon, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisboa, Portugal 10 Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Ecole Polytech., Palaiseau, France 11 Department of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Lund University, Sölvegatan 12, SE-223 62, Lund, Sweden 12 Alterra, ESS-CC Group, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands 13 Department of Environmental Engineering, Abant Izzet Baysal University, Gölköy Campus, 14280 Bolu, Turkey 14 CSIRO, Private Bag 5, Wembley, WA, 6913, Australia 15 Department of Geography, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK 16 INRA, Grassland Ecosystem Research Unite, UR874, 63100 Clermont Ferrand, France 17 INRA, Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestière, UMR1137, Centre de Nancy, F-54280 Champenoux, France 18 CNR, Institute for Agricultural and Forestry Systems in the Mediterranean, Via Cavour, 4-6 I-87036, Rende, Italy 19 European Commission, DG-JRC, Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Monitoring Agricultural Resources Unit, Via Fermi 2749, 21027, Ispra, Varese, Italy 20 Forest Services and Agency for the Environment, Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy 21 Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy 22 DREAM-CEFE-CNRS, UMR5175, BP5051, 1919 Route de Mende, F-34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France 23 IAA–CSIC, c/Camino Bajo de Huétor, 50, Granada 18008, Spain 24 Laboratoire d’Ecologie Végétale, CNRS URA 1492 Bât. 362, Université Paris Sud-Orsay, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France 25 Dept. of Meteorology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Piatkowska 94, 60-649 Poznan, Poland 26 CSIR, Ecosystem Processes and Dynamics, PO Box 395, 0001 Pretoria, South Africa 27 CCHS—CSIC, Albasanz 26-28, Madrid 28037, Spain
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 18 July 2011; in revised form: 8 August 2011 / Accepted: 8 August 2011 / Published: 12 August 2011
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensors in Agriculture and Forestry)
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Abstract: This paper reviews the currently available optical sensors, their limitations and opportunities for deployment at Eddy Covariance (EC) sites in Europe. This review is based on the results obtained from an online survey designed and disseminated by the Co-cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action ESO903—“Spectral Sampling Tools for Vegetation Biophysical Parameters and Flux Measurements in Europe” that provided a complete view on spectral sampling activities carried out within the different research teams in European countries. The results have highlighted that a wide variety of optical sensors are in use at flux sites across Europe, and responses further demonstrated that users were not always fully aware of the key issues underpinning repeatability and the reproducibility of their spectral measurements. The key findings of this survey point towards the need for greater awareness of the need for standardisation and development of a common protocol of optical sampling at the European EC sites.
Keywords: optical measurements; sensors; protocol standardisation; European flux networks

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Balzarolo, M.; Anderson, K.; Nichol, C.; Rossini, M.; Vescovo, L.; Arriga, N.; Wohlfahrt, G.; Calvet, J.-C.; Carrara, A.; Cerasoli, S.; Cogliati, S.; Daumard, F.; Eklundh, L.; Elbers, J.A.; Evrendilek, F.; Handcock, R.N.; Kaduk, J.; Klumpp, K.; Longdoz, B.; Matteucci, G.; Meroni, M.; Montagnani, L.; Ourcival, J.-M.; Sánchez-Cañete, E.P.; Pontailler, J.-Y.; Juszczak, R.; Scholes, B.; Martín, M.P. Ground-Based Optical Measurements at European Flux Sites: A Review of Methods, Instruments and Current Controversies. Sensors 2011, 11, 7954-7981.

AMA Style

Balzarolo M., Anderson K., Nichol C., Rossini M., Vescovo L., Arriga N., Wohlfahrt G., Calvet J.-C., Carrara A., Cerasoli S., Cogliati S., Daumard F., Eklundh L., Elbers J.A., Evrendilek F., Handcock R.N., Kaduk J., Klumpp K., Longdoz B., Matteucci G., Meroni M., Montagnani L., Ourcival J.-M., Sánchez-Cañete E.P., Pontailler J.-Y., Juszczak R., Scholes B., Martín M.P. Ground-Based Optical Measurements at European Flux Sites: A Review of Methods, Instruments and Current Controversies. Sensors. 2011; 11(8):7954-7981.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Balzarolo, Manuela; Anderson, Karen; Nichol, Caroline; Rossini, Micol; Vescovo, Loris; Arriga, Nicola; Wohlfahrt, Georg; Calvet, Jean-Christophe; Carrara, Arnaud; Cerasoli, Sofia; Cogliati, Sergio; Daumard, Fabrice; Eklundh, Lars; Elbers, Jan A.; Evrendilek, Fatih; Handcock, Rebecca N.; Kaduk, Jörg; Klumpp, Katja; Longdoz, Bernard; Matteucci, Giorgio; Meroni, Michele; Montagnani, Lenoardo; Ourcival, Jean-Marc; Sánchez-Cañete, Enrique P.; Pontailler, Jean-Yves; Juszczak, Radoslaw; Scholes, Bob; Martín, M. Pilar. 2011. "Ground-Based Optical Measurements at European Flux Sites: A Review of Methods, Instruments and Current Controversies." Sensors 11, no. 8: 7954-7981.

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