Agroclimatic indices

• An agroclimatic index is a climate indicator with a specific agricultural

significance. An example of an agroclimatic index is the total number of
days with a maximum temperature above 25°C during a hot spell.
or,
it can be written as follows, where CR refers capillary rise from WTB
 SOIL water/moisture content (SWC/SMC)
• Water retained by the soil particles(sp. Colloids) on their surfaces and pore spaces by the forces of adhesion
and cohesion is known as Soil water.
• Soil moisture/ water content is the ratio of water in a soil sample's pore spaces to the mass of its solid
particles. It's expressed as a percentage
Soil water potential
Relation between SWC and SWP
 The significance of eT and sMC

• SMC is one of the prime environmental variables related to land surface climatology, hydrology and ecology.
Variations in SMC entail a strong impact on land surface energy dynamics, regional runoff dynamics and
vegetation productivity .
• Datasets of ET and SMC are indispensable for accurate estimates of carbon fluxes used in carbon balance
models.
• Knowledge on ET and SMC dynamics has a strong impact on the interpretation of global change effects.
• Early detection of dry soil conditions or potential drought is important for crop yield forecasting and hence,
crop harvest optimization. It also serves as an information base for commodity brokers.
• SMC can also be applied as a predictor for flood conditions, when soils become completely saturated.
• SMC is an important parameter in watershed modelling as well and provides information related to hydro-
electric or irrigation capacity.
• In areas with active deforestation , SMC estimation help to predict run-off, evaporation rates, and soil erosion
• Last but not least, SMC and ET are important status indicators in fire risk danger systems.
Common term used in ET estimation
• Pan Evaporation (E pan): Rate of water loss by evaporation from an open water surface of a pan (mm / day).
• Evapotranspiration (ET): The phenomenon of water transfer into the atmosphere both by evaporation of liquid or solid
water from the surface of the earth and transpiration from the plants in a crop canopy (or) rate of water loss through
transpiration from vegetation plus evaporation from the soil (mm / day).
• Potential evapotranspiration (PET): The maximum water lost through evaporation from wet soil and transpiration from a
short cut grass, covering ground completely, under unlimited water supply. In other words it is the atmospheric demand of
a particular day.
• Reference crop evapotranspiration (ET ): Rate of evapotranspiration from an extended surface of 8 - 15 cm tall green grass
cover of uniform height actively growing, completely shading the ground and not short of water (mm / day).
• Actual crop evapotranspiration (ETa crop): Rate of evapotranspiration equal to or smaller than predicted ET crop as
affected by a level of available soil water, salinity, field size or other causes (mm / day)
• Consumptive use (CU): The sum of volume of water taken by vegetation for transpiration and evaporation from soil, plus
water used by the plant for metabolic process (mm / day).
• Transpiration ratio: The effectiveness of the plants in the use of water was often given in terms of its transpiration ratio.
This is the amount of water transpired by a crop in its growth to produce unit weight of dry matter
 Actual ET (ETa measurement)

Actual ET can be measured by the following five methods;

1. Lysimeters, 2. Field experimental plots, 3. Soil moisture depletion
studies, 4. Water balance method, and 5. By employing Kc value.
•
 Lysimeters:
• Lysimeters are classified as mechanical, electrical, floating, hydraulic,
buoyed base and volumetric based on the principle used in determining
the weight of enclosed mass of soil.
•Lysimeters are tanks filled with soil in which crops are grown under
natural conditions to measure the amount of water lost by evaporation and
transpiration. It is the best and most convenient instrument for
obtaining ET data on a day to day basis.
•In lysimetry relating to aerobic crops the amount of moisture gained or lost
by a suitable enclosed volume of natural soil is found through determination
of the weight of the soil mass at the beginning and at the end of a time
interval.
•It can measure either evaporation from soil surface or evapotranspiration
from crops. For realistic results the lysimeters have to be placed in the
midst of a large cropped field. The plants in the lysimeter should have
growth features and a population density similar to the field plants and they
must form continuous rows with those in the field.
 ET estimations
• ET estimations can be performed at the scale of a leaf (porometer), an individual plant (i.e. sap-flow,
lysimeter), at the field scale (i.e. field water balance, Bowen ratio, scintillometer) and at landscape scale
(i.e. eddy correlation and catchment water balance).
• The assessment of ET always involves the laws of mass or energy conservation or a combination of both.
For regional to continental scales, the use of earth observation (EO) data or models assimilating remote
sensing data, is a strong requirement .
• Table 2 gives an overview of a variety of ET retrieval techniques, frequently encountered in the literature.
ET retrieval techniques can be classified according to the spatial scale of application and the
conservation law applied.
ENERGY BALANCE
EQUATION
PENMAN EQUATION
PENMAN MONTEIth Equation
 PENMAN Equation

• Reference evapotranspiration (ETo) is defined as the rate at which readily available soil water is
vaporized from specified vegetated surfaces (Jensen et al., 1990).
• Then reference evapotranspiration is defined as the ET rate from a uniform surface of dense,
actively growing vegetation having specified height and surface resistance, not short of soil
water, and representing an expanse of at least 100 m of the same or similar vegetations (Allen et
al., 2005). The concept of the ETo was introduced to study the evaporative demand of the
atmosphere independent of crop type, crop development and management practices. If water is
abundantly available at the reference surface, soil factors do not affect; however, ET may
decrease overtime as soil water content decreases. Relating ET to a specific surface provides a
reference to which ET from other surfaces can be related.

• This reference evapotranspiration ET0 can then be used to evaluate the

evapotranspiration rate ET from unstressed plants through crop coefficients
Kc: ET = Kc * ET0
 solar radiation and their relationship with agriculture
• Solar radiation is the energy source that sustains organic life on earth. Crop production is in fact an
exploitation of solar radiation.
• The three broad spectra of solar energy described in this section are significant to plant life. (Fig 2.4)
1. The shorter-than-visible wavelength radiation, ultraviolet segment in the solar spectrum is chemically very
active. When plants are exposed to excessive amounts of this radiation, the effects are detrimental. However,
the atmosphere acts as a regulator in this type of solar radiation.
2. Solar radiation in the higher-than-visible wavelength segment, referred to as infrared radiation, has thermal
effects on plants. In the presence of water vapors, this radiation does not harm plants; rather, it supplies the
necessary thermal energy to the plant environment.
3. The third spectrum, lying between the ultraviolet and infrared, is the visible part of solar radiation.This
segment of solar radiation plays an important part in plant growth and development through the processes of
chlorophyll synthesis and photosynthesis and through photosensitive regulatory mechanisms such as
phototropism and photoperiodic activity. Light of the correct intensity, quality, and duration is essential for
normal plant development. Poor light availability is frequently responsible for plant abnormalities and
disorders. Virtually all plant parts are directly or indirectly influenced by this part of the spectrum.
• visible spectrum affects the production of tillers; the stability, strength, and length of the
culms; the yield and total weight of plant structures; and the size of leaves and root
development (Rodriguez et al., 1999).
• The length of day or the duration of the light period determines flowering and has a
profound effect on the content of soluble carbohydrates present. The majority of plants
flower only when exposed to certain specific photoperiods. It is on the basis of this
response that the plants have been classified as short-day plants, long-day plants, and
day neutral plants. When other environmental factors are not limiting it,
photosynthesis increases with longer duration of the light period.
 PHOTOTR
OPISM
 Phototropism is the ability of the plant to re-orient the shoot growth towards a direction
of light source. Phototropism is important to plants as it enhances the ability of plants to
optimize their photosynthetic capacity. The strongest influence on phototropism is by
the blue part of the spectrum (0.5 m) and the weakest influence is by red rays. The
mechanism of phototropism is as follows:
1. Light of wavelength 450 nm illuminates the plant.
2. The photoreceptor receives the light, reacts to it, and initiates a response.
3. Phototropins are the proteins that receive blue light during phototropism.
4. Auxin moves to a darker side in the stem when exposed to light.
5. Auxin releases hydrogen ions in the shaded region of the stem which causes a decrease in the pH. This
decrease in pH activates expansion that causes the cells to swell and forces the stem to bend towards the
light.
 Benefits of phototropism
• Photosynthesis: Phototropism helps plants maximize photosynthesis by orienting their growth towards light.
• Water and nutrient acquisition: Phototropism helps plants acquire water and nutrients through their roots.
 Types of phototropism
• Positive phototropism: When the plant grows towards the light
• Negative phototropism: When the plant grows away from the light
 Reflection, Transmission, and Absorption
• Reflection and transmission from the leaves have similar spectral distributions as shown in
Figures 2.3 and 2.4. The maxima for both are in the green light as well as in the infrared

region.

FIGURE 2.3.A generalized pattern of reflection, absorption, and FIGURE 2.4.A generalized pattern of reflection, absorption, and
transmission of solar radiation through a green leaf transmission of visible light through a green leaf

• On average, the plant canopy absorbs about 75 percent of the incident

radiation, with about 15 percent reflected and 10 percent transmitted.
• Due to their chemical components or physical structures, plants absorb selectively in
discrete wavelengths (Figure 2.5). The transparent epidermis allows the incident sunlight
to penetrate into the mesophyll, which consists of two layers: (1) the palisade
parenchyma of closely spaced cylindrical cells and (2) the spongy parenchyma of irregular
cells with abundant interstices filled with air. Both types of mesophyll cells contain
chlorophyll which reflects part of the incident green wavelengths and absorbs all the blue
and red energy for photosynthesis .Chlorophyll absorption is maximum in the blue (0.45
µm) and in the red (0.65µm) regions (Table 2.7). The longer wavelengths of photographic
IR energy penetrate into the spongy parenchyma, where the energy is strongly scattered
and reflected by the boundaries between the cell walls and air spaces.
• The high NIR reflectance of leaves is caused not by chlorophyll but by the internal cell
structure. Near the border of visible light, absorption by the plant decreases but then
increases again in the infrared. Infrared radiation greater than 3 m is completely
absorbed by the plants. It can be summed up that the plant leaf strongly absorbs blue
and red wavelengths, less strongly absorbs the green, very weakly absorbs the near
infrared, and strongly absorbs in the far-infrared wavelengths.
• The quality of radiation affects flowering, germination, and elongation. Red light with a wavelength of 0.66
µm is by far the most effective inhibitor of flowering in the case of long-day plants. Red light helps mature
apples to turn red. Germination of seeds is inhibited when they are exposed to green, blue, and other short
wavelength colors. However, germination is induced when seeds are exposed to the red portion of the
spectrum. The red and infrared parts of the spectrum have reversible effects on seed germination. Stem
elongation is promoted by exposure to far-red wavelengths, whereas the red part of the spectrum
suppresses the elongation. The visible part of the spectrum also influences the orientation of shoots,
phenomenon known as phototropism.
The solar spectrum can be divided into the following eight broad bands on the basis of the
physiological response of plants:
1. Wavelength greater than 1.000 m: Most of this radiation absorbed by plants is
transformed into heat without interfering with the biochemical processes.
2. Wavelength 1.000 to 0.700 m: Elongation effects on plants.
3. Wavelength 0.700 to 0.610 m: Very strong absorption by chlorophyll, the strongest
photosynthetic activity, and in many cases strong photoperiodicactivity.
4. Wavelength 0.610 to 0.510 m: Low photosynthetic effectiveness in the green segment
and weak formative activity.
5. Wavelength 0.510 to 0.400 m: Strong chlorophyll absorption, strong photosynthetic
activity, and strong formative effects.
6. Wavelength 0.400 to 0.315 m: Produces fluorescence in plants and a strong response
by photographic emulsions.
7. Wavelength 0.315 to 0.280 m: Significant germicidal action. Practically no solar
radiation of wavelengths shorter than 0.29 m reaches the earth’s surface.
8. Wavelength shorter than 0.280 m:Very strong germicidal action. It is injurious to
eyesight and when below 0.26 m can kill some plants. No such radiation reaches the earth’s
surface.
 PHOTOSYNTHETICALLY ACTIVE RADIATION (PAR)

 The visible region (approximately 0.385 to 0.695 μm) of the solar spectrum is generally referred to as
photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). the unit of PAR measurement is μE m–2 s–1 .
 Photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) is the number of photons in the photosynthetically active
band of solar radiation. It is usually defined in moles of photons per unit surface and per unit time
(mol m–2 s–1. ). 1 μmol photons m–2 s–1 = 6.022 × 1017 photons m–2 s–1= 1 μE m–2 s–1. For conversion
sake, 2.02 μmol photons m–2 s–1. of PAR is treated as equivalent to 1Wm–2 of global radiation.
• PAR is often calculated as a constant ratio of the broadband solar irradiance. Many reports are
available in the literature to estimate PAR from the more routinely measured parameters of solar
radiation, light intensity, and cloud amount. Several of these reports indicate the desirability of local
calibration for the relationship between PAR and solar irradiance to account for local climatic and
geographic differences such as cloudiness, day length, and diurnal pattern of solar radiation.
• A wide range of values has been quoted for the ratio (fe) of PAR (W m–2) to global solar radiation (W
m–2).
• At higher and middle latitudes, the daily average value of fe is little affected by atmospheric and sky
conditions. Systematic differences from day to day are largely a function of cloudiness. Even in the
tropics, fe should be a conservative quantity on clear days. For a clear day, fe = 0.51, and for very
cloudy skies, fe = 0.63 have been measured in tropical countries.