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Modeling the photosynthetically active radiation in South West Amazonia under all sky conditions

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An Erratum to this article was published on 14 March 2012

Abstract

Accurate estimates of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) are critical for the development of realistic models of plant productivity. However, in many areas such as the vast Amazon region of South America, there have been few empirical studies of PAR. Here, we analyzed the relationship between PAR and broadband solar irradiance (R s) and formulated models to estimate PAR in two experimental sites (pasture and forest) in the Brazilian Amazon. Three different models of increasing complexity were developed based on information from R s (model 1), R s and clearness index (k t; model 2), and R s, k t, and water vapor pressure (model 3). Estimates of PAR were generated for each season and for the entire year. All models had very high determination coefficients and indices of agreement for both pasture and forest sites. This strongly supports the use of R s and k t to produce robust estimates of PAR. The results obtained by annual models were close than that found by seasonal models, demonstrating that a single annual model is able to estimate PAR, albeit with lower accuracy.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the LBA Program for making data available, to the principal investigator for insights, and to students from Rondonia for data collection. We also would like to thank the Brazilian agencies CNPq and CAPES for providing funds for this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Vicosa, Av. P. H. Rolfs, Vicosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 36570-000

    Leonardo J. G. Aguiar, Graciela R. Fischer, Flávio B. Justino & José Maria N. da Costa

  2. Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil

    Richard J. Ladle & Ana C. M. Malhado

  3. School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Richard J. Ladle

  4. Department of Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Rondonia, Ji-Parana, Rondonia, Brazil

    Renata G. Aguiar

Authors
  1. Leonardo J. G. Aguiar
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  2. Graciela R. Fischer
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  3. Richard J. Ladle
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  4. Ana C. M. Malhado
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  5. Flávio B. Justino
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  6. Renata G. Aguiar
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  7. José Maria N. da Costa
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Correspondence to Leonardo J. G. Aguiar.

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Aguiar, L.J.G., Fischer, G.R., Ladle, R.J. et al. Modeling the photosynthetically active radiation in South West Amazonia under all sky conditions. Theor Appl Climatol 108, 631–640 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-011-0556-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-011-0556-z

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