Radiation and energy balance dynamics over young chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) system in Doon of western Himalayas

The regional impacts of future climate changes are principally driven by changes in energy fluxes. In this study, measurements on micrometeorological and biophysical variables along with surface energy exchange were made over a coniferous subtropical chir pine (Pinus roxburghii) plantation ecosystem at Forest Research Institute, Doon valley, India. The energy balance components were analyzed for two years to understand the variability of surface energy fluxes, their drivers, and closure pattern. The period covered two growth cycles of pine in the years 2010 and 2011 without and with understory growth. Net short wave and long wave radiative fluxes substantially varied with cloud dynamics, season, rainfall induced surface wetness, and green growth. The study clearly brought out the intimate link of albedo dynamics in chir pine system with dynamics of leaf area index (LAI), soil moisture, and changes in understory background. Rainfall was found to have tight linear coupling with latent heat fluxes. Latent heat flux during monsoon period was found to be higher in higher rainfall year (2010) than in lower rainfall year (2011). Higher or lower pre-monsoon sensible heat fluxes were succeeded by noticeably higher or lower monsoon rainfall respectively. Proportion of latent heat flux to net radiation typically followed the growth curve of green vegetation fraction, but with time lag. The analysis of energy balance closure (EBC) showed that the residual energy varied largely within ±30% of net available energy and the non-closure periods were marked by higher rainspells or forced clearance of understory growths.