Portable chamber measurements of evapotranspiration at the Amargosa Desert Research Site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, 2003-06
Scientific Investigations Report
2008-5135
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Abstract
Portable chamber measurements of evapotranspiration (ET) were made at the U.S. Geological Survey's Amargosa Desert Research Site in southern Nevada to help quantify component- and landscape-scale contributions to ET in an arid environment. Evapotranspiration data were collected approximately every 3 months from 2003 to 2006. Chamber measurements of ET were partitioned into bare-soil evaporation and mixed-species transpiration components. The component-scale ET fluxes from native shrubs typically surpassed those from bare soil by as much as a factor of four. Component-scale ET fluxes were extrapolated to landscape-scale ET using a one-layer, multi-component canopy model. Landscape-scale ET fluxes predominantly were controlled by bare-soil evaporation. Bare soil covered 94 percent of the landscape on average and contributed about 70 percent of the landscape-scale vapor flux. Creosote bush, an evergreen shrub, accounted for about 90 percent of transpiration on average due to its dominance across the landscape (80 percent of the 6 percent shrub cover) and evergreen character.
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Portable chamber measurements of evapotranspiration at the Amargosa Desert Research Site near Beatty, Nye County, Nevada, 2003-06 |
| Series title | Scientific Investigations Report |
| Series number | 2008-5135 |
| DOI | 10.3133/sir20085135 |
| Year Published | 2008 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Nevada Water Science Center, Toxic Substances Hydrology Program |
| Description | iv, 11 p. |
| Time Range Start | 2003-01-01 |
| Time Range End | 2006-12-31 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Nevada |
| County | Nye County |
| City | Beatty |
| Other Geospatial | Amargosa Desert Research Site |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | Y |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |