SP 2 - Impact of rubber cultivation on the local water balance
The objective is the collection of a comprehensive data set for the assessment of the local water budget by evapotranspiration from rubber plantations of different age. This database is required for the up-scaling of land-use induced changes of the hydrological cycle and its services. The analyses include the quantification of unproductive water loss by bare soil evaporation, the quantification of stomatal responses to abiotic factors (light, temperature, vapour pressure deficit and soil water potential), the monitoring of canopy dynamics and temperature, the comparison of leaf gas exchange activity with hydraulic conductivity of stems, and the linkage of evapotranspiration with field water balance and fine root dynamics.
