A field calibration method that improves soil heat flux accuracy
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2025-05-19
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Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Soil Science Society of America
Abstract
Soil heat flux plates (SHFPs) are widely used to measure soil heat flux (Gs). Gs is often underestimated by SHFPs (Gp). Although calibration methods are used, they are not always effective. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a field calibration method applied to various SHFPs installed in a full canopy maize field. A 5-day measurement period with wet and dry soil conditions was used for calibration, while 80-day and 60-day measurement periods were used for evaluation. Uncorrected SHFP measured values (Gp) underestimated the actual reference Gs determined by the gradient method (Gs_grad) by 42%–64%. Gp values in the evaluation period were corrected (Gp_corr) by dividing them by the ratio of Gp/Gs_grad determined over the calibration period. After the correction, the Gp_corr agreed well with the Gs_grad, with Gp_corr/Gs_grad of four of six SHFPs being 0.90–1.01, improving to 74%–98%. The field calibration performed approximately the same with the wet and dry calibration periods, whether the calibration and evaluation periods were consecutive in time or had relatively long time intervals, indicating that this method accounted for almost all errors with SHFP. This is largely due to the slight variation in soil thermal conductivity and the linearity between soil temperature gradients from SHFP and the gradient method under relatively stable soil moisture conditions. This study deepens our understanding and improves the accuracy of soil heat flux measurements. Calibration of SHFPs under various land covers and weather conditions is warranted in future studies.
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This article is published as Tong, Bing, Jianping Guo, Thomas J. Sauer, Robert Horton, Hanlin Guo, and Wei Wei. "A field calibration method that improves soil heat flux accuracy." Vadose Zone Journal 24, no. 3 (2025): e70023. https://doi.org/10.1002/vzj2.70023
Rights Statement
Works produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted.
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Funding
USDA-NIFA Multi-State Projects, Grant/Award Number: 5188; National Science Foundation, Grant/Award Number: 2037504; National Key Research and Development Project of China, Grant/Award Number: 2022YFF1300403; National Natural Science Foundation of China, Grant/Award Number: 42401012