Location: Sustainable Agricultural Water Systems Research
Project Number: 2032-13220-002-029-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2024
End Date: Nov 30, 2027
Objective:
The overall objective of this research is to quantify the impact of regenerative and climate-smart agricultural practices on evapotranspiration, carbon sequestration, and greenhouse gas fluxes in irrigated woody perennial cropping systems.
Approach:
Increased understanding on the controls and dynamics of carbon, water, and energy exchange is necessary to improve the productivity and sustainability of irrigated agriculture in a changing climate with uncertain water supply. Field sites have been established in vineyard and orchards throughout the central valley of California to monitor land-atmosphere fluxes of carbon, water, and energy. This work will integrate flux measurements from eddy covariance towers, soil chambers, and remote sensing to advance our understanding of evapotranspiration, greenhouse gas emissions, and the carbon sequestration potential of orchards and vineyards. Results from this work will provide key information to quantify the climate adaptation and mitigation potential of woody perennial systems and identify strategies to increase the efficiency and sustainability of irrigated agriculture in California.
