WP-5 manages multi-regional observational hubs for in-situ validation and ET monitoring. It provides the experimental ground truth needed to calibrate sensors, test management strategies, and validate complex models before they are scaled up.
Scientific Objectives
Establish and maintain high-fidelity experimental field hubs in diverse agro-ecological zones.
Conduct intensive measurements of soil-water-crop dynamics under controlled management.
Provide ground truth data for the calibration of remote sensing ET and crop growth models.
Facilitate knowledge exchange between researchers, engineers, and local farming communities.
Execution Framework
T1. Field Hub Setup and Site Selection
Establishing the physical infrastructure for intensive monitoring.
- Selection of field sites representative of coastal and inland agricultural zones.
- Installation of lysimeters for direct evapotranspiration and drainage measurements.
- Deployment of dense soil moisture and temperature sensor networks.
- Setting up mobile climate stations for site-specific micro-climatic data.
T2. Continuous Monitoring and Data Logging
Systematic data collection through automated and manual methods.
- High-frequency logging of soil water potential and nitrogen concentration.
- Bi-weekly manual measurements of crop height, leaf area index (LAI), and phenology.
- Retrieval and quality control of logged time series data for the WebAIS database.
- Regular maintenance and calibration of on-site sensor equipment.
T3. Management Experimentation
Testing varied irrigation and fertilization strategies for optimization.
- Establishment of plot-level experiments with different irrigation amounts and timing.
- Evaluation of the impact of alternative wetting and drying (AWD) on water use.
- Measurement of crop yield and quality under different salinity and nutrient levels.
- Comparison of local management practices with improved experimental methods.
Project Milestones
All primary experimental field hubs fully operational and instrumented.
First full-season intensive dataset consolidated and uploaded to WebAIS.
Calibration parameters for ET and crop models derived from lysimetric data.
On-site 'Farmer Field Day' workshops conducted at every pilot location.
