Monitoring Energy Balance, Turbulent Flux Partitioning, Evapotranspiration and Biophysical Parameters of <i>Nopalea cochenillifera</i> (Cactaceae) in the Brazilian Semi-Arid Environment
Alexandre Maniçoba da Rosa Ferraz Jardim,
José Edson Florentino de Morais,
Luciana Sandra Bastos de Souza,
Carlos André Alves de Souza,
George do Nascimento Araújo Júnior,
Cléber Pereira Alves,
Gabriel Ítalo Novaes da Silva,
Renan Matheus Cordeiro Leite,
Magna Soelma Beserra de Moura,
João L. M. P. de Lima,
Thieres George Freire da Silva
Affiliations
Alexandre Maniçoba da Rosa Ferraz Jardim
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Dom Manoel de Medeiros Avenue, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil
José Edson Florentino de Morais
Academic Unit of Serra Talhada, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Gregório Ferraz Nogueira Avenue, s/n, Serra Talhada 56909-535, Pernambuco, Brazil
Luciana Sandra Bastos de Souza
Academic Unit of Serra Talhada, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Gregório Ferraz Nogueira Avenue, s/n, Serra Talhada 56909-535, Pernambuco, Brazil
Carlos André Alves de Souza
Academic Unit of Serra Talhada, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Gregório Ferraz Nogueira Avenue, s/n, Serra Talhada 56909-535, Pernambuco, Brazil
George do Nascimento Araújo Júnior
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Dom Manoel de Medeiros Avenue, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil
Cléber Pereira Alves
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Dom Manoel de Medeiros Avenue, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil
Gabriel Ítalo Novaes da Silva
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Dom Manoel de Medeiros Avenue, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil
Renan Matheus Cordeiro Leite
Academic Unit of Serra Talhada, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Gregório Ferraz Nogueira Avenue, s/n, Serra Talhada 56909-535, Pernambuco, Brazil
Magna Soelma Beserra de Moura
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, Embrapa Semiarid, Petrolina 56302-970, Pernambuco, Brazil
João L. M. P. de Lima
MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ARNET—Aquatic Research Network, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Thieres George Freire da Silva
Department of Agricultural Engineering, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Dom Manoel de Medeiros Avenue, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife 52171-900, Pernambuco, Brazil
The in-situ quantification of turbulent flux and evapotranspiration (ET) is necessary to monitor crop performance in stressful environments. Although cacti can withstand stressful conditions, plant responses and plant–environment interactions remain unclear. Hence, the objective of our study was to investigate the interannual and seasonal behaviour of components of the surface energy balance, environmental conditions, morphophysiological parameters, biomass yield and water relations in a crop of Nopalea cochenillifera in the semi-arid region of Brazil. The data were collected from a micrometeorological tower between 2015 and 2017. The results demonstrate that net radiation was significantly higher during the wet season. Latent heat flux was not significant between the wet season and dry season. During the dry-wet transition season in particular, sensible heat flux was higher than during the other seasons. We observed a large decline in soil heat flux during the wet season. There was no difference in ET during the wet or dry seasons; however, there was a 40% reduction during the dry-wet transition. The wet seasons and wet-dry transition showed the lowest Evaporative Stress Index. The plants showed high cladode water content and biomass during the evaluation period. In conclusion, these findings indicate high rates of growth, high biomass and a high cladode water content and explain the response of the cactus regarding energy partitioning and ET.
