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Site Info (CH-CHA)

Last update: Mar 1, 2023 @ 16:53

Site Description

Intensively managed grassland, 393 m asl, located in a pre-alpine valley bottom. The area and the adjacent farm are part of the Agricultural Education and Counseling Center Schluechthof. Eddy covariance flux measurements were started in July 2005 (tower coordinates: 47°12’36.8″ N and 8°24’37.6″ E; WGS84 47.210222, 8.410444; at 393 m asl).

 

Location

  • Altitude: 393 m a.s.l.
  • Site name: Chamau, Kt. Zug, Switzerland
  • Land cover (IGBP land classification): Grassland
  • Land use: Intensive management with six cuts per year (mainly for silage).
  • Coordinates: 47°12’36.8″ N / 8°24’37.6″ E (47.210222, 8.410444) (Google Maps)
  • Location description: Chamau is located in a lowland broad river valley of the Reuss River.
  • FLUXNET ID: CH-Cha (link)

 

Climate

Air Temperature

Numbers shown are for the time period 2006-2020.

  • Average air temperature: 9.9°C
  • Average air temperature 2006-2013: 9.5°C
  • Average air temperature 2014-2020: 10.3°C (+0.8°C compared to 2006-2013)
  • 5 warmest years: 2018 (11.0°C), 2020 (10.6°C), 2019 (10.3°C), 2014 (10.2°C), 2015 (10.2°C)
  • 5 coolest years: 2010 (8.7°C), 2013 (8.9°C), 2012 (9.5°C), 2006 (9.5°C), 2008 (9.5°C)

 

Precipitation

  • Average annual precipitation sum: 1134mm (2005-2020)

 

Nearby meteo stations

 

Vegetation

  • Dominant vegetation: mixture of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.), predominantly used for fodder production and occasional winter grazing by sheep. 1,2

 

Soil

  • Geology: The area is located on tertiary molasse. The Reuss-valley is filled with postglacial retreating rubble of the Reuss glacier.
  • Soil type: Cambisol/Gleysol
  • Soil texture:

Management

  • Intensively managed grassland with recurrent of sporadic activities.
  • Regular mowing and subsequent organic fertilizer application in the form of liquid slurry (up to seven times per year).
  • Occasional grazing by sheep and cattle for a few days in early spring and/or fall.
  • Sporadic activities aiming at maintaining the typical fodder species composition comprise reseeding, herbicide and pesticide application, or irregular plowing and harrowing on an approximately decadal timescale.
  • For more info see references 1,2,3.

 

Webcam

 

References

1 Zeeman, M. J., Hiller, R., Gilgen, A. K., Michna, P., Plüss, P., Buchmann, N., & Eugster, W. (2010). Management and climate impacts on net CO2 fluxes and carbon budgets of three grasslands along an elevational gradient in Switzerland. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 150(4), 519–530. doi: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2010.01.011
2 Merbold, L., Decock, C., Eugster, W., Fuchs, K., Wolf, B., Buchmann, N., & Hörtnagl, L. (2021). Are there memory effects on greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, N2O and CH4) following grassland restoration? Biogeosciences, 18(4), 1481–1498. doi: 10.5194/bg-18-1481-2021
3 Merbold, L., Eugster, W., Stieger, J., Zahniser, M., Nelson, D., & Buchmann, N. (2014). Greenhouse gas budget (CO2 , CH4 and N2O) of intensively managed grassland following restoration. Global Change Biology, 20(6), 1913–1928. doi: 10.1111/gcb.12518

 

More Info