CH-CHA, Chamau

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 (Google Maps); 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°24’38.3″ E (47.210227, 8.410645) (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 2006-2024.

• Average air temperature: 10.0°C
• Average air temperature 2006-2015: 9.6°C
• Average air temperature 2015-2023: 10.4°C (+0.8°C compared to 2006-2015)
• 5 warmest years: 2022 (11.1°C), 2018 (11.0°C), 2023 (10.8°C), 2024 (10.6°C), 2020 (10.6°C)
• 6 coolest years: 2010 (8.6°C), 2013 (9.0°C), 2021 (9.5°C), 2012 (9.5°C), 2006 (9.5°C), 2008 (9.5°C)

Climate chart

Precipitation

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

Nearby meteo stations

• Meteoswiss: Cham (Google Maps) Data since: 1 Jul 1993 | 443 m a.s.l. | in 5 km distance
• Meteoswiss: Oberägeri (Google Maps) Data since: 1 Feb 1993 | 724 m a.s.l. | in 17 km distance
• Meteoswiss: Wädemswil (Google Maps) Data since: 1 Jan 1961 | 485 m a.s.l. | in 20 km distance
• Meteoswiss: Zwillikon (Google Maps) Data since: 1 May 1984 | 461 m a.s.l. | in 9 km distance

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 pH: 5.3 in the top 10 cm of the soil ⁴
• 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 ^1,2,3,4.

Detailed Management Info

Download management XLSX file (CH-CHA-Management_2005-2024_20250107.xlsx)

• See also this table for management 2001-2016: Management (CH-CHA)

Data

Current Flux Products

Available Level-1 Fluxes

• For info about the different flux levels, see Flux Processing Chain
• For more info about the processing, see the Yearly Notes and other pages in the documentation describing the PI dataset (Flux Product).

Eddy covariance raw data files

• Overview of eddy covariance raw data files since 2005: EC Raw Binary Format (CH-CHA)

Photos

Webcam

• Most recent image from Grassland Floor 4 (GF4)

Fieldbook

• Fieldbook detailing work at the site since 2005 (internal)

News

3 weeks ago QA/QC Short Report

Short Report – QA/QC Meeting 19 Jun 2025

The new Short Report with an overview of recent fluxes and meteo data can be downloaded from here: Short Report - QAQC Meeting 19 Jun 2025 ... Read More

2 months ago QA/QC Short Report

Short Report – QA/QC Meeting 22 May 2025

The new Short Report with an overview of recent fluxes and meteo data can be downloaded from here: Short Report - QAQC Meeting 22 May 2025 ... Read More

3 months ago QA/QC Short Report

Short Report – QA/QC Meeting 3 Apr 2025

The new Short Report with an overview of recent fluxes and meteo data can be downloaded from here: Short Report - QAQC Meeting 3 Apr 2025 ... Read More

More

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
⁴ Feigenwinter, I., Hörtnagl, L., Zeeman, M. J., Eugster, W., Fuchs, K., Merbold, L., & Buchmann, N. (2023). Large inter-annual variation in carbon sink strength of a permanent grassland over 16 years: Impacts of management practices and climate. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 340, 109613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109613

More Info

• Publication list @ETH Grassland Sciences

Last Updated on 6 Jul 2025 22:41