Evaluation of the ventilated chamber for measuring evaporation from a forest

Evaporation from a regenerating forest was determined concurrently by atmospheric measurements of the Bowen ratio, soil water depletion, and by weighing lysimeter. The methods agreed closely over 18 days in spring and 11 days in summer. Accordingly, the Bowen ratio technique was then used as the control against which any effect on evaporation by enclosure of the lysimeter with a chamber of varied ventilation rate could be quantified hourly and daily. Accuracy of gas analysis was checked against lysimeter values. Daily evaporation by the lysimeter was generally unaffected by enclosure—on a few afternoons there was a statistically significant enhancement of hourly values by the chamber. This was accounted for by difference in turbulence between chamber and forest. The general agreement in daytime hourly values is attributed to the frequent occurrence of equilibrium evaporation (rate at which evaporation is independent of ventilation). At night, evaporation was higher during enclosure. Comparisons were not possible with rain or dew. Determination of evaporation by gas analysis agreed within about 5 per cent of lysimeter values during a dry period. We conclude that the ventilated chamber as used provides realistic estimates of evaporation by forests. We show how periods of bias can be anticipated and corrected by theory.