Eric Harmsen | University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (original) (raw)

Papers by Eric Harmsen

IntechOpen eBooks, May 29, 2019

A solar insolation satellite remote sensing product for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands (USVI)... more A solar insolation satellite remote sensing product for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands (USVI), Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba became available in 2009 through a collaboration between the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Solar insolation data are available at 1 km resolution for Puerto Rico and the USVI and 2 km resolution for the other islands, as derived from 500 m resolution GOES-16 visible imagery. The insolation data demonstrate the powerful utility of satellite-derived fields for water resource applications, specifically the routine production of potential and reference evapotranspiration. This chapter describes the theoretical background and technical approach for estimating components of the daily water and energy balance in Puerto Rico. Useful information can be obtained from the model, which benefits disaster and emergency management, agriculture, human health, ecology, coastal water management, and renewable energy development at the island scale.

Apple Academic Press eBooks, Sep 26, 2013

PRINCIPLES Historical Evolution of Evapotranspiration Methods Water Vapor Flux Models for Agricul... more PRINCIPLES Historical Evolution of Evapotranspiration Methods Water Vapor Flux Models for Agriculture Direct Measurement of Transpiration Design of Lysimeter for Turfgrass Water Use Evapotranspiration: Meteorological Evaporation Estimations with Neural Networks Pan Evaporation Modeling: Indian Agriculture Evaporation for Cypress and Pine Forests: Florida, USA APPLICATIONS Evapotranspiration for Pinelands: New Jersey, USA Water Management in Citrus Vegetation Water Demand and Basin Water Availability in Mexico Turfgrass Deficit Irrigation Practices for Water Evapotranspiration for Saudi Arabia: Modified Hargreaves Model ET with Distant Weather Stations: Saudi Arabia Actual Evapotranspiration using LANDSAT 5 TM in Thailand Sensor Based Irrigation Scheduling Snow Budgeting and Water WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE TROPICS Historical Overview of Evapotranspiration in Puerto Rico Reference Evapotranspiration for Colombia Water Management for Agronomic Crops in Trinidad Crop Water Stress Index for Common Beans Temperature versus Elevation Relationships: Evapotranspiration Generation of Missing Climatic Data: Puerto Rico Estimation of Pan Evaporation Coefficients Daily Evapotranspiration Estimations using Satellite Remote Sensing Vapor Flux Measurement System Climate Change Impacts on Agricultural Water Resources: 2090 Evapotranspiration using Satellite Remote Sensing for the Tropical Climate Water Management in Sweet Peppers Web Based Irrigation Scheduling Calibration of Pyranometers and Satellite-Derived Solar Radiation

We are indebted to John Smith for his advice and constant support throughout this project. We tha... more We are indebted to John Smith for his advice and constant support throughout this project. We thank Dr. Paul Lilly and Don Davenport for their agronomic advice and assistance. We also appreciate the valuable efforts of Charles Luten, Jewel1 Tedderton and the farm staff for their assistance during the installation the project. We thank Eugene Boyce for his assistance and for being the local man on the scene when inspection or repair was needed. Special thanks are expressed to Wilson Huntley and Charlie Williams for their tireless effort in providing the technical assistance needed to install and maintain this project. We thank Agita Mohammad, Haney Salem, Lin Xu, and C. Murugaboopathi for their assistance with field work and data management. We acknowledge and appreciate the very substantial effort of Bertha Crabtree in providing chemical analyses on the multitude of water and soil samples generated in the project. Our appreciation is expressed to W. L. Jones, Thad Tremaine, and Jamie Boyd for the collection and preparation of pesticide samples. We also appreciate the effort and expertise of Jim Laws and Jim Yeatts for performing the pesticide analyses on soil and water samples.

Stomatai resistance (r L), surface resistance (r s) and leaf temperature (T L) are important phys... more Stomatai resistance (r L), surface resistance (r s) and leaf temperature (T L) are important physiological variables for the understanding of the interaction between the soil, plant, and atmosphere. These variables are used to study the response of plants to abiotic stress conditions, such as drought and high temperature, in addition to micrometeorological variables such as évapotranspiration (ET). The goal of this research was to measure the n_, r s and T L of four genotypes of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under drought and non-drought conditions in a greenhouse environment. Three drought-tolerant genotypes were studied, BAT 477, SER 16 and SER 21, and one drought susceptible genotype, Morales. Three water regimes were used: full water supply (FWS) using 80% of the water required for soil saturation (WS) during the complete growing season; Stress 1 (S1) with 50% of WS before flowering and 60% of WS after flowering; and Stress 2 (S2) with 20% of WS before flowering and 40% of WS after flowering. Measurements were taken throughout the day at different stages of growth. The results show that there were differences in the r L , r s and T L between genotypes and between water levels, especially during the afternoon. The major differences were found between treatments S1 and S2 during reproductive development. The r L , r s and T L responded directly to the substrate water status and the rate of change was influenced by hour of the day. T L showed a linear relationship with air temperature, and the slope increased with water stress and had a polynomial relationship with η_.

The Penman-Monteith model (PM) is a useful “one-step” method for evapotranspiration (ET) estimati... more The Penman-Monteith model (PM) is a useful “one-step” method for evapotranspiration (ET) estimation, if surface resistance (rs-ms -1 ) estimates can be derived. This study has as its objective to evaluate different methods of rs estimation and the accuracy of the resulting ET estimates in common bean (P. vulgaris L.). The experiment was conducted at the Fortuna Agricultural Experiment Station at Juana Diaz, PR. Four automated weather stations were placed in plots planted with two genotypes of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Net radiation, soil heat flux, soil temperature, soil moisture, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction were recorded at ten second intervals. Each weather station had an elevator system that moved the air temperature and relative humidity sensor between two vertical positions over the crop canopy every two minutes during a complete day. The rs was derived by stomatal resistance (rL) and leaf area index (LAI) measurements (PM-1), and by direct micrometeorological variables as follows: inverse of the general PM-model (PM-2), as a function of the soil moisture (PM-3), and as a latent heat flux-λE (PM-4 and ET-Station). The results indicate that PM-1 under-estimated rs at low LAI, and that rs and rL are influenced inversely by the aerodynamic resistance (ra), which affected the precision of the PM-2 and ET station estimation especially under windy and dry conditions, but not the PM-3 and PM-4 methods.

Journal of Agriculture of The University of Puerto Rico, Dec 31, 1969

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has recommended the Penman-Monteith me... more The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has recommended the Penman-Monteith method as the single method for estimating reference evapotranspiration throughout the world. A disadvantage of the method, however, is its relatively high data requirement. Wind speed, humidity (or dew point temperature) and radiation tend to be the least available of the required parameters; therefore, the FAO has presented estimation procedures for these parameters. The purpose of this study was to evaluate estimation procedures for climate data to be used in the Penman-Monteith method for estimating long-term daily reference evapotranspiration, and to verify the accuracy of the procedures at four locations within Puerto Rico. Comparison of reference evapotranspiration determined by using the estimated and measured climate data shows reasonably good agreement. The methods presented in this paper are potentially valuable for calculating the long-term average daily reference evapotranspiration at any location within Puerto Rico. An example is provided to illustrate the use of the proposed estimation procedures for climate parameters. This study presents a comparison of reference evapotranspirations calculated by the Penman-Monteith

A study was conducted to evaluate the influence of agricultural lime (CaCOî) on the movement and ... more A study was conducted to evaluate the influence of agricultural lime (CaCOî) on the movement and uptake of inorganic nitrogen for a sweet pepper crop (Capsicum annuum) grown on an Oxisol soil (Coto clay) in northwest Puerto Rico. The Coto clay soil, which contains the 1:1 kaolinite mineral, has a low pH (4 to 4.5). The 1:1 type clays are known to possess a net positive charge at low pH, resulting in the adsorption of negatively charged ions such as nitrate. From an environmental standpoint this characteristic of the 1:1 clay is favorable, since nitrate leaching, a major cause of groundwater pollution in many areas, is reduced relative to soils with net negative charge. However, agricultural plants, such as sweet peppers, favor a higher soil pH (approximately 6.5), which can be obtained by the application of agricultural lime. This application, however, may have the negative effect of increasing the potential for nitrate leaching, as the net charge in the soil particles becomes posit...

Nitrate leaching through the soil profile can result in a significant loss of fertilizer N, and m... more Nitrate leaching through the soil profile can result in a significant loss of fertilizer N, and may be a source of nitrate concentration in groundwater. Highly weathered soils may exhibit substantial anion exchange capacity (AEC), which retards the movement of anions such as NO3" through the profile. However, AEC decreases as soil pH increases with agronomic practices such as liming. A study was conducted to determine the effect of lime application and frequency of Ν fertigation on NH4+ and NO3" concentrations on Coto clay. A field experiment was established at the UPR Experiment Station at Isabela, PR, using peppers as the test crop. Two lime treatments (lime or no lime) and two fertigation frequencies (weekly or bi-weekly applications) were evaluated. Soil samples were collected every two weeks at four depths and analyzed for NH4+ and NO3" by steam distillation. During the first year, probably due to spatial variabil ity and buffering capacity of the Coto clay, the ...

This paper describes a simple method for estimating long-term average monthly climate data for tr... more This paper describes a simple method for estimating long-term average monthly climate data for tropical island environments. These data (i.e., minimum and maximum air temperature, dew point temperature, wind speed, and solar radiation) are needed as input to the Penman-Monteith method for calculating reference evapotranspiration. The climate data can be estimated from just two site parameters (latitude and elevation) and specification of a climate division (or zone). In this study, the climate data estimation procedure was applied to Puerto Rico. Comparison of reference evapotranspiration determined by using the proposed method and measured climate data from four locations in Puerto Rico showed good agreement. This method may serve as a means for estimating reference evapotranspiration in other Caribbean Islands.

Principles and Applications for Water Management, 2013

Principles and Applications for Water Management, 2013

A method is presented for estimating the hourly actual évapotranspiration (ET) from short natural... more A method is presented for estimating the hourly actual évapotranspiration (ET) from short natural vegetation or agricultural crops. The method consists of equating the ET flux equations based on the generalized Penman-Monteith (GPM) combination method and a humidity gradient (HG) method. By equating the GPM and HG expressions, a single unknown parameter, either the bulk surface resistance (r s) or aerodynamic resistance (r a), can be determined. In the procedure, the value of the resistance factor is adjusted until the daily ET time series curves from the two methods approximately coincide. An overview of the technical approach and the results of a comparison between the new method and an eddy covariance system at the University of Florida at Gainesville are provided. To illustrate the utility of the method an example is presented in which the average daily ET was determined for a growing season of common bean {Phaseolus vulgaris L.) at Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. In this example the surface resistance was measured (i.e., stomatal resistance and leaf area) and estimated using the proposed method. A third method was also evaluated in which the surface resistance was estimated using the equation of Ortega-Farias and Fuentes (1999). All three methods were in close agreement.

Soil Erosion Research Under a Changing Climate, January 8-13, 2023, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, USA

The Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico

Drought mortality of juvenile trees is a major cause for failure ofreforestation projects. Portab... more Drought mortality of juvenile trees is a major cause for failure ofreforestation projects. Portable devices such as passive radiative dew condensers can often provide 0.15 L/day of water in situ, possibly sufficient for tree survival until roots can access groundwater, allowingself-sustainability. To evaluate growth and survivability of juvenile trees of Tabebuia heterophylla Britton and Swietenia macrophylla King under suchlow water amounts, juvenile trees received approximately 0.033, 0.067, 0.134, 0.201 and 0.268 L/tree/day, representing fractions (relative evapotranspirationor RET) of 0.125, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 of the evapotranspiration demand (ETo). The experiment lasted 60 days for S. macrophylla and 90 days for T. heterophylla. All T. heterophylla juvenile trees survived even at the lowestirrigation rate. However, S. macrophylla juvenile trees began dying at RET < 0.5, with only 60 percent surviving at RET = 0.25 (0.067 L/day) and 100 percentmortality occurring at RE...

Apple Academic Press eBooks, Sep 26, 2013

IntechOpen eBooks, May 29, 2019

A solar insolation satellite remote sensing product for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands (USVI)... more A solar insolation satellite remote sensing product for Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands (USVI), Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba became available in 2009 through a collaboration between the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez Campus and the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Solar insolation data are available at 1 km resolution for Puerto Rico and the USVI and 2 km resolution for the other islands, as derived from 500 m resolution GOES-16 visible imagery. The insolation data demonstrate the powerful utility of satellite-derived fields for water resource applications, specifically the routine production of potential and reference evapotranspiration. This chapter describes the theoretical background and technical approach for estimating components of the daily water and energy balance in Puerto Rico. Useful information can be obtained from the model, which benefits disaster and emergency management, agriculture, human health, ecology, coastal water management, and renewable energy development at the island scale.

Apple Academic Press eBooks, Sep 26, 2013

PRINCIPLES Historical Evolution of Evapotranspiration Methods Water Vapor Flux Models for Agricul... more PRINCIPLES Historical Evolution of Evapotranspiration Methods Water Vapor Flux Models for Agriculture Direct Measurement of Transpiration Design of Lysimeter for Turfgrass Water Use Evapotranspiration: Meteorological Evaporation Estimations with Neural Networks Pan Evaporation Modeling: Indian Agriculture Evaporation for Cypress and Pine Forests: Florida, USA APPLICATIONS Evapotranspiration for Pinelands: New Jersey, USA Water Management in Citrus Vegetation Water Demand and Basin Water Availability in Mexico Turfgrass Deficit Irrigation Practices for Water Evapotranspiration for Saudi Arabia: Modified Hargreaves Model ET with Distant Weather Stations: Saudi Arabia Actual Evapotranspiration using LANDSAT 5 TM in Thailand Sensor Based Irrigation Scheduling Snow Budgeting and Water WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE TROPICS Historical Overview of Evapotranspiration in Puerto Rico Reference Evapotranspiration for Colombia Water Management for Agronomic Crops in Trinidad Crop Water Stress Index for Common Beans Temperature versus Elevation Relationships: Evapotranspiration Generation of Missing Climatic Data: Puerto Rico Estimation of Pan Evaporation Coefficients Daily Evapotranspiration Estimations using Satellite Remote Sensing Vapor Flux Measurement System Climate Change Impacts on Agricultural Water Resources: 2090 Evapotranspiration using Satellite Remote Sensing for the Tropical Climate Water Management in Sweet Peppers Web Based Irrigation Scheduling Calibration of Pyranometers and Satellite-Derived Solar Radiation

We are indebted to John Smith for his advice and constant support throughout this project. We tha... more We are indebted to John Smith for his advice and constant support throughout this project. We thank Dr. Paul Lilly and Don Davenport for their agronomic advice and assistance. We also appreciate the valuable efforts of Charles Luten, Jewel1 Tedderton and the farm staff for their assistance during the installation the project. We thank Eugene Boyce for his assistance and for being the local man on the scene when inspection or repair was needed. Special thanks are expressed to Wilson Huntley and Charlie Williams for their tireless effort in providing the technical assistance needed to install and maintain this project. We thank Agita Mohammad, Haney Salem, Lin Xu, and C. Murugaboopathi for their assistance with field work and data management. We acknowledge and appreciate the very substantial effort of Bertha Crabtree in providing chemical analyses on the multitude of water and soil samples generated in the project. Our appreciation is expressed to W. L. Jones, Thad Tremaine, and Jamie Boyd for the collection and preparation of pesticide samples. We also appreciate the effort and expertise of Jim Laws and Jim Yeatts for performing the pesticide analyses on soil and water samples.

Stomatai resistance (r L), surface resistance (r s) and leaf temperature (T L) are important phys... more Stomatai resistance (r L), surface resistance (r s) and leaf temperature (T L) are important physiological variables for the understanding of the interaction between the soil, plant, and atmosphere. These variables are used to study the response of plants to abiotic stress conditions, such as drought and high temperature, in addition to micrometeorological variables such as évapotranspiration (ET). The goal of this research was to measure the n_, r s and T L of four genotypes of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) under drought and non-drought conditions in a greenhouse environment. Three drought-tolerant genotypes were studied, BAT 477, SER 16 and SER 21, and one drought susceptible genotype, Morales. Three water regimes were used: full water supply (FWS) using 80% of the water required for soil saturation (WS) during the complete growing season; Stress 1 (S1) with 50% of WS before flowering and 60% of WS after flowering; and Stress 2 (S2) with 20% of WS before flowering and 40% of WS after flowering. Measurements were taken throughout the day at different stages of growth. The results show that there were differences in the r L , r s and T L between genotypes and between water levels, especially during the afternoon. The major differences were found between treatments S1 and S2 during reproductive development. The r L , r s and T L responded directly to the substrate water status and the rate of change was influenced by hour of the day. T L showed a linear relationship with air temperature, and the slope increased with water stress and had a polynomial relationship with η_.

The Penman-Monteith model (PM) is a useful “one-step” method for evapotranspiration (ET) estimati... more The Penman-Monteith model (PM) is a useful “one-step” method for evapotranspiration (ET) estimation, if surface resistance (rs-ms -1 ) estimates can be derived. This study has as its objective to evaluate different methods of rs estimation and the accuracy of the resulting ET estimates in common bean (P. vulgaris L.). The experiment was conducted at the Fortuna Agricultural Experiment Station at Juana Diaz, PR. Four automated weather stations were placed in plots planted with two genotypes of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Net radiation, soil heat flux, soil temperature, soil moisture, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction were recorded at ten second intervals. Each weather station had an elevator system that moved the air temperature and relative humidity sensor between two vertical positions over the crop canopy every two minutes during a complete day. The rs was derived by stomatal resistance (rL) and leaf area index (LAI) measurements (PM-1), and by direct micrometeorological variables as follows: inverse of the general PM-model (PM-2), as a function of the soil moisture (PM-3), and as a latent heat flux-λE (PM-4 and ET-Station). The results indicate that PM-1 under-estimated rs at low LAI, and that rs and rL are influenced inversely by the aerodynamic resistance (ra), which affected the precision of the PM-2 and ET station estimation especially under windy and dry conditions, but not the PM-3 and PM-4 methods.

Journal of Agriculture of The University of Puerto Rico, Dec 31, 1969

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has recommended the Penman-Monteith me... more The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has recommended the Penman-Monteith method as the single method for estimating reference evapotranspiration throughout the world. A disadvantage of the method, however, is its relatively high data requirement. Wind speed, humidity (or dew point temperature) and radiation tend to be the least available of the required parameters; therefore, the FAO has presented estimation procedures for these parameters. The purpose of this study was to evaluate estimation procedures for climate data to be used in the Penman-Monteith method for estimating long-term daily reference evapotranspiration, and to verify the accuracy of the procedures at four locations within Puerto Rico. Comparison of reference evapotranspiration determined by using the estimated and measured climate data shows reasonably good agreement. The methods presented in this paper are potentially valuable for calculating the long-term average daily reference evapotranspiration at any location within Puerto Rico. An example is provided to illustrate the use of the proposed estimation procedures for climate parameters. This study presents a comparison of reference evapotranspirations calculated by the Penman-Monteith

A study was conducted to evaluate the influence of agricultural lime (CaCOî) on the movement and ... more A study was conducted to evaluate the influence of agricultural lime (CaCOî) on the movement and uptake of inorganic nitrogen for a sweet pepper crop (Capsicum annuum) grown on an Oxisol soil (Coto clay) in northwest Puerto Rico. The Coto clay soil, which contains the 1:1 kaolinite mineral, has a low pH (4 to 4.5). The 1:1 type clays are known to possess a net positive charge at low pH, resulting in the adsorption of negatively charged ions such as nitrate. From an environmental standpoint this characteristic of the 1:1 clay is favorable, since nitrate leaching, a major cause of groundwater pollution in many areas, is reduced relative to soils with net negative charge. However, agricultural plants, such as sweet peppers, favor a higher soil pH (approximately 6.5), which can be obtained by the application of agricultural lime. This application, however, may have the negative effect of increasing the potential for nitrate leaching, as the net charge in the soil particles becomes posit...

Nitrate leaching through the soil profile can result in a significant loss of fertilizer N, and m... more Nitrate leaching through the soil profile can result in a significant loss of fertilizer N, and may be a source of nitrate concentration in groundwater. Highly weathered soils may exhibit substantial anion exchange capacity (AEC), which retards the movement of anions such as NO3" through the profile. However, AEC decreases as soil pH increases with agronomic practices such as liming. A study was conducted to determine the effect of lime application and frequency of Ν fertigation on NH4+ and NO3" concentrations on Coto clay. A field experiment was established at the UPR Experiment Station at Isabela, PR, using peppers as the test crop. Two lime treatments (lime or no lime) and two fertigation frequencies (weekly or bi-weekly applications) were evaluated. Soil samples were collected every two weeks at four depths and analyzed for NH4+ and NO3" by steam distillation. During the first year, probably due to spatial variabil ity and buffering capacity of the Coto clay, the ...

This paper describes a simple method for estimating long-term average monthly climate data for tr... more This paper describes a simple method for estimating long-term average monthly climate data for tropical island environments. These data (i.e., minimum and maximum air temperature, dew point temperature, wind speed, and solar radiation) are needed as input to the Penman-Monteith method for calculating reference evapotranspiration. The climate data can be estimated from just two site parameters (latitude and elevation) and specification of a climate division (or zone). In this study, the climate data estimation procedure was applied to Puerto Rico. Comparison of reference evapotranspiration determined by using the proposed method and measured climate data from four locations in Puerto Rico showed good agreement. This method may serve as a means for estimating reference evapotranspiration in other Caribbean Islands.

Principles and Applications for Water Management, 2013

Principles and Applications for Water Management, 2013

A method is presented for estimating the hourly actual évapotranspiration (ET) from short natural... more A method is presented for estimating the hourly actual évapotranspiration (ET) from short natural vegetation or agricultural crops. The method consists of equating the ET flux equations based on the generalized Penman-Monteith (GPM) combination method and a humidity gradient (HG) method. By equating the GPM and HG expressions, a single unknown parameter, either the bulk surface resistance (r s) or aerodynamic resistance (r a), can be determined. In the procedure, the value of the resistance factor is adjusted until the daily ET time series curves from the two methods approximately coincide. An overview of the technical approach and the results of a comparison between the new method and an eddy covariance system at the University of Florida at Gainesville are provided. To illustrate the utility of the method an example is presented in which the average daily ET was determined for a growing season of common bean {Phaseolus vulgaris L.) at Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. In this example the surface resistance was measured (i.e., stomatal resistance and leaf area) and estimated using the proposed method. A third method was also evaluated in which the surface resistance was estimated using the equation of Ortega-Farias and Fuentes (1999). All three methods were in close agreement.

Soil Erosion Research Under a Changing Climate, January 8-13, 2023, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, USA

The Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico

Drought mortality of juvenile trees is a major cause for failure ofreforestation projects. Portab... more Drought mortality of juvenile trees is a major cause for failure ofreforestation projects. Portable devices such as passive radiative dew condensers can often provide 0.15 L/day of water in situ, possibly sufficient for tree survival until roots can access groundwater, allowingself-sustainability. To evaluate growth and survivability of juvenile trees of Tabebuia heterophylla Britton and Swietenia macrophylla King under suchlow water amounts, juvenile trees received approximately 0.033, 0.067, 0.134, 0.201 and 0.268 L/tree/day, representing fractions (relative evapotranspirationor RET) of 0.125, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 of the evapotranspiration demand (ETo). The experiment lasted 60 days for S. macrophylla and 90 days for T. heterophylla. All T. heterophylla juvenile trees survived even at the lowestirrigation rate. However, S. macrophylla juvenile trees began dying at RET < 0.5, with only 60 percent surviving at RET = 0.25 (0.067 L/day) and 100 percentmortality occurring at RE...

Apple Academic Press eBooks, Sep 26, 2013