Abstract:
Understanding the characteristics of flux contribution zones based on the observation of carbon, water, and heat fluxes using the eddy correlation method is an important research topic. This study utilized the flux footprint prediction (FFP) model to analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of the maximum contribution distance from the tower body (
xcmax), maximum extension distance covering 80% of the cumulative contribution (
x80), and corresponding area (
S80) of flux contribution areas at Shanghuang station flux tower from June 2022 to May 2023, as well as their influencing factors. The results showed the following: (1) The overall flux contribution areas at Shanghuang station mainly extended in the southeast direction, followed by the west. Furthermore, the contribution of western areas was important in the summer. In addition, nighttime and daytime flux contributions mainly originated from the southeast; however, daytime contributions from western areas increased compared with their nighttime contributions. (2) Significant seasonal differences were observed in
xcmax (8.25–14.42 m),
x80 (169.38–235.23 m), and
S80 (24413.18–74723.86 m²). The nighttime values for
xcmax,
x80, and
S80 were significantly larger than those during the daytime. (3) Differences in the extension directions of flux contribution areas were mainly influenced by changes in wind direction, while seasonal and diurnal variations in
xcmax,
x80, and
S80 were mainly attributed to differences in wind speed. These research findings assist in evaluating the spatial representativeness of turbulent flux towers; controlling the quality of carbon, water, and heat flux data; understanding flux variability characteristics; and extending the scales of flux observations.