Monitoring energy and mass transfers during the Alpilles-ReSeDA experiment

The Alpilles-ReSeDA program was initiated to develop and test methods for interpreting remote sensing data that could lead to a better evaluation of soil and vegetation processes. This article presents the experiment that was setup in order to acquire the necessary data to achieve this goal. Intensive measurements were performed for almost one year over a small agricultural region in the South of France (20 kilometers square). To capture the main processes controlling land-atmosphere exchanges, the local climate was fully characterized, and surface energy fluxes, vegetation biomass, vegetation structure, soil moisture profiles, surface soil moisture, surface temperature and soil temperature were monitored. Additional plant physiological measurements and a full characterization of physical soil parameters were also carried out. After presenting the different types of measurements, examples are given in order to illustrate the variability of soils and plant processes in the area in response to the experienced climate.