Transport in the Atmosphere-Vegetation-Soil Continuum

Traditionally, soil science, atmospheric science, hydrology, plant science and agriculture have been studied largely as separate subjects. These systems are clearly interlinked, however, and in recent years a great deal of interdisciplinary research has been undertaken to better understand the interactions. This textbook was developed from a course that the authors have been teaching for many years on atmosphere-vegetation-soil interactions at one of the leading international research institutes in environmental science and agriculture. The book describes the atmosphere-vegetation-soil continuum from the perspective of several interrelated disciplines, integrated into one textbook. The text is interspersed with many student exercises and problems, with solutions included. It will be ideal for intermediate to advanced students in meteorology, hydrology, soil science, environmental sciences and biology who are studying the atmosphere-vegetation-soil continuum, as well as researchers and professionals interested in the observation and modelling of atmosphere-vegetation-soil interactions.

1. The atmosphere-vegetation-soil system; 2. Available energy: net radiation and soil heat flux; 3. Turbulent transport in the atmospheric surface layer; 4. Soil water flow; 5. Solute transport in soil; 6. Vegetation: transport processes inside and outside of plants; 7. Combination methods for turbulent fluxes; 8. Integrated applications; 9. Integrated models in hydrology and meteorology.

Arnold F. Moene studied at Wageningen University where he obtained MSc degrees in International Land and Water Management as well as Soil, Water and Atmosphere. Then he went to the Fluid Dynamics Group at Eindhoven University of Technology to obtain his PhD. Currently he works as an assistant professor in the Meteorology and Air Quality Group of Wageningen University. The overarching theme of his research is atmospheric turbulence in relation to the Earth's surface. This encompasses measurement techniques like scintillometry. Furthermore, he works on turbulence in the stable boundary-layer (collapse of turbulence) and in the convective boundary layer (impact of surface heterogeneity and entrainment on scalar transport). Finally, he is interested in the practical applications of turbulent transport like the estimation of the surface evapotranspiration from remote sensing data and land-surface models. Arnold F. Moene teaches a number of BSc and MSc courses related to atmosphere-vegetation-soil interactions (theory and observations) and fluid mechanics. Furthermore he chairs the programme committee of the BSc Soil Water and Atmosphere and the MSc Earth and Environment. Since 2010 he has been a member of the editorial board of Boundary-Layer Meteorology. He has (co-)authored over 35 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
Jos C. van Dam is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences of Wageningen University, The Netherlands. He is responsible for research and education in the transport of water, solutes, heat and gases in topsoils at the undergraduate and graduate level. A main focus of his work is physical transport processes and their interaction with vegetation development and micro-meteorology. Dr van Dam is one of the main developers of the widely-used ecohydrological model SWAP (Soil Water Atmosphere Plant). He is author or co-author of more than 60 peer-reviewed international scientific publications.