eLEAF Data Products
The eLEAF data products available in R4A describe weekly biomass production, actual evapotranspiration and evapotranspiration deficit on 250m resolution. The data available makes it possible to assess growth status, water consumption and drought stress of croplands within and over growth seasons.
Figure 1: Biomass production data displayed in HydroNET platform.
Actual biomass production (BIOact; kg/ha/week): Biomass production refers to the growth of total living plant material above and below the ground (such as stems, leaves, roots, fruits and grains). It reflects the actual state of soils and climate, the skills of the farmers, and their use of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers. It is defined as dry matter and is measured as incremental biomass production per time step.
Monitoring growth forms the basis of crop monitoring services. Farmers need accurate and timely information on the status of their crop to be able to make management decisions and prioritize actions. By visualizing growth development in graph and map format better analysis and decisions can be made to improve crop production over time.
Figure 2: Actual Biomass Production [kg/ha] for South Africa on 31 October 2016
Actual Evapotranspiration (ETact; mm/week) and Evapotranspiration deficit (ETdef; mm/week):
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the sum of the volume of water that is evaporated from the soil (E) and the volume of water that is transpired by the crop (T). Where non-consumed water can be recaptured for downstream use, or replenishes the groundwater, water consumed via evapotranspiration cannot. It represents the actual volume of water that is consumed in the crop production process and is expressed in mm.
