“On the anomalous behaviour of scalars flux-variance similarity functions within the canopy sub-layer of a dense alpine forest”

Within the canopy sub-layer (CSL), variability in scalar sources and sinks are known to affect flux–variance (FV) similarity relationships for water vapour (q) and car- bon dioxide (C) concentrations, yet large-scale processes may continue to play a significant role. High frequency time series data for temperature (T), q and C, collected within the CSL of an uneven-aged mixed coniferous forest in Lavarone, Italy, are used to investigate these processes within the context of FV similarity. This dataset suggests that MOST scaling describes the FV similarity function of T even though the observations are collected in the CSL, consistent with other studies. However, the measured FV similarity functions for q and C appear to have higher values than their temperature counterpart. Two hypotheses are proposed to explain the measured anomalous behaviour in the FV similarity functions for q and C when referenced to T . Respired CO2 from the forest floor leads to large positive excursions in the C time series at the canopy top thereby contributing significantly to both C variance increase and C vertical flux decrease—both leading to an anomalous increase in the FV similarity function. For q, transport of dry air from the outer-layer significantly increases both the variance and the water vapour flux. However, the expected flux increase is much smaller than the variance increase so that the net effect remains an increase in the measured FV similarity function for water vapour above its T counterpart. The hypothesis here is that identifying these events in the temporal and/or in the frequency domain and filtering them from the C and q time series partially recovers a scalar flow field that appears to follow FV similarity theory scaling. Methods for identifying both types of events in the time and frequency domains and their subsequent effects on the FV similarity functions and corollary flow variables, such as the relative transport efficiencies, are also explored.