Study Sites

AQUEDUCT Study Site – Orroli (Flumendosa Basin, Italy)

The Orroli experimental site is a long-term ecohydrological observatory located in the Flumendosa Basin, Italy. Monitored continuously since May 2003, the site provides a unique dataset for studying land–atmosphere interactions, vegetation water use, and soil–plant–atmosphere processes in Mediterranean environments. It is a reference site for advanced water balance analysis and ecohydrological modeling within the AQUEDUCT project.

Location and Hydrological Context

  • Country: Italy

  • Basin: Flumendosa River Basin

  • Site: Orroli experimental catchment

The site represents a Mediterranean landscape characterized by heterogeneous vegetation, fractured rock layers, and strong seasonal contrasts in water fluxes.

Long-Term Monitoring

The Orroli site has been monitored continuously since May 2003, providing more than two decades of high-quality observations. The site has supported multiple peer-reviewed studies, including:

  • Montaldo et al., HESS (2008)

  • Montaldo et al., WRR (2013)

  • Montaldo et al., AFM (2021)

  • Montaldo & Oren, Agricultural and Forest Meteorology (2022)

Vegetation and Water Fluxes

The site supports detailed partitioning of water fluxes, including:

  • Woody vegetation transpiration

  • Grass transpiration

  • Bare soil evaporation

These fluxes are analyzed within a heterogeneous landscape composed of multiple vegetation patches and rooting depths.

Water Balance Components

Water balance analyses are conducted at multiple layers:

  • Surface soil layer

  • Fractured rock layer

  • Rhizosphere

Transpiration is partially controlled by rhizosphere moisture, enabling refined modeling of vegetation–water interactions.

Key fluxes include:

  • Infiltration

  • Runoff

  • Drainage

  • Soil moisture dynamics

Transpiration is partially controlled by rhizosphere moisture, enabling refined modeling of vegetation–water interactions.

Modeling Approaches

The Orroli site supports advanced modeling activities, including:

  • Distributed ecohydrological models

  • Land Surface Models (LSM) coupled with vegetation dynamics

  • Daily temporal resolution simulations

These models are used to analyze water fluxes within heterogeneous rooting systems and to support water management and planning tools.

Sapflow probes (Granier, 1985)

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