--- title: "Practical example: from raw gas concentration data to clean ecosystem gas fluxes." output: rmarkdown::html_vignette vignette: > %\VignetteIndexEntry{Practical example: from raw gas concentration data to clean ecosystem gas fluxes.} %\VignetteEngine{knitr::rmarkdown} %\VignetteEncoding{UTF-8} bibliography: biblio_phd_zot.bib csl: emerald-harvard.csl --- ```{r, include = FALSE} knitr::opts_chunk$set( collapse = TRUE, comment = "#>" ) options(tidyverse.quiet = TRUE) ``` In this example we will process a dataset from the Plant Functional Traits Course 6 (PFTC6; Norway, 2022). Net ecosystem exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration (ER), air and soil temperature and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) were recorded over the course of 24 hours at an experimental site called Liahovden, situated in an alpine grassland in southwestern Norway. Those data are available in the Fluxible R package. To work with your own data, you need to import them as a dataframe object in your R session. For import examples, please see `vignette("data-prep", package = "fluxible")`. ## Input The CO~2~ concentration data as well as air and soil temperature and PAR were recorded in a dataframe named `co2_liahovden`. The metadata for each measurement are in a dataframe named `record_liahovden`. This dataframe contains the starting time of each measurement, the measurement type (NEE or ER) and the unique plot ID (called turfs in this experiment). Structure of the CO~2~ concentration data (`co2_liahovden`): ```{r, co2_liahovden-str, message=FALSE, echo=FALSE} library(fluxible) str(co2_liahovden, width = 70, strict.width = "cut") ``` Structure of the meta data (`record_liahovden`): ```{r record_liahovden-str, message=FALSE, echo=FALSE} str(record_liahovden, width = 70, strict.width = "cut") ``` ## Attributing meta-data We use the `flux_match` function to slice each measurement in the CO~2~ concentration data and discard the recordings in between. The two inputs are `raw_conc`, the dataframe containing field measured raw gas concentration, and `field_record`, the meta data dataframe with the start of each measurement. Then `f_datetime` is the column containing date and time in the gas concentration dataframe, and `start_col` the column containing the start date and time of each measurement in the meta data dataframe. The length of the measurements is provided with `measurement_length` (in seconds). Alternatively, a column indicating the end time and date of each measurement can be provided to `end_col`, with `fixed_length = FALSE`. The `time_diff` argument allow to account for a consistant time difference (in seconds) between the two inputs. This value is added to the datetime column of the gas concentration dataset. ```{r match, message=FALSE, echo=TRUE} library(fluxible) conc_liahovden <- flux_match( raw_conc = co2_liahovden, # dataframe with raw gas concentration field_record = record_liahovden, # dataframe with meta data f_datetime = datetime, # column containing date and time start_col = start, # start date and time of each measurement measurement_length = 220, # length of measurements (in seconds) fixed_length = TRUE, # the length of the measurement is a constant time_diff = 0 # time difference between f_datetime and start_col ) ``` ## Model fitting We fit a model and obtain the slope at $t_0$, which is needed for the flux calculation, with the `flux_fitting` function. In this example we use the `exp_zhao18` model [@zhaoCalculationDaytimeCO22018]. The `exp_zhao18` is a mix of an exponential and linear model - thus fitting all fluxes independantly from curvature - and includes $t_0$ as a fitting parameter (its implementation is described in `vignette("zhao18", package = "fluxible")`). A similar model but with the option to manually set $t_0$ is `exp_tz`. Other available models are: `linear` for a linear fit, `quadratic` for a quadratic fit, and `exp_hm` for the original HM model [@hutchinsonImprovedSoilCover1981]. The `conc_df` argument is the dataframe with gas concentration, date and time, and start and end of each measurement, ideally produced with `flux_match` (see `vignette("data-prep", package = "fluxible")` for requirements to bypass `flux_match`). Then `f_conc` and `f_datetime` are, similarly as in `flux_match`, the gas concentration and corresponding datetime column. The arguments `f_start`, `f_end`, and `f_fluxid` are produced by `flux_match`. They indicate, respectively, the start, end and unique ID of each measurement. The model chosen to fit the gas concentration is provided with `fit_type`. The user can decide to restrict the focus window before fitting the model with the `start_cut` and `end_cut` arguments. For the models `quadratic`, `exp_tz`, and `exp_hm`, `t_zero` needs to be provided to indicate how many seconds after the start of the focus window should the slope be calculated. Arguments `cz_window`, `b_window`, `a_window` and `roll_width` are specific to the automatic fitting of the `exp_zhao18` and `exp_tz` models and are described in `vignette("zhao18", package = "fluxible")`. We recommend keeping the default values. ```{r fitting_exp, echo=TRUE, message=FALSE, warning=FALSE} slopes_liahovden <- flux_fitting( conc_df = conc_liahovden, # the output of flux_match f_conc = conc, # gas concentration column f_datetime = datetime, # date and time column f_start = f_start, # start of each measurement, provided by flux_match f_end = f_end, # end of each measurement, provided by flux_match f_fluxid = f_fluxid, # unique ID for each measurement, provided by flux_match fit_type = "exp_zhao18", # the model to fit to the gas concentration start_cut = 0, # seconds to prune at the start before fitting end_cut = 0 # seconds to prune at the end of all measurements before fitting ) ``` ## Quality checks and visualizations The function `flux_quality` is used to provide diagnostics about the quality of the fit, potentially advising to discard some measurements or replace them by zero. The main principle is that the user sets thresholds on diagnostics (depending on the model used) to flag the measurements according to the quality of the data and the model fit. Those quality flags are then used to provide `f_slope_corr`, a column containing the advised slope to use for calculation. The `force_` arguments allow the user to override this automatic flagging by providing a vector of fluxIDs. The `ambient_conc` and `error` arguments are used to detect measurements starting outside of a reasonable range (the mean of the three first gas concentration data points is used, independantly from the focus window). The minimal detectable slope is calculated as $\frac{2 \times \text{instr error}}{\text{length of measurement}}$ and is used to detect slopes that should be replaced by zero. Other arguments are described in the function documentation (displayed with `?flux_quality`). The function `flux_flag_count` provides a table with the counts of quality flags, which is convenient for reporting on the dataset quality, and can also be done on the final flux dataset. This table is also printed as a side effect of `flux_quality`. ```{r quality_exp} flags_liahovden <- flux_quality( slopes_df = slopes_liahovden, f_conc = conc, # force_discard = c(), # force_ok = c(), # force_zero = c(), # force_lm = c(), # force_exp = c(), ambient_conc = 421, error = 100, instr_error = 5 ) flux_flag_count(flags_liahovden) ``` The function `flux_plot` provides plots for a visual assessment of the measurements, explicitly displaying the quality flags from `flux_quality` and the cuts from `flux_fitting`. Note that different values than the default can be provided to `scale_x_datetime` and `facet_wrap` by providing lists of arguments to `scale_x_datetime_args` and `facet_wrap_args` respectively. ```{r explot, fig.width= 8, fig.height=9, message=FALSE, fig.cap="Output of `flux_plot` for fluxid 54, 95, 100 and 101."} flags_liahovden |> # we show only a sample of the plots in this example dplyr::filter(f_fluxid %in% c(54, 95, 100, 101)) |> flux_plot( f_conc = conc, f_datetime = datetime, f_ylim_upper = 600, # upper limit of y-axis f_ylim_lower = 350, # lower limit of x-axis y_text_position = 450, # position of text with flags and diagnostics facet_wrap_args = list( # facet_wrap arguments, if different than default nrow = 2, ncol = 2, scales = "free" ) ) ``` To export the plots as pdf without printing them in one's R session, which we recommend for large datasets, the code looks like this: ```{r plot_pdf, echo=TRUE, eval=FALSE} flux_plot( slopes_df = flags_liahovden, f_conc = conc, f_datetime = datetime, print_plot = FALSE, # not printing the plots in the R session output = "pdfpages", # the type of output f_plotname = "plots_liahovden" # filename for the pdf file ) ``` If the argument `f_plotname` is left empty (the default), the name of the `slopes_df` object will be used (`flags_liahovden` in our case). The pdf file will be saved in a folder named `f_quality_plots`. Based on the quality flags and the plots, the user can decide to run `flux_fitting` and/or `flux_quality` again with different parameters. Here we will cut the last 60 seconds of the fluxes (cutting the last third). We also detected a flux that do not look correct. Sometimes measurements will pass the automated quality control but the user might have reasons to still discard them (or the opposite). That is what the `force_discard`, `force_ok`, `force_lm` and `force_zero` arguments are for. In our example, for the measurement with fluxID 101, the exponential model is not providing a good fit (resulting in the flux being discarded) due to some noise at the start of the measurement. We take the decision to force the use of the linear model instead, because it seems to fit much better (given that the flux looks quite flat, we could also force it to be zero). This is achieved with `force_lm = 101`. Several fluxIDs can be provided to the `force_` arguments by providing a vector: `force_zero = c(100, 101)`. The function `flux_fitting` is run again, with an end cut of 60 seconds: ```{r fits_exp_cut, message=FALSE} fits_liahovden_60 <- conc_liahovden |> flux_fitting( conc, datetime, fit_type = "exp_zhao18", end_cut = 60 # we decided to cut the last 60 seconds of the measurements ) ``` Then `flux_quality` again, forcing the use of the linear model for fluxID 101: ```{r flag_exp_cut} flags_liahovden_60 <- fits_liahovden_60 |> flux_quality( conc, force_lm = 101 # we force the use of the linear model for fluxid 101 ) ``` And finally `flux_plot` again to check the output: ```{r plot_exp_cut, fig.width=8, fig.height=9, message=FALSE, fig.cap="Output of `flux_plot` for fluxid 54, 95, 100 and 101 after refitting with a 60 seconds end cut."} flags_liahovden_60 |> dplyr::filter(f_fluxid %in% c(54, 95, 100, 101)) |> flux_plot( conc, datetime, f_ylim_upper = 600, f_ylim_lower = 350, y_text_position = 450, facet_wrap_args = list( nrow = 2, ncol = 2, scales = "free" ) ) ``` ## Flux calculation Now that we are satisfied with the fit, we can calculate fluxes with `flux_calc`, which applies the following equation: $$ \text{flux}=C'(t_0)\times \frac{P\times V}{R\times T\times A} $$ where flux: the flux of gas at the surface of the plot (mmol m^-2^ h^-1^) slope: slope estimate (ppm s^-1^) P: pressure (atm) V: volume of the chamber and tubing (L) R: gas constant (0.082057 L atm K^-1^ mol^-1^) T: chamber air temperature (K) A: area of chamber frame base (m^2^) The calculation is using the slope, which can either be `f_slope` (provided by `flux_fitting` and not quality checked) or `f_slope_corr` which is the recommended slope after quality check with `flux_quality`. Here the volume is defined as a constant for all the measurements but it is also possible to provide the volume as a separate column (`setup_volume`). The `cols_ave` arguments indicates which column(s), i.e. the environmental data, should be averaged for each flux. When setting the argument `cut = TRUE` (default), the same cut that was applied in `flux_fitting` will be used. The `cols_sum` and `cols_med` do the same for sum and median respectively. In the output, those columns get appended with the suffixes `_ave`, `_sum` and `_med` respectively. Here we recorded PAR and soil temperature in the same dataset and would like their average for each measurement. The `cols_keep` arguments indicates which columns should be kept. As `flux_calc` transforms the dataframe from one row per datapoint of gas concentration to one row per flux, the values in the columns specified in `cols_keep` have to be constant within each measurement (if not, rows will be repeated to accomodate for non constant values). Other columns can be nested in a column called `nested_variables` with `cols_nest` (`cols_nest = "all"` will nest all the columns present in the dataset, except those provided to `cols_keep`). The units of gas concentration, `conc_unit`, can be ppm or ppb. The units of the calculated flux can be $mmol/m^2/h$ (`flux_unit = "mmol"`) or $\mu mol/m^2/h$ (`flux_unit = "micromol"`). Temperature in the input can be in Celsius, Kelvin or Fahrenheit, and will be returned in the same unit in the output. ```{r calc, message=FALSE} fluxes_liahovden_60 <- flux_calc( slopes_df = flags_liahovden_60, slope_col = f_slope_corr, # we use the slopes provided by flux_quality f_datetime = datetime, temp_air_col = temp_air, conc_unit = "ppm", # unit of gas concentration flux_unit = "mmol", # unit of flux temp_air_unit = "celsius", setup_volume = 24.575, # in liters, can also be a variable atm_pressure = 1, # in atm, can also be a variable plot_area = 0.0625, # in m2, can also be a variable cols_keep = c("turfID", "type"), cols_ave = c("temp_soil", "PAR") ) ``` ```{r fluxes-str, echo=FALSE} str(fluxes_liahovden_60, width = 70, strict.width = "cut") ``` ## Gross Primary Production calculation CO~2~ flux chambers and tents can be used to measure net ecosystem exchange (NEE) and ecosystem respiration (ER) if the user manipulates the light levels in the chamber. The difference between the two is the gross primary production (GPP), which cannot be measured isolated from ER but is often a variable of interest. The function `flux_gep` calculates GPP as $GPP = NEE - ER$ and returns a dataset in long format, with NEE, ER and GPP as flux type and filling any variables specified by the user (`cols_keep` argument) with their values corresponding to the NEE measurement. Other type of flux than ER and NEE, if present in the dataset (e.g. light response curves, soil respiration) are kept. Each NEE and ER measurements need to be paired together for this calculation. The `id_cols` argument specifies which columns should be used for pairing (e.g., date, campaign). Since those measurements were done continuously for 24 hours, we added a pairID column, which is pairing each NEE measurement with its following ER measurement. This pairs the NEE and ER measurements of the same plot and same round of measurement because we systematically measured ER after NEE for each plot. ```{r gpp-lia} library(tidyverse) fluxes_liahovden_60 <- fluxes_liahovden_60 |> mutate( f_fluxid = as.integer(f_fluxid), pairID = case_when( type == "NEE" ~ f_fluxid, type == "ER" ~ f_fluxid - 1 ), f_fluxid = as_factor(f_fluxid), pairID = as_factor(pairID) ) gpp_liahovden_60 <- flux_gpp( fluxes_df = fluxes_liahovden_60, type_col = type, # the column specifying the type of measurement f_datetime = datetime, id_cols = c("pairID", "turfID"), cols_keep = c("temp_soil_ave", "PAR_ave"), # or "none" (default) or "all" nee_arg = "NEE", # default value er_arg = "ER" # default value ) ``` Structure of the flux dataset including GPP: ```{r gpp-str, echo=FALSE} str(gpp_liahovden_60, width = 70, strict.width = "cut") ``` ```{r 24h_fluxes, fig.width=8, fig.height=9, warning=FALSE, message=FALSE, echo=FALSE, eval=FALSE} library(ggplot2) fluxes_exp_liahovden_60_gep |> ggplot(aes(x = datetime, y = f_flux)) + geom_point() + geom_smooth() + labs( title = "Net Ecosystem Exchange at Upper Site (Liahovden) during 24 hour", x = "Datetime", y = bquote(~ CO[2] ~ "flux [mmol/" * m^2 * "/h]") ) + theme(legend.position = "bottom") + facet_grid(type ~ ., scales = "free") ``` #### References