Volume 35, Issue 2 e14020
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Growing season evapotranspiration in boreal fens in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region: Variability and environmental controls

Olena Volik

Corresponding Author

Olena Volik

Faculty of Environment, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Correspondence

Olena Volik, Faculty of Environment, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Email: [email protected]

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Eric Kessel

Eric Kessel

Faculty of Environment, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Adam Green

Adam Green

Faculty of Environment, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Richard Petrone

Richard Petrone

Faculty of Environment, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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Jonathan Price

Jonathan Price

Faculty of Environment, Department of Geography and Environmental Management, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

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First published: 23 December 2020
Citations: 14
Funding information Alberta Environment and Parks; Canadian Network for Research and Innovation in Machining Technology, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; Imperial Oil Limited; Japan Canada Oil Sands Limited; Oil Sands Monitoring Network Program; Shell Canada; Suncor Energy Incorporated
[Correction added on 26 March 2022, after first online publication: The copyright line was changed.]

Abstract

Current efforts to assess changes to the wetland hydrology caused by growing anthropogenic pressures in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) require well-founded spatial and temporal estimates of actual evapotranspiration (ET), which is the dominant component of the water budget in this region. This study assessed growing season (May–September) and peak growing season (July) ET variability at a treed moderate-rich fen and treed poor fen (in 2013–2018), open poor fen (in 2011–2014), and saline fen (in 2015–2018) using eddy covariance technique and a set of complementary environmental data. Seasonal fluctuations in ET were positively related to net radiation, air temperature and vapour pressure deficit and followed trends typical for the Boreal Plains (BP) and AOSR with highest rates in June–July. However, no strong effect of water table position on ET was found. Strong surface control on ET is evident from lower ET values than potential evapotranspiration (PET); the lowest ET/PET was observed at saline fen, followed by open fen, moderately treed fen, and heavily treed fen, suggesting a strong influence of vegetation on water loss. In most years PET exceeded precipitation (P), and positive relations between P/PET and ET were observed with the highest July ET rates occurring under P/PET ~1. However, during months with P/PET > 1, increased P/PET was associated with decreased July ET. With respect to 30-year mean values of air temperature and P in the area, both dry and wet, cool and warm growing seasons (GS) were observed. No clear trends between ET values and GS wetness/coldness were found, but all wet GS were characterized by peak growing seasons with high daily ET variability.

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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