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 +<blockquote>
 +='''Setting up the monitoring network'''=
 +
 +Before setting up a monitoring network a decision has to be made on the type of network that is appropriate for the country or region at hand. This chapter outlines the practical steps to set up such a network given the choice made in the [[Chapter6|previous chapter]].
 +
<blockquote> <blockquote>
='''Setting up the monitoring network'''= ='''Setting up the monitoring network'''=
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* A reasonably stable stream of data on de decadal basis (or daily, hourly basis) should reach the crop forecasting unit. * A reasonably stable stream of data on de decadal basis (or daily, hourly basis) should reach the crop forecasting unit.
* Stations should be evenly spread in crop growing areas. It does not make sense to include five stations in a 10 by 10 kilometer area (this is often the case in a capital city) * Stations should be evenly spread in crop growing areas. It does not make sense to include five stations in a 10 by 10 kilometer area (this is often the case in a capital city)
 +* To monitor crops in a water balance model, the following data are needed for the selected stations:
 +** Rainfall (actual and normal)
 +** PET (Potential evapotranspiration)
 +** Crops (which crops are planted and where they can be found)
 +** Planting dates for crops (PLD)
 +** Cycle length for all the crops (CYC)
 +** Water Holding Capacity (WHC) of the soil.
 +** Percentage Effective Rainfall (EFR)
 +** Pre-season Crop coefficient (usually around 0.15)
 +** Irrigation data including bund height (when applicable).
 +
The following fields for every station are needed: The following fields for every station are needed:
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# Province (optional) # Province (optional)
# District (optional) # District (optional)
 +
</blockquote> </blockquote>

Revision as of 11:55, 16 June 2006

Setting up the monitoring network

Before setting up a monitoring network a decision has to be made on the type of network that is appropriate for the country or region at hand. This chapter outlines the practical steps to set up such a network given the choice made in the previous chapter.

Setting up the monitoring network

Before setting up a monitoring network a decision has to be made on the type of network that is appropriate for the country or region at hand. This chapter outlines the practical steps to set up such a network given the choice made in the previous chapter.

A station-based network

Most countries have an extensive network of meteorological stations. The most important types of monitoring stations are :

  • Synoptic stations. These stations provide hourly data on a real-time basis. Usually these data are fed into the global GTS system of WMO. Most of these stations provide weather data that enable users to calculate the Penman-Monteith reference evaporation (ET0). A subset of these stations do upper-air observations, which is less interesting for agrometeorological purposes.
  • Realtime Rainfall stations. These stations monitor rainfall and send in their data to the National Meteorological Office once a day.
  • Off-line rainfall stations that send in their daily data once a month or even once a year. These stations are important for climatic studies and the provision of normal data.

Which stations are to be included in the crop monitoring network? A few criteria:

  • The station should be in an area where the monitoring crops are located.
  • A reasonably stable stream of data on de decadal basis (or daily, hourly basis) should reach the crop forecasting unit.
  • Stations should be evenly spread in crop growing areas. It does not make sense to include five stations in a 10 by 10 kilometer area (this is often the case in a capital city)
  • To monitor crops in a water balance model, the following data are needed for the selected stations:
    • Rainfall (actual and normal)
    • PET (Potential evapotranspiration)
    • Crops (which crops are planted and where they can be found)
    • Planting dates for crops (PLD)
    • Cycle length for all the crops (CYC)
    • Water Holding Capacity (WHC) of the soil.
    • Percentage Effective Rainfall (EFR)
    • Pre-season Crop coefficient (usually around 0.15)
    • Irrigation data including bund height (when applicable).


The following fields for every station are needed:

  1. ID (national or international number)
  2. Name (spelling is sometimes an issue)
  3. Longitude
  4. Latitude
  5. Altitude
  6. Province (optional)
  7. District (optional)



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