Methodology for optimizing a photosynthetically active radiation monitoring network from satellite-derived estimations: A case study over mainland Spain

摘要

A methodology is presented for determining optimal locations to install photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) measurement stations. Initially, a cluster analysis was performed from PAR satellite-derived estimations over mainland Spain. Once the optimal number of clusters was obtained, the total number of locations included in the monitoring network was distributed among different groups, according to the size and variability of each group. Finally, the specific locations for measurement stations placement was determined using an iterative technique: The largest region within each cluster was split into two new sub-regions, providing two new sites for substituting the initial location.