Data from: Carbon and Water Balances in a Watermelon Crop Mulched with Biodegradable Films in Mediterranean Conditions at Extended Growth Season Scale

Abstract The uploaded data are relative to the investigation around (i) the carbon source/sink nature and, further, (ii) the water and carbon balances, of a drip-irrigated and mulched watermelon. The crop was cultivated under the semi-arid climate of the Apulia region, in south Italy. The used mulching films were biodegradable as indicate by the producer; plants and some non-standard fruits were left on the soil as green manure after harvesting, thus, the experiment spanned from planting to the subsequent crop (6 months of continuous measurement from June to November 2023). The results detailed in the original publication indicate that mulching films contribute to carbon sequestration in the soil (+19.3 gC m−2). However, this mulched watermelon represents a net carbon source, with a net biome exchange, as loss from ecosystems, equal to +230 gC m−2. This is primarily due to the substantial amount of carbon exported through marketable fruits. Fixed water scheduling led to water waste through deep percolation (approximately 1/6 of the water supplied), which also contributed to the loss of organic carbon via leaching (−4.3 gC m−2). Methods Site and crop The field site was at the CREA-AA Research Unit experimental farm located in southern Italy (Rutigliano–Bari, 41 01’ N, 17°01’ E, altitude 147 m a.s.l.)., characterized by a Mediterranean semi-arid climate (average annual rainfall of 535 mm). The soil is classified as Lithic Rhodoxeralf, with a clay texture, stable structure, shallow profile (0.6–1.1 m) and rapid drainage due to an underlying cracked limestone subsoil. The SOC content averages around 12.0 g kg−1. The field capacity and the permanent wilting point volumetric water contents are 0.36 and 0.21 m3 m−3, respectively; with a bulk density of 1.15 Mg m−3, the available soil water ranges from 80 to 140 mm. The studied watermelon crop (seedless var. Lion king), followed a broccoli cabbage crop harvested in April and partially incorporated (0.81 kg m−2 of fresh biomass in a soil layer depth of 0.30 m, corresponding to 0.69 kgH2O m−2) as green manure on 25 May 2023. Main tillage at medium depth ploughing (0.30 m) and seedbed preparation were performed between 25 and 30 May 2023; the biodegradable film mulch (model PC 100 d8, BASF, Italy, 1 m width) was applied on 1 June 2023. On the same day, driplines (2.1 Lh−1 emitters, 0.60 m apart) and the main organic fertilization (Orga-Kem 6.11.8 + 11CaO, 300 kg ha−1) were also applied. The watermelon plants were transplanted on 9 June at a spacing of 2.70 m between rows and 1 m between plants, covering an area of about 4.0 ha, with a density of approximately 3200 plants ha−1. Every 6 rows, the inter-row distance was 5 m to facilitate machinery passage. The first irrigation was performed the day before planting. Crop management adhered to the usual treatments in the area including mechanical weed removal every 4 weeks, irrigation around three times per week to maintain optimal soil water conditions and monthly fertigation (ammonium sulphate 50 kg ha−1, magnesium nitrate 30 kg ha−1, calcium nitrate 60 kg ha−1, mycorrhizae 20 kg ha−1). The scalar harvest of marketable fruits occurred between 28 and 31 August 2023. After harvesting, on 25 September 2023, the fresh plant residues (0.6 kg m−2 of fresh biomass, corresponding to 0.49 kgH2O m−2), unharvested fruits (4.0 kg m−2 of fresh material, corresponding to 3.7 kgH2O m−2) and the mulching film were chopped by a tractor shredder and ploughed in two steps, on 2 and 13 October 2023, to a soil depth of 0.30 m. Measurements concluded at the end of November 2023, when tillage for the new winter crop commenced. Measurements of H2O and CO2 fluxes; partitioning in evaporation, transpiration, photosynthesis and respiration The eddy covariance technique was employed to monitor water vapor (H2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes. The equipment comprised a three-dimensional sonic anemometer (uSonic 3 Scientific, Metek GmbH, 25337 Elmshorn, Germany) and a fast response open-path infrared gas analyzer (LI-7500, Li-COR Inc., Lincoln, NE, USA). The three wind components, sonic temperature and atmospheric concentrations of CO2 and H2O were continuously measured at 1.5 m above the crop canopy, with the sensor height adjusted to follow crop growth, reaching a maximum of 1.75 m. Data were recorded at a frequency of 10 Hz on a dedicated computer using the MeteoFlux software (Servizi Territorio, S.n.c., Cinisello Balsamo, Italy) and were stored on an hourly scale. Post-processing and computation of hourly fluxes of H2O (mmol m−2 s−1) and CO2 (μmol m−2 s−1) were conducted using EddyPro software, v7.0.9 (http://www.licor.com/eddypro), applying 60 min block averaging, double coordinate rotation, the statistical test, the maximum cross-covariance method, and the WPL density correction. H2O and CO2 fluxes were partitioned into transpiration, evaporation, photosynthesis and respiration, respectively, using the flux variance similarity method. This method utilizes the Monin–Obukhov similarity theory to separate stomatal (photosynthesis, Fp, and transpiration, Ft) from non-stomatal (respiration, Fr, and evaporation, Fe) processes (Palatella et al., 2014). the H2O and CO2 EC fluxes were partitioned using an adaptation of the code in Phyton provided by (Skaggs et al., 2018) and downloaded from https://github.com/usda-arsussl/fluxpart (V0.2.10).