Data integration and simple water balance analysis of the Sopron Botanical Garden’s hydrometeorological station data

Analyzing the water balance of long-lived plant communities, like forests, requires centuries long monitoring of hydrometeorological processes. Long-term measurements, however, are essential for assessing the effects of climate change as well. In Sopron, meteorological records—one of the first systematic analyses in Hungary—started in 1711. From 1925.06.01 to 1974.04.24, the Botanical Garden's meteorological station at the University of Sopron was the city's official station. In 1974, the official station was relocated to Kuruc Hill Observatory. The remaining instruments in the Botanical Garden were still functional. The presentation goes over the basic data processing for hydrometeorological purposes, error analysis, the integration of the station's data, simple water balance estimation and FAI (forest aridity index) analysis. The following joint projects (143972SNN project and the TKP2021-NKTA-43 project) supported the preparation of this paper. TKP2021-NKTA-43 has been implemented with the support provided by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Hungary (successor: Ministry of Culture and Innovation of Hungary) from the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund, financed under the TKP2021-NKTA funding scheme. Supported by the ÚNKP-23-2-III-SOE-176 New National Excellence Program of the Ministry for Culture and Innovation from the source of the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund.