Antecedentes climáticos históricos de la Estación Experimental Canchones, Pampa del Tamarugal: herramienta para la toma de decisiones en agricultura del desierto

The Canchones Experimental Station, in the Tarapacá region, is located 90 km SE of Iquique and 960 meters above sea level, located in the driest desert in the world. The climatic antecedents available for this area date back to the period 1942-1949, recorded by the German citizen Enrique Froehlich. Since 1995, the Arturo Prat University has carried out a systematization of the climatic information, obtained with an automated meteorological station, which has allowed us to currently have historical records of 25 years. The results of these analyzes indicate that the average temperature for this period is 18.6 ºC and the minimum 8.2 ºC. The absolute maximum temperatures are above 34 ºC throughout the year and the absolute minimums are below 5 ºC, dropping to –8.6 ºC, presenting a risk of frost that extends from April to November. The average relative humidity of the air is 35.6%. During the winter period, the accumulated chilling hours are 1,273.1 and 102.1 positive chilling units. The maximum radiation occurs in November with 26.6 MJ day-1. Average annual rainfall is 1.1 mm year –1 . The ecosystem of the Pampa del Tamarugal has presented an increase in the average temperature, being less than 2 ºC. The average relative humidity is low. The low accumulation of UFP, denotes the warm winter condition. The average annual precipitation, although it has increased, its occurrence is sporadic, with years in which there is no precipitation. These conditions characterize the driest desert in the