Is surface conductance theoretically independent of reference height?

Many studies have compared surface conductance Gs at different observation sites when examining physiological differences between sites and/or between vegetation categories. However, a theoretical analysis confirming the robustness of such comparisons has not yet been published. It is unclear whether Gs is independent of the reference height where evaporative fluxes and meteorological factors are observed, as Gs is a conceptual parameter rather than a purely physiological parameter. This short note shows that Gs is independent of reference height when above‐canopy fluxes of evapotranspiration and available energy are independent of reference height, and when energy balance closure is complete. Thus, this note gives a theoretical basis for comparing Gs values at different observation sites. Furthermore, we make recommendations for examining the Gs dependency on reference height in field conditions.