Alice Springs Mulga Flux Data: Energy and Mass Exchange in Semi-Arid Woodland

Measurements from a flux station located 170 km north of Alice Springs track the exchange of energy and mass between a semi-arid Mulga woodland and the atmosphere. The site has a total standing biomass of 32.5 t/ha, a median canopy height of 4.3 m, and mean annual precipitation ranging from 33 mm to 712 mm. Data is provided by the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network and includes fluxes of heat, water vapor, and carbon alongside supplementary atmospheric and soil measurements.

Use Cases

• Modeling carbon sequestration dynamics based on eddy covariance flux measurements.
• Analyzing water and energy balance in semi-arid woodlands based on soil moisture and heat flux data.
• Studying ecosystem resilience to precipitation variability based on long-term climate and flux records.
• Calibrating remote sensing products for vegetation monitoring based on canopy structure and biomass data.

Strengths

• Site characteristics are precisely quantified, including biomass (32.5 t/ha), canopy height (4.3 m median), and soil composition (74:11:15 sand:silt:clay).
• Measurement infrastructure is detailed, with sensor heights and depths specified for above-canopy, below-canopy, and below-ground observations.
• Provides long-term context with precipitation records from 1986-2025 and operational data showing extremes from 33 mm to 712 mm.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Data freshness should be verified as the last metadata update was 2026-06-25.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery

Collection Method

Measurements collected using eddy covariance techniques at a flux tower.

Time Range

Precipitation records cited from 1986-2025; tower operational during years with recorded extremes (e.g., 2016/2017, 2018/2019).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-25 10:34:18.980567; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Pine Hill cattle station, approximately 170 km north of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. Elevation 602 m.