BOREAS RSS-04: Jack Pine Needle Biochemistry and Modeled Spectra

BOREAS RSS-04 data contains field measurements of jack pine needle biochemistry from the BOREAS Southern Study Area in July and August 1994. The dataset includes chlorophyll, nitrogen, lignin, cellulose, and water content for current and year-1 needles, collected at the OJP flux tower and auxiliary sites. It also provides the LIBERTY needle reflectance model source code and predicted spectral data used to parameterize canopy reflectance models for comparison with AVIRIS, POLDER, and PARABOLA data.

Use Cases

• Validating needle-level radiative transfer models (LIBERTY) using measured chlorophyll and nitrogen content.
• Parameterizing canopy reflectance models for comparison with airborne sensor data like AVIRIS.
• Analyzing seasonal biochemical variation in jack pine needles within a boreal ecosystem.
• Studying the relationship between leaf biochemistry and spectral properties for forest carbon modeling.

Strengths

• Contains direct field measurements of multiple biochemical constituents (chlorophyll, nitrogen, lignin, cellulose, water) for model validation.
• Includes both raw data and the source code for the LIBERTY spectral model, supporting reproducibility.
• Data is associated with a major, well-documented ecological field campaign (BOREAS).

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, and exact file sizes are unknown across all sources.
• Conflicting update dates exist: one source lists 1994, while others list 2026, creating uncertainty about data currency.
• The specific license is unclear, listed only as 'other-license-specified'.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Field measurements collected during the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS).

Time Range

July-August 1994

Freshness

2026-03-13 12:28:40.834750

Geography

BOREAS Southern Study Area (SSA), specifically the OJP flux tower and nearby auxiliary sites.