BOREAS TE-23: Forest Canopy and Understory Map Plots

BOREAS TE-23 map plot data provides detailed architectural measurements from 50m x 60m plots at forested tower flux sites. The dataset includes stand characteristics, tree locations with DBH, geometric measurements for a tree subset, and understory cover maps. These tabular ASCII files support the interpretation of canopy structure and ground cover for boreal forest research.

Use Cases

• Modeling forest canopy structure and light interception based on detailed tree height and crown dimension measurements.
• Validating remote sensing estimates of forest biomass and leaf area index using ground-truthed stand density and basal area.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of tree distribution and understory vegetation cover from mapped plot locations.
• Studying boreal ecosystem processes by linking detailed plot-scale architecture with tower flux measurements.

Strengths

• Data collection follows a structured protocol across multiple BOREAS tower flux and auxiliary sites, ensuring consistency.
• Includes detailed geometric measurements for a subset of trees, such as height and crown dimensions, beyond basic inventory.
• Combines multiple data layers: stand characteristics, individual tree maps, and understory cover for integrated analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, specific column names, and exact file size are unavailable across all platforms.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (1994 vs. 2026) create uncertainty about data currency and potential revisions.
• The 'other-license-specified' license is ambiguous without the specific terms being provided.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) BOREAS TE-23 team.

Collection Method

Field measurements collected in mapped plots at BOREAS forested tower flux and selected auxiliary sites.

Time Range

May to August 1994.

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: 1994-12-31 (nasa_earthdata) and 2026-04-10 (datagov).

Geography

BOREAS (Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study) tower flux sites and selected auxiliary sites (boreal forest region).