Flux Tower Measurements from Australian Eucalypt Woodland

This release contains flux tower measurements of energy and mass exchange between the surface and atmosphere in a semi-arid eucalypt woodland, processed using PyFluxPro. The Cow Bay station was established in December 2008 and is managed by James Cook University. The site is part of the FNQ Rainforest SuperSite within the TERN Australian SuperSite Network.

Use Cases

• Analyze Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) partitioned into Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and Ecosystem Respiration (ER) to model carbon dynamics.
• Study the relationship between incoming/reflected shortwave radiation, net radiation, and fluxes of heat, water vapor, and carbon dioxide.
• Investigate the impact of rainfall and mean annual precipitation (3935mm) on ecosystem respiration and energy exchange.
• Examine artifacts in radiometric data, such as reductions in downwelling radiation linked to solar inclination and shadowing.

Strengths

• Data processed to a final, gap-filled product using the established PyFluxPro (v3.3.3) methodology.
• Site characterization includes specific metrics: 94 species in a core 1Ha area, average tree height of 22m, and elevation of 90m.
• Part of the long-term TERN Australian SuperSite Network, providing context for broader ecological studies.

Limitations

• The early years (2009-2012) contain several data gaps, limiting temporal continuity.
• Shadowing of radiometric equipment causes known artifacts in radiation measurements.
• Sample data and specific column details are unavailable, hindering initial assessment of data structure.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery, managed by James Cook University.

Collection Method

Eddy covariance techniques using instruments mounted on a 35m tower, processed with PyFluxPro software.

Time Range

Station established December 2008; data release is 2022_v1.

Freshness

Data release from 2022, with metadata last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Cow Bay flux station in the Daintree Rainforest, Queensland, Australia.