Tropical Pasture Energy and Mass Flux Measurements via Eddy Covariance

Comprising measurements of energy and mass exchange between the surface and atmospheric boundary-layer in a tropical pasture using eddy covariance techniques. The site featured a 15-meter instrument mast and was dominated by specific grass species, with soil composed of red kandosol and deep sand. Data collection ended when the site was destroyed by fire in September 2013.

Use Cases

• Analyze seasonal patterns in heat, water vapor, and carbon dioxide fluxes to understand pasture ecosystem dynamics.
• Correlate incoming and reflected shortwave radiation with net radiation measurements to model surface energy balance.
• Investigate the relationship between leaf-scale physiological properties, such as gas exchange and chlorophyll concentrations, and observed carbon dioxide fluxes.
• Use temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction data to model microclimatic conditions within the tropical pasture.

Strengths

• Includes a diverse set of physical measurements: temperature, humidity, wind, radiation, rainfall, and leaf/soil properties.
• Site characteristics are well-documented, including specific grass species, soil types (red kandosol and deep sand), and instrument mast height of 15 meters.
• Ancillary data includes leaf-scale physiological measurements and airborne remote sensing (Lidar, hyperspectral) from September 2008.

Limitations

• The dataset has a definitive end date as the measurement site was destroyed by fire in September 2013.
• Key quantitative metadata such as row count, column count, and file size are unknown.
• Primary data files are listed as HTML and PNG formats, which may not be the standard, machine-readable formats (e.g., NetCDF, CSV) typical for scientific flux data.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery, also available at http://data.ozflux.org.au.

Collection Method

Measurements taken using the open-path eddy flux technique for heat, water vapor, and carbon dioxide, alongside standard meteorological sensors.

Time Range

Data collection ended in September 2013; specific start date is not provided.

Freshness

The metadata record was last updated in March 2026, but the underlying data collection ended in 2013.

Geography

Tropical pasture site in Australia with an elevation close to 70m and mean annual precipitation of 1250mm at a nearby location.