Amazon Forest Tree Diameter Measurements from Tapajos Site

Brazil's Tapajos National Forest hosts this dataset of tree diameter at breast height (DBH) measurements from an old-growth upland forest site. It covers approximately 2600 trees with DBH greater than 35cm across four 5-hectare transects, with additional measurements for trees over 10cm in a smaller area. The data was collected by NASA researchers periodically between July 1999 and August 2005.

Use Cases

• Analyzing biomass change over time using repeated DBH measurements from 1999, 2001, and 2005.
• Studying forest structure and size class distribution across four 5-hectare transects.
• Cross-referencing local common tree names with scientific names using the companion file.
• Investigating coarse woody debris and litter dynamics in conjunction with related datasets.

Strengths

• Provides measurements for a large sample of ~2600 trees with DBH >35cm.
• Offers multi-temporal data collected over a six-year period from 1999 to 2005.
• Includes a companion file for cross-referencing local common names with scientific names.
• Data is associated with NASA, a reputable scientific organization.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates: datagov shows 2026-03-13 (likely a placeholder), while nasa_earthdata shows 2005-08-31.
• Specific column names and the exact row count are not provided by any source.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without further detail.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Field measurements of diameter at breast height (DBH) for trees in designated transects.

Time Range

1999-07 to 2005-08

Freshness

2005-08-31

Geography

Tapajos National Forest, Para Western (Santarem) - km 67 Primary Forest Tower Site, north central Brazil.