Leaf Photosynthesis Rates from 1987 FIFE Field Study

Leaf photosynthesis and stomatal conductance measurements for the most abundant C4 species in the FIFE study area. Data were collected on 6 days during June, July, and August of 1987 at three locations, capturing responses to light, temperature, vapor pressure deficit, carbon dioxide, and water potential. The dataset is associated with ORNL_CLOUD and appears on multiple government data platforms.

Use Cases

• Calibrating or validating photosynthesis models using measured responses to light, temperature, and CO2.
• Analyzing stomatal conductance behavior under field conditions of varying vapor pressure deficit and water potential.
• Studying the seasonal performance of C4 grasses during a summer growing season.
• Investigating spatial variability in leaf physiology across three locations within a study quadrant.

Strengths

• Measurements cover multiple environmental drivers (light, temperature, VPD, CO2, water potential) for model fitting.
• Data collection occurred on 6 distinct days across a summer season (June-August 1987), capturing temporal variation.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA EarthData and Data.gov signals curation and importance for the research community.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata: one source lists 1987-08-16, another lists 2026-03 13.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Leaf photosynthetic rate measured by enclosing a leaf in a closed, transparent chamber and tracking CO2 decrease over time; light flux density measured externally and corrected for chamber transmittance (0.9).

Time Range

June - August 1987

Freshness

2026-03-13 00:57:11.372814

Geography

Three locations in the northwest quadrant of the FIFE study area.