Flux Tower Measurements from a Loxton Almond Orchard in 2008-2009

Encompassing flux tower measurements of energy and mass exchange between an almond orchard surface and the atmosphere using eddy covariance techniques. Data were processed with PyFluxPro (v3.4.17) to produce gap-filled Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) partitioned into Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and Ecosystem Respiration (ER). The site was operational from August 2008 to June 2009.

Use Cases

• Analyze seasonal patterns in Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) and its components GPP and ER for an irrigated almond orchard.
• Model carbon dynamics using gap-filled flux data from a site with specific orchard characteristics like tree height (5.5m) and planting spacing (7m x 5m).
• Study the impact of fertigation practices, using documented application rates of KNO3, Urea, KCl, and NH4NO3, on ecosystem respiration (ER) fluxes.
• Investigate energy balance closure and surface-atmosphere interactions using eddy covariance measurements from a site with minimal slope (<1.5°).

Strengths

• Data processed with a standardized, documented methodology (PyFluxPro v3.4.17) as per Isaac et al. (2017).
• Provides a final, gap-filled product for key carbon flux variables (NEE, GPP, ER).
• Detailed site metadata including precise location (34.47035 °S, 140.65512 °E), orchard management practices, and a defined operational period (Aug 2008 - Jun 2009).

Limitations

• Limited temporal coverage, representing data from only one growing season (approximately 10 months).
• Specific to a single almond orchard site in Loxton, limiting geographic generalizability.
• Data format includes HTML and PNG, which may require extraction or conversion for quantitative analysis compared to standard tabular formats (CSV, NetCDF).

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery

Collection Method

Eddy covariance flux tower measurements processed with PyFluxPro software.

Time Range

August 2008 to June 2009

Freshness

Data last updated in the catalog on 2026-03-20, but the underlying measurements are from 2008-2009.

Geography

An almond orchard near Loxton, South Australia (34.47035 °S, 140.65512 °E)