Forest Traits and Soil Data from Pacific Northwest Plots

Over 1,200 branch samples from 35 tree and shrub species provide standardized measurements of leaf traits, forest structure, and soil chemistry. The data was collected by the TERRA-PNW research group from over 200 forest plots, including AmeriFlux sites, across Oregon and Northern California. Measurements span six projects conducted between 1999 and 2014.

Use Cases

• Modeling forest productivity and carbon sequestration using plot-level tree biomass and soil carbon measurements.
• Analyzing species-specific leaf economics via specific leaf area, leaf longevity, and leaf carbon/nitrogen content.
• Studying relationships between soil properties (e.g., bulk density, soil chemistry) and above-ground forest structure.
• Calibrating remote sensing estimates of canopy characteristics with ground-truthed forest composition data.

Strengths

• Integrates data from six projects and over 200 forest plots, providing regional-scale coverage.
• Includes standardized measurements for 35 distinct tree and shrub species derived from more than 1,200 samples.
• Combines leaf-level traits, forest structure, and soil chemistry in a single dataset.

Limitations

• The exact row count and column names are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist: one source states 2026-03-13, another states 2014-07-23.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research and Regional Analysis- Pacific Northwest (TERRA-PNW) research group.

Collection Method

Field measurements and estimates from collected branch and soil samples across forest plots.

Time Range

1999 to 2014

Freshness

2026-03-13 00:01:11.359938

Geography

Forests in Oregon and Northern California, USA.