Grassland Biomass and Climate Data from Tumugi, China

NASA's NPP Grassland: Tumugi, China dataset provides monthly above- and below-ground biomass measurements from three distinct cold meadow steppes in eastern Inner Mongolia, collected from 1981 to 1990. The data includes climate records from a local weather station and was used to estimate net primary productivity and validate the CENTURY ecosystem model. Measurements were taken from protected, non-grazed sites dominated by Filifolium sibiricum, Stipa baicalensis, and Leymus chinense species.

Use Cases

• Estimating above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) using peak above-ground living biomass data.
• Calculating below-ground net primary productivity (BNPP) from peak live below-ground biomass measurements for three steppe types.
• Validating ecosystem model outputs by comparing simulated biomass data against the monthly observed biomass records.
• Analyzing seasonal biomass dynamics by examining monthly measurements taken from March to November over a decade.
• Correlating grassland productivity with local climate conditions using the accompanying weather station data.

Strengths

• Dataset provides a 10-year continuous time series from 1981 to 1990, offering long-term ecological insight.
• Includes paired biomass and climate data, allowing for analysis of environmental drivers on productivity.
• Measurements were taken from sites protected from grazing since 1976, reducing confounding anthropogenic effects.
• Data was validated against the CENTURY model, with simulated results agreeing within +25% of observations.

Limitations

• Exact row counts, column names, and dataset size are not specified across any platform.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata: one source lists 1990-12-31, while another lists 2026-03-12.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Monthly field measurements via clipping of 1.0 m2 quadrats for above-ground biomass and sampling of 1.0 m2 soil pits to 1.0 m depth for below-ground biomass.

Time Range

1981 to 1990

Freshness

2026-03-12 23:11:50.524694

Geography

Tumugi, Xingan League, eastern Inner Mongolia, China (approximately 46.10 N, 123.00 E, Elevation 191 m)