Australian Grassland Carbon Productivity and Biomass Estimates

A source of modelled national estimates of Gross Primary Production (GPP), Net Primary Production (NPP), and carbon mass for Australian grasslands and pastures. It includes separate estimates for C3 and C4 grasses, derived from inputs like MODIS satellite data, temperature, and rainfall.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends in grassland Gross Primary Production (GPP) and Net Primary Production (NPP) across Australia.
• Estimate above-ground carbon mass for pastures using the CSP model outputs.
• Compare photosynthetic carbon fixation rates between C3 and C4 grass types.
• Model grassland biomass by approximating it as double the reported carbon mass values.

Strengths

• Includes separate productivity estimates for C3 and C4 grass types.
• Derived from multiple input sources including MODIS MOD13Q1 satellite data, temperature, and rainfall.
• Provides three key carbon cycle metrics: GPP, NPP, and carbon mass.

Limitations

• Data is modelled, not directly measured, introducing potential estimation errors.
• Sample data and specific row/column counts are unavailable for assessing granularity.
• The CSP model used for carbon mass estimation is described as unpublished, limiting transparency.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery

Collection Method

Modelled using the Diffuse model for GPP/NPP and the unpublished CSP model (v2) for carbon mass, incorporating MODIS, temperature, elevation, and rainfall data.

Freshness

Last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Australia