SAFARI 2000 Plant and Soil Isotope Data from Southern Africa

Measurements of carbon and nitrogen concentration and stable isotope ratios from plant and soil samples collected along the Kalahari Transect precipitation gradient in southern Africa. Data were gathered during multiple field campaigns, primarily the SAFARI 2000 Kalahari Wet Season Field Campaign in 2000, with additional samples from 1995 and 1999. Samples were analyzed using an Optima isotope ratio mass spectrometer coupled to an elemental analyzer.

Use Cases

• Analyzing patterns of nitrogen cycling and N2 fixation by legumes across precipitation and grazing gradients using d15N and %N data.
• Investigating carbon source and water-use efficiency in plants along an aridity gradient using d13C and %C measurements.
• Assessing the impact of land use disturbances (cultivation, grazing, fire) on soil and plant nutrient dynamics by comparing sites.
• Modeling carbon and nitrogen stocks and isotopic signatures in southern African savanna ecosystems.
• Calibrating or validating remote sensing products for vegetation and soil biogeochemistry in semi-arid regions.

Strengths

• Includes data from a well-defined environmental gradient, the Kalahari Transect, spanning multiple countries (Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa).
• Laboratory analyses were performed with a consistent, high-precision method (Optima isotope ratio mass spectrometer coupled to an elemental analyzer).
• Covers multiple sample types (leaves, roots, fungi, soil) and includes sites with varying land use intensities.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and exact file size are unavailable across all platforms.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2000-03-28 and 2026-03 12), suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
• Temporal coverage is discontinuous, with samples collected only in specific wet and dry seasons of 1995, 1999, and 2000.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD

Collection Method

Field collection of plant and soil samples followed by laboratory isotope and elemental analysis.

Time Range

1995-2000

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:15:45.953311

Geography

Southern Africa, specifically sites along the Kalahari Transect in Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.