SNF Vegetation Cover: Boreal Forest Biophysical Properties

A 50 x 50 km area in the Superior National Forest near Ely, Minnesota was studied during summers in 1983 and 1984. NASA conducted a remote sensing experiment to investigate relationships between radiometric data and biophysical properties like leaf area index, biomass, and net primary productivity. The dataset includes satellite, aircraft, helicopter, and ground observations from this boreal forest region.

Use Cases

• Estimating leaf area index from remote sensing reflectance data.
• Modeling biomass and net primary productivity in boreal forests.
• Validating satellite-derived vegetation indices with ground observations.
• Investigating the sensitivity of boreal forest canopies to climatic change.

Strengths

• Includes multi-platform observations (satellite, aircraft, helicopter, ground) for a single study area.
• Focuses on a taxonomically simple and geographically extensive boreal forest ecosystem.
• Data collection occurred over two consecutive summer seasons (1983, 1984).

Limitations

• Documentation is explicitly noted as 'currently in work' on all platforms.
• Specific column names and data formats are unknown.
• Platforms disagree on last update date (1984 vs. 2026), suggesting metadata inconsistency.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Intensive remote sensing experiment combining satellite, aircraft, helicopter, and ground observations.

Time Range

Summer seasons of 1983 and 1984.

Freshness

Last updated dates conflict: 1984-06-12 on nasa_earthdata and 2026-04-09 on datagov.

Geography

50 x 50 km area centered at approximately 48°N, 92°W in the Superior National Forest near Ely, Minnesota, USA.