White Spruce Leaf Gas-Exchange and Tree Traits from Alaska and New York

NASA provides in situ needle-level gas-exchange and leaf trait measurements for Picea glauca (white spruce). Data were collected at two sites in 2018: a forest-tundra ecotone in northern Alaska and Black Rock Forest in New York. Measurements include respiration across a controlled temperature ramp, photosynthetic rate, and tree structural data.

Use Cases

• Modeling temperature-dependent leaf respiration curves using raw temperature ramp data from 5 to 65°C.
• Analyzing relationships between tree structural traits (dbh, tree height) and leaf-level photosynthetic rate.
• Comparing gas-exchange parameters (intercellular CO2, conductance to H2O) between arctic and temperate white spruce populations.
• Studying photosynthetic adaptation by examining data reported on both leaf area and leaf mass bases.

Strengths

• Data includes controlled, continuous temperature ramp measurements for respiration, a specific experimental method.
• Measurements cover two distinct geographic extremes: an Alaskan forest-tundra ecotone and a New York forest.
• Results are provided on both leaf area and leaf mass bases, allowing for flexible analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all platforms.
• Sources conflict on the dataset's last updated date: Data.gov lists 2026-03-12, while NASA Earthdata lists 2018-06-23.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without further details.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements collected with a Li6400XT portable photosynthesis system and a custom-built temperature-controlled cuvette.

Time Range

2018-06-06 to 2018-06-23

Freshness

2026-03-12 21:21:29.480139

Geography

Northern latitudinal forest-tundra ecotone near Dalton Highway, Alaska, USA, and Black Rock Forest, New York, USA.