Australian Vegetation Carbon Isotope Maps for 2015

Supplying raster maps of C3 and C4 plant cover percentages, proportional vegetation composition, and site-averaged stable carbon isotope (δ13C) values across Australia. The data are centered on the year 2015 and are derived from Landsat imagery, vegetation/land-use rasters, and field survey regressions. It models vegetation at a 100 m² grid-cell resolution.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial distribution of C4 herbaceous cover predicted from TERN field surveys and environmental factors.
• Apply the δ13C mixing model to calculate and map site-averaged stable carbon isotope values for ecological studies.
• Compare proportional C3 and C4 vegetation cover relative to their combined total across different Australian landscapes.
• Use the 100 m² resolution total % C3 and C4 cover maps for regional carbon cycle modeling.

Strengths

• Data is centered on a specific reference year (2015) for temporal consistency.
• Provides multiple derived layers including cover percentages, proportions, and isotopic values.
• Integrates remote sensing (Landsat), land-use rasters, and field survey data from TERN Ecosystem Surveillance.

Limitations

• The dataset is a static snapshot centered on 2015 and does not represent temporal change.
• Spatial resolution is fixed at 100 m², which may be too coarse for fine-scale ecological analysis.
• The underlying predictive model for native C4 herbaceous cover may contain regional biases or errors.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery

Collection Method

Combined vegetation/land-use rasters, TERN field surveys, and environmental factor regressions to predict cover, followed by a δ13C mixing model.

Time Range

Centered on year 2015.

Freshness

Last updated in March 2026, though the underlying data is from 2015.

Geography

Australia.