Wallaby Creek Forest Carbon Flux Measurements 2010-2016

Wallaby Creek in Victoria, Australia provides flux tower measurements of energy and mass exchange between a tall wet sclerophyll forest and the atmosphere. The Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network processed the data using PyFluxPro and ONEFlux software to produce gap-filled estimates of Net Ecosystem Exchange, Gross Primary Productivity, and Ecosystem Respiration. This release is part of the FLUXNET Shuttle project and covers post-fire data collection from 2010 to 2016.

Use Cases

• Model Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) dynamics from gap-filled time-series data to quantify forest carbon sink strength.
• Partition NEE into Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and Ecosystem Respiration (ER) components to analyze photosynthetic and respiratory drivers.
• Analyze post-fire carbon flux recovery (2010-2016) in a Mountain Ash forest using eddy covariance measurements.
• Study energy exchange (sensible and latent heat fluxes) between the forest canopy and atmospheric boundary-layer.
• Correlate flux data with local climate variables like temperature (4.7–22.5°C) and rainfall (~1209 mm annual) for a cool, temperate site.

Strengths

• Data processed with standardized FLUXNET methodologies (PyFluxPro and ONEFlux) ensuring comparability with a global network.
• Provides final, gap-filled product for key carbon flux variables (NEE, GPP, ER), reducing data missingness.
• Site located in a protected IUCN Category II area within an old-growth Mountain Ash stand, representing a unique tall forest ecosystem.

Limitations

• Data collection from 2010-2016 used reduced instrumentation compared to pre-2009 fire conditions, potentially limiting variable scope.
• Temporal coverage is limited to a 7-year post-fire period, lacking a long-term, continuous pre- and post-disturbance record.
• Geographic scope is a single tower site, limiting spatial generalizability for regional carbon budget estimates.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery, part of the FLUXNET Shuttle project.

Collection Method

Eddy covariance techniques from a flux tower, processed with PyFluxPro for quality control and ONEFlux for gap-filling and partitioning.

Time Range

2010 to 2016 (post-fire data collection period).

Freshness

Data last updated in April 2026, representing a recent processing release.

Geography

Kinglake National Park, Victoria, Australia (−37.429, 145.1873), at ~720 m elevation.