Knowledge of the optical properties of the components of the forest canopy is important to the understanding of how plants interact with their environment and how this information may be used to determine vegetation characteristics using remote sensing. During the summers of 1983 and 1984, samples of the major components of the boreal forest canopy (needles, leaves, branches, moss, litter) were collected in the Superior National Forest (SNF) of Minnesota and sent to the Johnson Space Center (JSC). At JSC, the spectral reflectance and transmittance characteristics of the samples were determined for wavelengths between .35 and 2.1 micrometers using the Cary-14 radiometer. This report presents plots of these data as well as averages to the Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS) bands. There were two main thrusts to the SNF optical properties study. The first was to collect the optical properties of many of the components of the boreal forest canopy. The second goal of the study was to investigate the variability of optical properties within a species. The results of these studies allow a comparison of the optical properties of a variety of different species and a measure of the variability within species. These data provide basic information necessary to model canopy reflectance patterns. [ This document was provided by NASA's Global Change Master Directory. For more information on the source of this metadata please visit http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/geoss/[GCMD]SNF_LEAFCARY ]

Knowledge of the optical properties of the components of the forest canopy is important to the understanding of how plants interact with their environment and how this information may be used to determine vegetation characteristics using remote sensing. During the summers of 1983 and 1984, samples of the major components of the boreal forest canopy (needles, leaves, branches, moss, litter) were collected in the Superior National Forest (SNF) of Minnesota and sent to the Johnson Space Center (JSC). At JSC, the spectral reflectance and transmittance characteristics of the samples were determined for wavelengths between .35 and 2.1 micrometers using the Cary-14 radiometer. This report presents plots of these data as well as averages to the Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS) bands. There were two main thrusts to the SNF optical properties study. The first was to collect the optical properties of many of the components of the boreal forest canopy. The second goal of the study was to investigate the variability of optical properties within a species. The results of these studies allow a comparison of the optical properties of a variety of different species and a measure of the variability within species. These data provide basic information necessary to model canopy reflectance patterns. [ This document was provided by NASA's Global Change Master Directory. For more information on the source of this metadata please visit http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/geoss/[GCMD]SNF_LEAF_TMS ]

Approximately 1000 published estimates of leaf area index (LAI) from nearly 400 unique field sites, covering the period 1932-2000, have been compiled into a single data set. LAI is a key parameter for global and regional models of biosphere/atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide, water vapor, etc. This data set provides a benchmark of typical values and ranges of LAI for a variety of biomes and land cover types, in support of model development and validation of satellite-derived remote sensing estimates of LAI and other vegetation parameters. The LAI data are linked to a bibliography of over 300 original-source references. These historical LAI data are mostly from natural and semi-natural (managed) ecosystems, although some agricultural estimates are also included. Caution is advised in using these data; they were collected using a wide range of methodologies and assumptions and may not be comparable among sites. Some attempts have been made to detect and flag the outliers in this data set, according to different biome/land cover classes. Needleleaf (coniferous) forests are by far the most commonly measured biome/land cover types in this compilation, with 22% of the measurements from temperate evergreen needleleaf forests, and boreal evergreen needleleaf forests and crops the next most common (about 9% each). About 40% of the records in the data set were published in the past 10 years (1991-2000), with a further 20% collected between 1981 and 1990. Mean LAI (+/- standard deviation), distributed between 15 biome/land cover classes, ranged from 1.31 +/- 0.85 for deserts to 8.72 +/- 4.32 for tree plantations, with evergreen forests (needleleaf and broadleaf) displaying the highest LAI among the natural vegetation classes. Further information on this data set is available from the link below: Leaf Area Index Data Citation: Cite this data set as follows: Scurlock, J. M. O., G. P. Asner, and S. T. Gower. 2001. Global Leaf Area Index from Field Measurements, 1932-2000. Available on-line [http://www.daac.ornl.gov] from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A. [ This document was provided by NASA's Global Change Master Directory. For more information on the source of this metadata please visit http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/geoss/[GCMD]HISTORICAL_LAI ]

Height, crown width, DBH, and height-to-crown distance collected using variable-radius plot sampling with a steel tape and a hand held compass to locate points along a transect. [ This document was provided by NASA's Global Change Master Directory. For more information on the source of this metadata please visit http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/geoss/[GCMD]OTTER_TIMBER ]

The purpose of the SNF study was to improve our understanding of the relationship between remotely sensed observations and important biophysical parameters in the boreal forest. A key element of the experiment was the development of methodologies to measure forest stand characteristics to determine values of importance to both remote sensing and ecology. Parameters studied were biomass, leaf area index, above ground net primary productivity, bark area index and ground coverage by vegetation. Thirty two quaking aspen and thirty one black spruce sites were studied. Sites were chosen in uniform stands of aspen or spruce. The dominant species in the site constituted over 80 percent, and usually over 95 percent, of the total tree density and basal area. Aspen stands were chosen to represent the full range of age and stem density of essentially pure aspen, of nearly complete canopy closure, and greater than two meters in height. Spruce stands ranged from very sparse stands on bog sites, to dense, closed stands on more productive peatlands. Use of multiple plots within each site allowed estimation of the importance of spatial variation in stand parameters. Within each plot, all woody stems greater than two meters in height were recorded by species and the following dimensions were measured: diameter breast height, height of the tree, height of the first live branch, and depth of crown. For each plot, a two meter diameter subplot was defined at the center of each plot. Within this subplot, the percent of ground coverage by plants under one meter in height was determined by species. These data, averaged for the five plots in each site, are presented in the SNF Forest Understory Cover Data (Table) data set in tabular format, e.g. plant species with a count for that species at each site. The same data are presented in this data set (i.e., SNF Forest Understory Cover Data) but are arranged with a row for each species and site and a percent ground coverage for each combination. [ This document was provided by NASA's Global Change Master Directory. For more information on the source of this metadata please visit http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/geoss/[GCMD]SNF_UND_CVR ]

The Global Monthly River Discharge Data Set contains monthly averaged discharge measurements for 1018 stations located throughout the world. The period of record varies widely from station to station with a mean of 21.5 years. The data are derived from the published UNESCO archives for river discharge, and checked against information obtained from the Global Runoff Center in Koblenz, Germany through the U.S. National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. Citation: Vorosmarty, C.J., B.M. Fekete, and B.A. Tucker. 1998. Global River Disc harge Database (RivDis) V. 1.1. Available online [http://www.daac.ornl.gov] and on CD-ROM from the ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA. [ This document was provided by NASA's Global Change Master Directory. For more information on the source of this metadata please visit http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/geoss/[GCMD]RIVDIS ]

Net primary production of a saline grassland was determined at the Montecillo study site belonging to Colegio de Postgraduados, Chapingo, near Mexico City, from 1984 to 1994. Monthly dynamics of live biomass and dead matter were monitored, above and below ground, together with monthly litter bag estimates of decomposition rates above and below ground. The method for calculating net primary production accounted for simultaneous growth and death, and carbon flows to all trophic levels. Work was carried out under the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) Project on "Primary productivity of grass ecosystems of the tropics" and continued under subsequent UNEP and UK-ODA (Overseas Development Administration) sponsored international projects. Climate data for this site are also available: see Any Other Relevant Information in section 11 of this document. More information on the entire Net Primary Production Project can be found at the NPP homepage. [ This document was provided by NASA's Global Change Master Directory. For more information on the source of this metadata please visit http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/geoss/[GCMD]NPP_MNT ]

ABSTRACT: Productivity of an ephemeral desert grassland was determined at the Badkhyz Nature Reserve Station in southern Turkmenistan, between 1948 and 1982. Monthly dynamics of above-ground plant biomass were made during the growing season (January-May) from 1948 to 1963, and the record of peak live biomass continues until 1982, with a gap from 1973 to 1976. These data are part of a series of grassland data sets recently assembled and checked by Dr. Tagir Gilmanov, which cover a wide range of climate and "continentality" (increasing maximum summer temperatures, decreasing precipitation) from the North-West to the South-East of the Commonwealth of Independent States (former USSR). Climate data for this site are also available: see Any Other Relevant Information in section 11 of this document. More information on the entire Net Primary Production Project can be found at the NPP homepage. [ This document was provided by NASA's Global Change Master Directory. For more information on the source of this metadata please visit http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/geoss/[GCMD]NPP_BDK ]

The purpose of the SNF study was to improve understanding of the relationship between remotely sensed observations and important biophysical parameters in the boreal forest. A key element of the experiment was the development of methodologies to measure forest stand characteristics to determine values of importance to both remote sensing and ecology. Parameters studied were biomass, leaf area index, above-ground net primary productivity, bark area index and ground coverage by vegetation. Thirty two quaking aspen and thirty one black spruce sites were studied. Sites were chosen in uniform stands of aspen or spruce. Use of multiple plots within each site allowed estimation of the importance of spatial variation in stand parameters. Deciduous vegetation undergoes dramatic changes over the seasonal cycle. The varying amount of green foliage in the canopy effects the transpiration and productivity of the forest. Measurements of changes in the canopy and subcanopy green foliage amount over the spring of 1984 have been made. From above the subcanopy, photographs of the aspen canopy were taken, pointing vertically up. The photographs were taken at two locations in sites 16 and 93 on several different days. Foliage coverage was determined by overlaying grids with 200 points onto the photos of the canopy. The number of points obscured by vegetation were counted. These counts were adjusted for the area of the branches, which had been determined by photos taken before leaf out. The number of foliage points were then scaled between zero, for no leaves, to one, for maximum coverage. Subcanopy leaf extension was measured for beaked hazelnut and mountain maple, the two most common understory shrubs. For selected branches on trees in sites 16 and 93, the length and width of all leaves were measured on several days. These measurements were used to calculate a total leaf area which was scaled between 0 and 1 as with the aspen. The aspen canopy measurements have been combined with the subcanopy measurements and are available in this data set (i.e., SNF Forest Phenology/Leaf Expansion Data). These measurements of leafout show that the subcanopy leaf expansion lags behind that of the canopy. Subcanopy leaf expansion only begins in earnest after the canopy has reached nearly full coverage. [ This document was provided by NASA's Global Change Master Directory. For more information on the source of this metadata please visit http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/geoss/[GCMD]SNF_LEAF_EXP ]

These streamflow data were collected by the HYD-09 science team to support its research into meltwater supply to the soil during the spring melt period. These data were also collected for HYD-09's research into the evolution of soil moisture, evaporation, and runoff from the end of the snowmelt period through freeze up. Data were collected in the BOREAS SSA and NSA from April until October in 1994, 1995, and 1996. Gauges SW1 and NW1 were operated year-round; however, data may not be available for both gauges for all 3 years. [ This document was provided by NASA's Global Change Master Directory. For more information on the source of this metadata please visit http://gcmd.nasa.gov/r/geoss/[GCMD]BOREAS_H09STMGD ]