Daly Pasture Flux Data Collection

This dataset consists of measurements of the exchange of energy and mass between the surface and the atmospheric boundary-layer in tropical pasture using eddy covariance techniques. The site was identified as tropical pasture dominated by species Chamaecrista rotundifolia (Round-leaf cassia cv. Wynn), Digitaria milijiana (Jarra grass) and Aristida sp. standing at approximately 0.3m tall. The soil at the site was a mixture of red kandosol and deep sand. Elevation of the site was close to 70m and mean annual precipitation at a nearby Bureau of Meteorology site was 1250mm. Maximum temperatures ranged from 37.5°C (in October) to 31.2°C (in June), while minimum temperatures ranged from 12.6°C (in July) to 23.8°C (in January). Maximum temperatures varied on a seasonal basis between 6.3°C while minimum temperatures varied by 11.2°C. The instrument mast was 15 meters tall. Heat, water vapour and carbon dioxide measurements were taken using the open-path eddy flux technique. Temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, rainfall, incoming and reflected shortwave radiation and net radiation were measured. Ancillary measurements taken at the site included LAI, leaf-scale physiological properties (gas exchange, leaf isotope ratios, N and chlorophyll concentrations), vegetation optical properties and soil physical properties. Airborne based remote sensing (Lidar and hyperspectral measurements) was carried out across the transect in September 2008. The site was destroyed by fire in September 2013. This data is also available at http://data.ozflux.org.au .