Canopy Chemistry Study at Harvard Forest 1992

As part of NASA's Accelerated Canopy Chemistry Program (ACCP) analyses were performed for the determination of carbon constituents and nitrogen content in fresh forest foliage. Samples were analyzed using a series of extraction's that yielded different carbon constituents: non-polar, polar, cellulose and lignin. Nitrogen analyses were conducted using a standard combustion procedure. Approximately 1000 leaf samples were collected from 5 geographically distinct sites and were analyzed at the University of New Hampshire to ensure consistency in analysis. Results were used as a calibration set for Visible/NIR reflectance and the estimation of carbon and nitrogen concentrations at both the leaf and canopy level. The canopy level study uses high spectral resolution data from NASA's Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) to estimate canopy level nitrogen and lignin concentration for the Harvard Forest and other study areas. The current link to this data from the Harvard Forest LTER site is to an archive at the University of New Hampshire. Additional information on this study, including, leaf level spectra and remote sensing data are available from a NASA DAAC site (http://www-eosdis.ornl.gov/daacpages/accp.html). Additional foliar chemistry data is also available on a searchable on-line database at http://www.folchem.sr.unh.edu.