NEON Prototype data: Vegetation structure and canopy chemistry, D17 SJER and SOAP sites, 2013

Plant samples were collected in June of 2013 at the D17 Soaproot Saddle and San Joaquin Experimental Range sites. Plots were established across the landscape according to dominant National Land Cover Database (2009) vegetation types, with plot number per type proportional to area. Within parcels of a given NLCD type, exact plot locations were selected to overlap with coincident NEON Airborne remote sensing observations, and to minimize edge effects with different adjacent vegetation types. The vegetation structure of woody species was characterized via measurements of dbh and canopy height in the field. Following collection in the field, plant samples from tree canopy foliage and ground-level herbaceous biomass were subsampled for analysis of nutrients (carbon and nitrogen content) and isotopes (d13C and d15N). Canopy foliage samples were also analyzed for leaf mass per area. The timing of data collection was coincident with a NEON remote-sensing flight, and plot locations and ground measurements were selected to test integration of NEON ground and remote-sensing data collection efforts across a range of plant community types.