Fletcherview FLUXNET Release 2026_r1

<p>This release consists of flux tower measurements of the exchange of energy and mass between the surface and the atmospheric boundary-layer using eddy covariance techniques. Data were processed using PyFluxPro as described by Isaac et al. (2017) for the quality control and post-processing steps. The final, gap-filled product containing Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) partitioned into Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and Ecosystem Respiration (ER) has been produced using the ONEFlux software as described in Pastorello et al. (2020). This data set has been produced as part of the FLUXNET Shuttle project.<br />The Fletcherview Tropical Rangeland flux station commenced continuous collection of data in January 2022. The flux tower is located at the Fletcherview Reseach Station, 90 km south-west of Townsville in the Burdekin Catchment in North Queensland and its managed by James Cook University.<br />The tower is located at the Fletcherview Research Station, a grazed savanna woodland of 1960 Ha located in the Burdekin Basin that typically stocks around 600 head of Brahman cattle. The station is located on a 2.5 km stretch of the Burdekin River, one of the largest river systems in Queensland. There are three ephemeral creek systems (Lolworth Creek, Pandanus Creek and Hann Creek) on Fletcherview Station. The flux station is located in an area where shallow gilgai micro-relief is a predominant surface feature with shallow depressions and mounds. The soils on the mounds are described as Dermosols and soils on the depressions are described as Vertosols.<br />Vegetation structural summary: Eucalyptus brownii low open woodland (11 m). A taller mid storey of younger Eucalyptus brownii, Eremophila mitchellii and Atalaya hemiglauca (6 m) and a denser lower mid storey dominated by <em>Carissa lanceolata</em> (0.6 m). A ground storey dominated by <em>Bothriochloa</em> sp., <em>Bothriochloa pertusa</em> and <em>Sporobolus australasicus</em> (0.2-0.6 m) with <em>Urochloa mosambicensis</em>, <em>Eriochloa crebra</em> and <em>Themeda triandra</em>.<br />The tower is located to the north of a 1 Ha plot established by TERN Surveillance in 2021 - Plot QDAEIU0008. The soil in this plot is a medium heavy clay and has a bulk density of 1.7 g/cm3. The common names of plant species found in this plot are Indian Bluegrass (<em>B. pertusa</em>), Australian Dropseed (<em>S. australasicus</em>), Sabi Grass (<em>U. mosambicensis</em>), Cup Grass (<em>E. crebra</em>), Kangaroo Grass (<em>T. triandra</em>), Feathertop Wiregrass (<em>tussock grasses</em>), there are a range of shrubs (Conkerberry (<em>C. lanceolata</em>, dominant cover type), Cattle Bush (<em>A. hemiglauca</em>), Bastard Sandalwood (<em>E. mitchellii</em>)) and the single tree species is Brown&rsquo;s box gum (<em>E. brownii</em>).<br />The climate of the area is seasonal with 66% of the annual rainfall (MAP around 830 mm) occurring in the wet season months of January to April.</p>