Introduction | Contacts | Purpose | Site Description | Measurements | DEM | Pictures

Site Description

The Daly River Pasture flux station was located 62km south west of Pine Creek, Northern Territory (GPS coordinates: -14.0633, 131.3181).

The flux tower site was identified as tropical pasture, and the vegetation was 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 is 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.