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 (v3.4.18) as described by Isaac et al. (2017). PyFluxPro produces a final, gap-filled product with Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) partitioned into Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) and Ecosystem Respiration (ER).
Alice Springs Mulga flux station is located on Pine Hill cattle station, near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The woodland is characterized by the Acacia aneura canopy, which is 6.5 m tall on average. Elevation of the site is 606 m above sea level, and the terrain is flat. Mean annual precipitation at the nearby (45 km distant) Bureau of Meteorology station is 305.9 mm but ranges between 100 mm in 2009 to 750 mm in 2010. Predominant wind directions are from the southeast and east. The extent of the woodland is 11 km to the east of the flux station and 16 km to the south. The soil is red sandy clay (50:50 sand:clay) overlying a 49 m deep water table. Pine Hill Station is a functioning cattle station that has been in operation for longer than 50 years. The instrument mast is 13.7 m tall. Fluxes of heat, water vapour and carbon are measured using the open-path eddy covariance technique at 11.6 m. Supplementary measurements above the canopy include temperature and humidity (11.6 m), windspeed and wind direction (9.25 m), downwelling and upwelling shortwave and longwave radiation (12.2 m). Precipitation is monitored in a canopy gap (2.5 m). Supplementary measurements within and below the canopy include barometric pressure (1 m), wind speed (2 m, 4.25 m and 6.5 m), and temperature and humidity (2 m, 4.25 m and 6 m). Below ground soil measurements are made in bare soil, mulga, and understory habitats and include ground heat flux (0.08 m), soil temperature (0.02 m – 0.06 m) and soil moisture (0 – 0.1 m, 0.1 – 0.3 m, 0.6 – 0.8 m and 1.0 – 1.2 m). Ancillary measurements include soil water and carbon fluxes, leaf water potential, leaf gas exchange, stem basal area, stem growth, litter production, leaf area index, stem hydraulic conductance, and carbon and water stable isotope ratios.
