Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) measurements, relative humidity, and temperature data logged every five minutes from Betula nana and Salix pulchra shrub canopies, summer of 2012 in vicinity of Toolik Lake, Alaska.

Abstract: 

This file contains PAR , relative humidity, and temperature data logged every five minutes from within, below, and above Betula nana and Salix pulchra shrub canopies at two locations near Toolik Lake, Alaska during the summer of 2012. The location of the PAR sensor and dataloggers were co-located with the LTER shrub plots (block 1 and 2), also used for the chamber flux and point frame measurements taken this same year. There were two logging sites (block 1 and 2), each of which had five PAR sensors, two for each shrub canopy and one above, as well as three sensors to log relative humidity and temperature. Additional data about the daily instrument output from these sites can be found in the file "ShrubCanopy_DailyLogger".

Project Keywords: 

Data set ID: 

10141

EML revision ID: 

7
Published on EDI/LTER Data Portal

Citation: 

Shaver, G. 2012. Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) measurements, relative humidity, and temperature data logged every five minutes from Betula nana and Salix pulchra shrub canopies, summer of 2012 in vicinity of Toolik Lake, Alaska. Environmental Data Initiative. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/c87015fc3a8f7266cd47968a5a6db76a
People

Owner/Creator: 

Contact: 

Additional People: 

Data Manager
Field Crew
Associated Researcher
Associated Researcher
Dates

Date Range: 

Monday, June 25, 2012 to Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Publication Date: 

2012

Methods: 

Automated Data Logging
In order to monitor canopy conditions of the shrub species of interest--Betula nana and Salix pulchra--two CR1000 dataloggers (Campbell Scientific, 815 W. 1800, North Logan, UT, USA) were installed at the sites used for the ITEX shrub canopy studies at Toolik Field Station in Alaska the summer of 2012. The sites (see "Group" category) are labeled as "Upland" and "Outlet"--descriptions of the sample site in relation to Toolik Lake. The Upland site is colocated with Block 1 of the LTER shrub vegetation plots; the Outlet site is colocated with Block 2. The dataloggers were adjacent to, rather than within, LTER plots.

Both the Upland and Outlet datalogger had the following sensors which logged every five minutes:
(5) Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) sensors: LI-190SB Quantum Sensor (Li-Cor Biosciences, 4647 Superior St, Lincoln, NE, USA)
* Sensors were placed as follows: (1) Above all vegetation at a height of 2.2 meters
(1) Mid-way within the B. nana canopies (approximately 40 cm above the soil)
(1) Mid-way within the S. pulchra canopies (approximately 40 cm above the soil)
(1) Below the B. nana canopies (approximately 10 cm above the soil)
(1) Below the S. pulchra canopies (approximately 10 cm above the soil)

(3) Relative humidity (RH) and temperature sensors: HMP50/HMP60 Probe (Campbell Scientific, North Logan, UT, USA)
* Sensors each had either a 6- or 10-plate radiation shield (Campbell Scientific model 41303-5A or 41003-5)
* Sensors were placed as follows: (1) Above all vegetation at a height of 2 meters
(1) Below the B. nana canopies (approximately 10 cm above the soil)
(1) Below the S. pulchra canopies (approximately 10 cm above the soil)

Additionally, the maximum and minimum recorded values as well as the total daily photon flux were recorded each day. These data are available in the file "ShrubCanopy_DailyLogger".

SunScan LAI and PAR Measurements:
As with other measurments collected the summer 2012 for the ITEX project at Toolik Field Station, a Delta-T SunScan wand (Delta-T Devices Ltd, Burwell Cambridge, UK) was use to characterize the shrub canopies with the dataloggers. These data are included in the datasets: "SunScan_LAI" and "SunScan_PAR". The methods used for each are described below.

The methods used to collect PAR at many heights within each canopy were the same used to collect LAI, with the difference being the setting on the SunScan wand. The measurements were taken near the end of the growing season when leaves were already beginning to senesce. Additionally, while these measurements are traditionally made in conjunction with a Beam Fraction sensor (BF3), this sensor was malfunctioning when the datalogger sites were sampled , and thus it was not used. Instead of the BF3 sensor, wand measurements above the canopy were made immediately prior to each data measurement to record the ambiant total irradiance levels.

Readings were taken by inserting the SunScan wand near to the ground as possible--typically starting at 5 centimeters from the ground (the wand rested atop the moss layer)--and then repeated every 15 cm with the last measurement being above the canopy. Measurements were taken with the field technician opposite the direction of the sun at five locations within the canopy at each height. Five replicates were taken at each height in the canopy immediately surrounding the datalogger sensors; this differs from the ITEX samples which had three replicate scans at each height.

The weather conditions during these measurements were almost uniform cloud cover; thus nearly all of the measurements were taken under "diffuse" light conditions (diffuse light fraction greater than 0.7). The measurements taken with "direct" light conditions were taken on partly cloudy days.

The SunScan wand measures PAR along 64 points along a 1-m horizontal profile. When sampling PAR within the shrub canopy, the data are from the raw output from each PAR sensor. When sampling LAI, there is an internal calculation performed though the Delta-T software that compares the reading above the canopy to the reading within the canopy, and takes into account the percent of absorbed PAR (assumed to be 0.85), and the ellipsoidal leaf angle distribution parameter (ELADP*) (assumed to be 1.0).

In addition to the LAI values, the Delta-T SunScan instrument gives an output of other variables including: transmitted light, spread among sensors, beam fraction, and zenith angle. These values are further described here:

Transmitted Light: the fraction of incident light that passes through a given canopy. It can refer to Direct, Diffuse, or Total incident light.

Spread: the standard deviation of the 64-PAR sensors on the SunScan wand.

Beam Fraction: the fraction of the Total incident PAR in the Direct beam.

Zenith Angle: the angle between the centre of the sun and the point directly overhead.
Zenith angles are calculated from latitude, longitude, and local time using standard astronomical equations as given in Practical Astronomy. The location used to determine the local zenith angle was: 68° 37' 39" N, Longitude 149° 35' 51" W.

*"ELADP is a way of characterizing the horizontal or vertical tendency of leaves in a canopy." p 37 of SS1 User Manual v2.0 (SunScan Canopy Analysis System, type SS1. Delta-T Devices Ltd. May 19, 2008)

For Delta-T SunScan wand used to measure PAR and LAI:
SS1 User Manual v2.0. Delta-T Devices Ltd., May 19, 2008.

Version Changes: 

This was a season-long project, though it followed similar methods to ITEX projects performed starting in 2003 that are likely to be replicated in the future for reasearch at the Toolik Field Station, AK.
Version 2: Missing values changed to #N/A. CH 28Jan2013
Version 3: Metadata updated to newer form (with sites sheet). CH April 2013.
Version 4: corrected eml for .xlsx JimL
Version 5: Removed thousand separator in number. JimL 17May13
Version 6: Corrected Distrubution URL. It had xlsfiles in the path. Jim L 19Jun14
Version 7: Changed Distrubution URL since the LTER network DAS system is being discontinued. JimL 9Apr2015

Sites sampled.

Full Metadata and data files (either comma delimited (csv) or Excel) - Environmental Data Initiative repository.

Use of the data requires acceptance of the data use policy --> Arctic LTER Data Use Policy