Ti Tree East FLUXNET Release 2026_r1 

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. The Ti Tree East flux station is located on Pine Hill cattle station in the Northern Territory (GPS coordinates: -22.2870, 133.6400).
The site is a mosaic of the primary semi-arid biomes of central Australia: grassy mulga woodland and Corymbia/Triodia savanna.
The woodland is characterised by a mulga (Acacia aneura) canopy, which is 4.85 m tall on average.
Elevation of the site is 553 m above sea level, and the terrain is flat.
Mean annual precipitation at the nearby (30 km to the south) 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 soil is red sand overlying an 8 m deep water table.
Pine Hill Station is a functioning cattle station that has been in operation for longer than 50 years. However, the east side has not been stocked in over three years.
The instrument mast is 10 m tall. Fluxes of heat, water vapour and carbon are measured using the open-path eddy covariance technique at 9.81 m.
Supplementary measurements above the canopy include temperature and humidity (9.81 m), windspeed and wind direction (8.28 m), downwelling and upwelling shortwave and longwave radiation (9.9 m).
Precipitation is monitored in the savanna (2.5m). Supplementary measurements within and below the canopy include barometric pressure (2 m).
Belowground soil measurements are made beneath Triodia, mulga and grassy understorey 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). 

We at TERN acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians throughout Australia, New Zealand and all nations. We honour their profound connections to land, water, biodiversity and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. 

The purpose of the Ti Tree East flux station is to:

• Measure the exchange of carbon dioxide, water vapour and energy between a semi-arid mulga (Acacia sp.) ecosystem and the atmosphere.
• Compare water use efficiency, GPP and ecosystem respiration between adjacent semi-arid ecosystems.
• Compare hydrological and ecophysiological responses to rainfall variability and heat stress between adjacent semi-arid ecosystems.
• Utilise the observations for parameterising and validating remote sensing data and land-surface models over semi-arid ecosystems.

 

Data collected using standard eddy covariance and meteorological instrumentation on a 10m tower at the Ti Tree East site. The data were quality controlled using the PyFluxPro software package, see Isaac et al. (2017), which is available at https://github.com/OzFlux/PyFluxPro. Gap filling and partitioning has been done using the ONEFlux software package, see Pastorello et al. 2020, which is available at https://github.com/fluxnet/ONEFlux.