The ORNL DAAC announces the release of eight data sets from three science themes. These science research themes are components of the LBA-ECO Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA).
- LBA-ECO CD-06 Flux of CO2 from Amazon Mainstem Rivers, Tributaries, and Floodplains . Data set prepared by J.E. Richey, J.M. Melack, A.K. Aufdenkampe, M.V.R. Ballester and L.L. Hess. This data set provides estimates of monthly carbon dioxide (CO2) flux from the Amazon mainstem rivers, tributary stream networks, and their associated varzeas (floodplains). Mean monthly discharge data for 11 mainstem rivers are also included.
- ND-01 Reflectance and Biophysical Measures, Grass Pastures: Rondonia, Brazi . Data set prepared by I. Numata, D.A. Roberts, O.A. Chadwick, J.P. Schimel, L.S. Galvao and J.V. Soares. This data set provides the results of spectral reflectance (350 to 2,500 nm at 1-nm increments) and biophysical measurements on grass pastures in eight cattle ranches in the state of Rondonia, located in the southwestern Brazilian Amazon. Field measurements were collected in July and August 2003 on private lands in Rondonia.
- LBA-ECO ND-02 Landsat Imagery, Para, Brazil: 1984, 1994, and 1999 . Data set prepared by I.C.G. Vieira, A.S. de Almeida, E.A. Davidson, T.A. Stone, C.J.R. de Carvalho, and J.B. Guerrero. This data set provides Landsat images of the county of Sao Francisco do Para located in the Bragantina region of Para, Brazil, the oldest agriculture frontier in Amazonia. These images are subsets for the municipio (county) and immediate region.
- LBA-ECO ND-08 Biomass, Nutrients, and Decomposition in Eucalyptus and Primary Forests. Data set prepared by K. McNabb, M. Menezes, R. Keila de Paixao and E. Savaris. This data set reports concentrations of nutrients in roots, litterfall, leaves, and twigs, biomass of fine roots and litterfall, and the decomposition of leaves and twigs in samples that were collected on the property of Jari Celulose, Monte Dourado, Para, Brazil, from 1999-2001.
- LBA-ECO LC-08 Soil, Vegetation, and Land Cover Maps for Brazil and South America . Data set prepared by N. Bliss.This data set provides (1) soil maps for Brazil that are digital versions of the MAPA DE SOLOS DO BRASIL (EMBRAPA, 1981) classified at three levels of detail, 19-class, 70-class and 249-class; (2) vegetation maps for Brazil that are digital versions of the MAPA DE VEGETACAO DO BRASIL (IBGE, 1988) classified at three levels of detail, 13-class, 59-class, and an overprint (combination) class; and (3) a land cover map for all of South America that was derived from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data over the time period 1987 through 1991.
- LBA-ECO LC-14 Modeled Soil and Plant Water Balance, Amazon Basin, 1995-2001 Data set prepared by D.C. Nepstad, P.A. Lefebvre, U.L. Silva Jr., J. Tomasella, P. Schlesinger, L. Solorzano, P.R. Moutinho, and D. Ray. This data set provides model output estimates of maximum plant-available soil water (PAWmax) at 10 m depth and model data inputs of monthly precipitation and evapotranspiration both at 8-km resolution. A simple GIS soil-water balance model for the Amazon Basin, called RisQue (Risco de Queimadasa -- Fire Risk), was used to conduct the analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of drought in moist tropical forests and the complex relationships between patterns of drought and forest fire regimes from 1995 through 2001.
- LBA-ECO LC-14 Modeled Deforestation Scenarios, Amazon Basin: 2002-2050. Data set prepared by B.S. Soares-Filho , D.C. Nepstad, L.M. Curran, E. Voll, G.C. Cerqueira, R.A. Garcia, C.A. Ramos, A. McDonald, P. Lefebvre, and P. Schlesinger. This data set provides the results of two scenarios for future patterns of deforestation across the Amazon Basin from 2002 to 2050. The model SimAmazonia was used to simulate: (1) a "Business-as-Usual" scenario, which considered the deforestation trends across the basin and projected the rates by using historical images and their variations from 1997 to 2002 and the effect of paving a set of major roads, and (2) a "Governance" scenario, that also considered the current deforestation trends, but assumed a 50% limit imposed for deforested land within each basin's subregion and considered the role that proposed Protected Areas (PAs) would have in limiting deforestation.
- LBA-ECO LC-21 Brazilian Amazon Fractional Land Cover Images: 1999-2002 . Data set prepared by G.P. Asner, D.E. Knapp, E.N. Broadbent, P.J.C. Oliveira, M.M. Keller, and J.N.M. Silva. This data set provides Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) imagery, derived classified land cover products, and cloud-water masks for selected Brazilian states (Acre, Amapa, Amazonas, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Para, Rondonia, and Roraima) for the years 1999-2002.
LBA was an international research initiative under the leadership of Brazil. The project focused on the climatological, ecological, biogeochemical, and hydrological functions of Amazonia; the impact of land use change on these functions; and the interactions between Amazonia and the Earth system. The LBA-ECO component, which was funded by NASA, focused on the question: "How do tropical forest conversion, regrowth, and selective logging influence carbon storage, nutrient dynamics, trace gas fluxes, and the prospect for sustainable land use in Amazonia? "
The ORNL DAAC is a NASA-funded data center archiving and distributing terrestrial ecology and biogeochemical dynamics data.