Another 18 study sites, plus a worldwide data set, have been added to the global terrestrial Net Primary Production (NPP) reference database. The NPP database has been compiled by Dick Olson and Jonathan Scurlock under the auspices of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, with funding from the Terrestrial Ecology Program of NASA's Office of Earth Science.
Detailed biomass dynamics, climate, and site information are now available for 10 additional grassland sites, 6 tropical forest sites and two boreal forest sites. This brings the total to 31 grassland sites representing 10 ecoregions worldwide, and 9 forest sites representing three ecoregions; i.e. 40 separate study sites (many with multiple treatments) which can be ordered through the ORNL DAAC. In addition, the Osnabruck dataset, containing 720 NPP sites worldwide synthesized by Dr. G. Esser and Prof. H. Lieth is now available through the ORNL DAAC search-and-order system.
Further grassland and forest study sites, as well as additional worldwide data sets, are expected to be added during 1998.