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Site Information

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Site ID: US-Ton
Sheet: SiteGeneralInfo


2 more TEAM entries: view reps ->
Site tower team member name (First Last/Family).: Dennis Baldocchi
Site tower team member role: PI (LIST(TEAM_ROLE))
Site tower team member email: baldocchi@berkeley.edu
Site tower team member institution (required for PI only): UC Berkeley
Site tower team member address (not required): Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management 130 Mulford Hall Berkeley, CA 94720-3114 USA
Site tower shipping address: Joseph Verfaillie 54 Mulford Hall Berkeley, CA 94720-3114 USA
Network affiliation(s) of the site.: AmeriFlux (LIST(NETWORK))
Method used to measure the flux variables: (LIST(FLUX_METHOD))
Flux variable measured: (LIST(FLUX_VARIABLE))
Date when data collection for the reported flux variable/method started.: (YYYYMMDDHHMM)
Date when data collection for the reported flux variable/method ended: (YYYYMMDDHHMM)
Operational status of flux measurements.: (LIST(FLUX_OPERATIONS))
Flux measurements comments:
State or province: CA (LIST(STATE_PROVINCE))
Short description of the site characteristics and history: Located in the lower foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Tonzi Ranch site is classified as an oak savanna woodland on privately owned land. Managed by local rancher, Russell Tonzi, brush has been periodically removed for cattle grazing. The overstory is dominated by blue oak trees (40% of total vegetation) with intermittent grey pine trees (3 trees/ha). Understory species include a variety of grasses and herbs, including purple false brome, smooth cat's ear, and rose clover. These two distinctive layers operate in and out from one another. Growing season of the understory is confined to the wet season only, typically from October to early May. In contrast, the deciduous blue oak trees are dormant during the rainy winter months and reach maximum LAI in April. The blue oak ecosystem rings the Great Central Valley of California, inhabiting the lower reaches of the Sierra Nevada foothills.
Site research topics: The research approach of the University of California, Berkeley Biometeorology Laboratory involves the coordinated use of experimental measurements and theoretical models to understand the physical, biological, and chemical processes that control trace gas fluxes between the biosphere and atmosphere and to quantify their temporal and spatial variations. The research objectives of the Tonzi Ranch site include the following: 1) Comparing radiative, convective and latent energy flux densities of an oak savanna and nearby annual grassland over the course of two growing seasons; 2) Quantifying the roles of soil water content and soil physical properties on evaporation rates and canopy conductance; 3) Quantifying the effects of canopy structure and phenology on the partitioning of energy exchange associated with understory and overstory vegetation. Three-fold study assessments include: 1) The relative contributions of vegetation and the soil on CO2 and water vapor exchange; 2) Spatial variability of understory fluxes; 3) The impact of sloping terrain on the interpretation of flux covariances.
Site funding agencies/institutions (one column only): DOE/TCP
Latitude of the site.: 38.43092516 (decimal deg ref WGS84)
Longitude of the site: -120.96597326 (decimal deg ref WGS84)
Elevation of the site above sea level: 177 (m)
Begin date of the location information: (YYYYMMDDHHMM)
Location information comments:
Vegetation type based on the IGBP definition.: WSA (LIST(IGBP))
Date when this vegetation type first applied: (YYYYMMDDHHMM)
Vegetation type comments:
Land ownership type: private (LIST(LAND_OWNERSHIP))
Land owner: Mr, Tonzi
1 more URL entries: view reps ->
Tower web site URL (maintained by tower team): http://nature.berkeley.edu/biometlab/index.php?tab=Sites (URL)
25 more REFERENCE entries: view reps ->
Papers relevant for understanding the site: Baldocchi, D., Q. Chen, X. Chen, S. Ma, G. Miller, Y. Ryu, J. Xiao, R. Wenk, and J. Battles (2010), The Dynamics of Energy, Water and Carbon Fluxes in a Blue Oak (Quercus douglasii) Savanna in California, USA, in Ecosystem Function in Global Savannas: Measurement and Modeling at Landscape to Global Scales, edited by M. J. H. a. N. P. Hanan, CRC/Taylor and Francis.
DOI of the reference:
Suggested use of the reference: (LIST(REFERENCE_USAGE))
Brief description of paper relevance or other comments:
Acknowledgement text (88 character limit): This research was supported by the US Department of Energy Terrestrial Carbon Program, grant No. DE-FG03-00ER63013 and DE-SC0005130
Additional information about the acknowledgement: multi-site synthesis or exclusive use of data
Offset from UTC of site data: -8 (hours)
Begin date of the UTC offset: (YYYYMMDDHHMM)
Offset from UTC comments:
Climatological long-term mean annual average air temperature: (degrees C)
Climatological long-term mean annual average precipitation: (mm)
K�ppen climate classification: (LIST(CLIMATE_KOEPPEN))
Slope and/or relief of the site: (LIST(TERRAIN))
Direction the site is facing (Exposure): (LIST(ASPECT))
Prevailing wind direction: (LIST(DIR))
Distance for which the ecosystem is homogeneous in the prevailing wind direction.: (m)
Days per year that the site is covered by snow: (days)
Recent and historic disturbance and management events that affect the tower site years of measurement: (LIST(DIST_MGMT))
Type of physical tower structure used in the site: (LIST(TOWER_TYPE))
How the eddy covariance system is powered: (LIST(TOWER_POWER))
 
 

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