%0 Journal Article
%T A 10-Year Dataset of Basic Meteorology and Soil Properties in Central Sudan
%A Jonas Ard£¿
%J Dataset Papers in Science
%D 2013
%R 10.7167/2013/297973
%X Meteorological data and soil data have been collected at a site in the central Sudan from 2002 to 2012. The site is a sparse savanna in the semiarid region of Sudan. In addition to basic meteorological variables, soil properties (temperature, water content, and heat flux) and radiation (global radiation, net radiation, and photosynthetic active radiation) were measured. The dataset has a temporal resolution of 30 minutes and provides general data for calibration and validation of ecosystem models and remote-sensing-based assessments, and it is relevant for studies of ecosystem properties and processes. 1. Introduction This paper presents and describes meteorological data and soil data collected at Demokeya in the province of Kordofan, central Sudan, during the period 2002¨C2012. The main purpose was to collect and provide general environmental data for studies related to ecosystem properties and ecosystem processes, remote sensing, biogeophysics, and the carbon cycle. Long-term series of data of this type of data are not commonly available for sites in Africa, and we hope that the data presented here will be useful and widely utilized. Fluxes of CO2, H2O, and energy have also been measured at the site from 2007 to 2009, using the eddy covariance technique (see hereinafter for the availability of these data). Ecosystem processes such as the assimilation and respiration of CO2 are significant when quantifying fluxes of carbon (C) between the atmosphere, the biosphere, and the pedosphere and account for major parts of the C budget. Assimilation and respiration are influenced by moisture, temperature, light, and nutrient availability. Their quantification can be based on direct measurements or using various upscaling methodologies such as global dynamic vegetation models [1] or remote-sensing-based models [2], including regional [3], continental, or global assessments [4]. In situ measurements can provide suitable data for the calibration of models and for validation of methods of estimating ecosystem properties and processes. Basic such data as air temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation provide a descriptive background for local and general studies in agriculture, forestry, and environmental science [5, 6]. Studies using subsets of data presented in this paper have been published previously [7¨C9], sometimes in combination with flux data [10¨C16]. The measurements presented in this paper were performed in cooperation between Lund University, Sweden, and Agricultural Research Corporation (ARC) in El Obeid, Sudan. The measurement site is called
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/dpis/2013/297973/