This data set contains four ASCII data files (.txt format), one providing net primary production (NPP) component data and three providing climate data. The NPP studies were conducted in a lowland tropical rainforest in the Pasoh Forest Reserve, Malaysia (2.98 N 102.31 E) from 1971 through 1973. Precipitation and temperature data are available from weather stations located about 25 km from the study sites.

This data set contains two ASCII files (.txt format), one providing net primary production (NPP) component data for a lower montane rainforest and the other providing climate data. The NPP studies were conducted at Marafunga (6.00 S 145.18 E) in the highlands of Papua New Guinea to the east of Mount Kerigomna, about 25 km west of the town of Goroka. LAI, litterfall, litter standing crop and decomposition, and nutrient content of different vegetation components were measured from November 1970 through December 1971 at four representative forest stands: Ridge Top; Ridge Gap; Valley; and Slope. Forest inventories and field measurements of above- and below-ground biomass were made by destructive harvest at a fifth stand (Ridge Top) during October-December 1970 and April-August 1971. The results of these studies are given for the forest at large. The only component of NPP determined at Marafunga was litterfall (755 g/m2/year).The climate data in this data set are available from a weather station at the Marafunga sawmill, about 2.5 km from the Marafunga study sites, and from a weather station in a clearing in the primary forest. A rainfall record for the period 1969-1971 was made daily at the sawmill. Records of maximum and minimum temperatures were made every two weeks for the period December 1970-August 1971 at litter level at the four nondestructive study sites.

This data set contains three ASCII data files (.txt format), one for net primary production (NPP) component data and two for climate data. The NPP studies were conducted in a tropical montane forest in the Sierra de Merida at San Eusebio (8.62 N 71.35 W) in northwestern Venezuela. The forest is mostly primary in character, with some selective logging having taken place in the past. Biomass, litterfall, and nutrient content of above- and below-ground vegetation and soil were determined in 1973-1974.Standing stocks of biomass and nutrients are reported as the mean of 13 plots with contrasting soil types, slope, and relief. Litterfall is reported as the mean determined for 3 of these plots, measured bi-weekly over the course of one year. Root turnover was estimated by correlation with leaf litter turnover (13%), and woody turnover was estimated by assuming the system to be in steady-state. A minimum estimate of total NPP (1,497 g/m2/year) may be obtained by summing total litterfall (697 g/m2/year), woody turnover (480 g/m2/year), and fine root turnover (320 g/m2/year). The forest contains high mineral stores, accumulated especially in the woody compartment. N and P values are very high in the soil compartment.Long-term climate data are available for Merida (8.60 N 71.18 W), about 30 km southeast of the study site. Mean annual temperature is 18.9 C and mean annual precipitation is 1,752 mm, giving a humid/sub-humid climate. Short-term weather observation recorded at the study site are also provided in the data set.

This data set includes five ASCII files (.txt format). Three files contain above- and below-ground biomass and net primary productivity (NPP) data, one file for each tropical forest study site near San Carlos de Rio Negro, Venezuela. The study sites are located along an ecosystem gradient from riverine to lateritic hill: Tall Amazon Caatinga forest on coarse sandy spodosols close to river level; Bana vegetation on sandy soils less prone to flooding; and Tierra Firme mixed forest on clay oxisols of higher ground. Bioelement concentrations are also provided. The other two files contain climate data from a weather station in San Carlos village.ANPP for the Tierra Firme forest is estimated at 1,590 g/m2/year, including woody biomass increment of 600 g/m2/year, and BNPP values in the range of 201-1,117 g/m2/year, suggesting a minimum estimate of TNPP of 1,800-2,700 g/m2/year. ANPP of a nearby cut-and-burned oxisol plot attained 1,940 g/m2 in the fifth year following clearing. ANPP of Tall Amazon Caatinga is estimated at 1,150 g/m2/year, with root turnover of 120 g/m2/year, giving a minimum estimate of TNPP of 1,270 g/m2/year. TNPP estimate for Bana vegetation, based on annual litterfall accumulation plus root production, is 478 g/m2/year.

This data set contains seven ASCII data files (.txt format). Four files provide NPP data for contrasting lowland rainforests within Gunung Mulu National Park on the island of Borneo, Malaysia. Three files provide climate data from weather stations near Gunung Mulu.The study areas are located along an environmental gradient of varying soil types at elevations ranging from 50 to 300 m within the 544 km2 Park. The study sites are primary lowland evergreen rainforests, each about 1.0 hectare in size. They include: an alluvial forest (at 50 m elevation and often inundated during the wet season); a heath forest (on a sandy terrace at about 170 m elevation); a mixed dipterocarp forest (on ridge slopes at 200-250 m elevation); and a limestone forest (on shallow soils over limestone at the base of cliffs and ravines at 300 m elevation).The NPP files contain estimates of above-ground biomass, annual litterfall accumulation, standing litter crop, and nutrient content of different vegetation components and soils. The scientific expedition was carried out between June 1977 and September 1978. Estimates of litterfall, ranging from 886 g/m2/year to 1,203 g/m2/year, give a minimum estimate of above-ground production.The climate record for the study sites extends from 1915 through 1990. The area's climate is controlled largely by the Indo-Australian monsoon system with wet northeast monsoon from December to March and slightly drier southwest monsoon from May to October. Mean annual precipitation is around 3,000 mm and mean average temperature is about 27 C.

This NPP data set contains one ASCII file (.txt format). The data file contains above- and below-ground biomass, litterfall, LAI, vegetation/soil micro-nutrient content (P, K, Ca, Mg, etc.), and above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) estimates for transitional moist/dry tropical forests at Rio Lara (wet season site) and Rio Sabana (dry season site) in Darien Province, Panama. Field measurements were made in 1967 and 1968. No climate data are provided.Apart from litter quantity, most of the differences between these data reflect variations between the two plots sampled, rather than seasonal changes. Both plots were considered representative of the surrounding forest. The area was thought to have been forested for the previous 400 years, following abandonment of open savanna lands maintained by the Precolumbian Indians.Total annual leaf and branch fall averaged for the two sites was 1,137 g/m2/yr, representing a minimum ANPP estimate. Litter decomposition over the 9-month wet season was around 90%. LAI at both sites was high; however, the index for the dry site (10.6 m2/m2) was only half that of the wet season site (22.4 m2/m2).

This data set contains two NPP data files and one climate data file (ASCI .txt format). The NPP files contain data for above-ground biomass, litterfall, and nutrient content of above-ground vegetation, organic surface layer, and soils measured during an 18-month period in 1970 and 1971 at two contrasting tropical seasonal evergreen forests in Magdalena Valley, Colombia. The climate record provides mean monthly and annual precipitation (1951-1992) and mean monthly and annual average temperature (1970-1997) from Barranca Bermeja (7.00 N 73.80 W) near the Magdalena Valley sites.One forest stand sits atop a perched water table on a typical valley terrace. It is low in height, basal area (22 m2/ha), and above-ground biomass (18,109 g/m2), but rich in palms with a simple two-layered structure, frequent windthrows and mortality, and few older trees. The contrasting forest stand developed on a lower slope site under more advantageous soil and water conditions. Although number of stems/ha in this forest are smaller and palms less conspicuous, the slope forest shares dominant species of both forests but with taller trees and greater basal area (32 m2/ha) and above-ground biomass (32,581 g/m2). The above-ground biomass and the vegetative bioelement stores were estimated by harvesting sample trees and palms and allometric regressions.Above-ground net primary production (ANPP) is based on total litterfall accumulation, measured over a 12-15 month period (1,202 g/m2/yr for the terrace forest and 873 g/m2/yr for the slope forest), giving minimum estimates of NPP.

This data set contains three ASCII data files (.txt format), one for net primary production (NPP) component data and two for climate data. The NPP studies were conducted in a tropical montane forest in the Sierra de Merida at San Eusebio (8.62 N 71.35 W) in northwestern Venezuela. The forest is mostly primary in character, with some selective logging having taken place in the past. Biomass, litterfall, and nutrient content of above- and below-ground vegetation and soil were determined in 1973-1974.

This data set contains one NPP data file and two climate data files (ASCII .txt format). The NPP file contains above- and below- ground biomass, litterfall, standing litter crop, and nutrient content data for a moist semi-deciduous secondary tropical forest at the Kade Agricultural Research Station (6.15 N 0.92 W), Ghana, spanning several collections periods between 1957 and 1972. Climate data come from weather stations at Kade near the study site (1958-1997) and at Kumasi near Kade (1945-1990).The Kade study site is typical of an old secondary forest which has probably not been cultivated or harvested since around 1915-1925. Tree basal area measured in 1957 was quite high at 33.7 m2/ha; measurements in 1968 of a plot a few hundred meters away gave 30.6 m2/ha.Detailed above- and below-ground biomass data are provided from a single clear-felling made in 1957. Nutrient content for lianas, leaves and twigs, branches, large wood, standing dead wood, stumps, litter, and roots is also provided. Total live + dead biomass was 36,102 g/m2, of which 5,414 g/m2 (15%) was below-ground live biomass and 23,568 g/m2 was above-ground live biomass. Monthly litterfall is available for 26 months (1970-72).Total annual NPP was estimated in the late 1950s at about 2,400 g/m2/year based on litterfall of 1,054 g/m2/year plus rough estimates of timber fall (1,070-1,121 g/m2/year) and root production (258 g/m2/year). In the 1970s, NPP was recalculated at 2,200-2,500 g/m2/year based on additional measurements of litter, wood fall, and decomposition.

This data set contains three ASCII files (.txt format). One file provides net primary productivity (NPP) data for the moist lowland tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. NPP estimates are based on field measurements of litterfall accumulation, tree growth and mortality, and herbivory. Above-ground biomass and LAI are also reported. The other two files provide climate data recorded onsite.Annual litterfall accumulation (leaf + twig + other litterfall) averaged 1,064 g/m2/year, excluding losses to herbivory, on the central plateau of the island and in the Lutz catchment (1969-1979) and 1,246 g/m2/year at Poacher's Peninsula (1986-1990). Herbivory due to insects (about 50 g/m2/year) was estimated from leaf litterfall (1974-1977) by measuring holes and gaps in fallen leaves. An additional 30 g/m2/year may be lost to vertebrate herbivores which leave no identifiable traces in litter traps. Coarse wood litterfall due to tree damage may represent an additional 46 g/m2/year. Above-ground biomass averaged 27,425 g/m2 based on inventory data collected every 5 years from 1985 to 2000 and allometric regression equations. Tree growth of 554 g/m2/year was based on above-ground biomass changes during the three census intervals. Tree mortality of 2-3% was estimated by recording dead or missing trees (1982-1990). LAI of 7.3 was based on the average area of leaves that fell per area of ground per year. Overall, above-ground NPP for Barro Colorado Island was estimated at 1,800 g/m2/year.