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Duke Forest FACE (FACTS-1)

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aerial view of Duke Forest FACE site

Duke Forest FACE

Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Forest-Atmosphere Carbon Transfer and Storage (FACTS-I) facility investigated how forests absorb and store carbon under changing atmospheric conditions. 

Located in the Blackwood Division of Duke Forest in North Carolina, this large-scale experiment used the Free-Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) method to study how elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂ ) levels affect forest growth, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem processes. 

 

Research

The FACTS-I experiment helped researchers understand how forests store carbon, cycle nutrients, and interact with the atmosphere. Insights from this work are improving ecosystem and carbon cycle models, supporting more accurate predictions of how forests may function under future environmental conditions.

Features

FACTS-I included eight FACE plots—four exposed to higher CO₂ concentrations and four that remain at natural levels as controls. The system began operation in 1994 with a prototype plot pair, followed by three additional plot pairs in 1996. The plots were sited in an unmanaged loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation that had been established in 1983. 

In 1998, the prototype and its reference plot were divided by a soil barrier to enable combined CO₂ and soil nutrient enrichment experiments. This design was later expanded in 2005 to include all plot pairs, strengthening the dataset and enhancing the ability to study the effects of nitrogen in long-term forest responses to elevate CO2.

  • Comprehensive CO₂ Control: FACE technology allowed researchers to raise or maintain atmospheric CO₂ levels in open-air forest environments.
  • Integrated Soil Experiments: Soil barriers and nutrient additions made it possible to analyze how belowground processes interact with atmospheric changes.
  • Long-Term Data Collection: With operations spanning more than two decades, the facility provided rare, continuous measurements of forest carbon dynamics.
  • Scalable Design: The combination of elevated and ambient CO₂ plots allowed for comparisons across time, species, and treatment types.
View Site Characteristics

Data

DUKE FACE data contained in the datasets below are freely available and were furnished by individual FACE scientists who encourage their use. Data can be accessed at the Environmental System Science Data Infrastructure for a Virtual Ecosystem (ESS-DIVE) by clicking the links below. Please inform Ram Oren (Principal Investigator, Duke Forest FACE) of how you are using these data and of any publication plans.

User note: Meteorological data files have 30-minute averaged or summed (as appropriate for the variable) data. Date and time stamps are recorded at the beginning of each line where: JDT is Julian day + decimal time. JD1 = Jan 1, 1990. 

 

Oren R ; Kim D ; Oishi A C ; Ward E (2022): Duke Forest FACE (FACTS-I): Meteorological and Soil Data. Duke Forest FACE - Forest-Atmosphere Carbon Transfer and Storage (FACTS-I), ESS-DIVE repository. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.15485/1895465.  

  • Meteorological Data (1997-2012)
    • Air Temperature
    • Net Radiation
    • Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)
    • Precipitation
    • Relative Humidity
    • Saturated Vapor Pressure
    • Vapor Pressure Deficit
  • Soil Data (1997-2012)
    • Soil Moisture
    • Soil Water Potential
    • Soil Temperature

FACTS-I (2007): Duke FACE Micrometeorological Data. CDIAC, ESS-DIVE repository. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.15485/1463813. 

  • Meteorological Data (1997-2006)
    • Air temperature
    • Net Radiation
    • Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)
    • Precipitation
    • Relative Humidity
    • Saturated Vapor Pressure
    • Vapor Pressure Deficit

Oren R ; Kim D ; Maier C ; Oishi A ; Ward E ; Kim H ; McCarthy H ; Medvigy D ; Palmroth S ; Pataki D ; Phillips N ; Schäfer K ; Tor-ngern P (2023): Duke Forest FACE (FACTS-I): Plant and Soil Response Data. Duke Forest FACE - Forest-Atmosphere Carbon Transfer and Storage (FACTS-I), ESS-DIVE repository. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.15485/2283434

  • Allometry (1996-2012)
  • Biomass (1996-2012)
  • Leaf-area index (1996-2012)
  • Net Primary Production (1996-2012)
  • Sap Flux (1998-2010)
  • Soil CO2 Flux (1996-2012)
  • Stem Temperature (2001-2012) 

FACTS-I (2007): Duke FACE Stem Temperature. CDIAC, ESS-DIVE repository. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.15485/1463821

  • Stem Temperature - raw and gap-filled (2004-2007)

FACTS-I (2007): Duke FACE Soil Temperature. CDIAC, ESS-DIVE repository. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.15485/1463808

  • Soil Temperature (1997-2004, Gap Filled: 2004-2006)