Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) - 10 years of data collection

The SPRUCE experiment is the primary component of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Science Scientific Focus Area at ORNL focused on terrestrial ecosystems and the mechanisms that underlie their responses to environmental change. As of December 2025, the SPRUCE experiment is ending its planned decadal timeframe. The manipulation evaluated the response of the existing biological communities to a range of warming levels from ambient to +9°C, provided via large, modified open-top chambers. The ambient and +9°C warming treatments were also conducted at eCO2 (in the range of 800 to 900 ppm). Both direct and indirect effects of these experimental perturbations have been analyzed to develop and refine models needed for full Earth system analyses. The instruments and infrastructure needed for these measurements include meteorological tower-based CO2/H2O sampling and analysis systems, air temperature and relative humidity probes, precipitation gauges, wind speed and direction instruments, solar radiation sensors, subsurface soil moisture and temperature sensors, water level and conductivity sensors, continuous vegetation sap flow and dendrometer sensors, and companion dataloggers to record and report the data. The data collection system deployed of approximately 80 dataloggers, 1100 sensors, and associated instruments. Through the 10 years of observations, we collected substantial amount of data and want to present variety of data product available for analysis and scientific investigation.