Biological, Ancillary, Disturbance, and Metadata (BADM) are non-continuous information that describe and compliment flux/met data. The BADM Data Product uses BADM Standards that describe variables, units, and requirements. The BADM Standards are co-developed and used by AmeriFlux, ICOS, Fluxnet and other networks.
When downloading data from AmeriFlux, each download includes a BADM file bundled with the flux/met data for the site. BADM can also be downloaded in a single file for all sites in the network. BADM files are formatted in BADM Interchange Format (BIF).
BADM files include Site General Info BADM: a description, general background, what is measured, geo-location, relevant publications, and references for each site. Additional BADM variables such as LAI, biomass measurements and soil characteristics are also included as provided by a site.
Descriptions of BADM variables and units found in a BADM file are available at Browse BADM Standards. Vocabulary permitted for LIST(XXX) variables can be found in the table on the Definition & Units tab.
BIF files can be parsed using the AmeriFlux and Fluxnet BIF Parser (Jupyter Notebook downloadable from GitHub).
The naming convention and format we have adopted for published AmeriFlux BADM files are as follows:
AMF_<SITE_ID>_BIF_YYYYMMDD.xlsx
| AMF | This represents the publishing network, in this case, AmeriFlux. |
| <SITE_ID> |
For site-specific information, the Site ID will be that of a specific site. We use a site ID of AA-xxx to identify files containing data from multiple sets. The two site IDs in use are: AA-Flx: Data in this file is aggregated across all sites with flux data. AA-Net: Data in this file is aggregated across all sites in the network. |
| BIF | Indicates that the information is listed in BIF (short for BADM Interchange Format) format that enables the BADM data to be read programmatically. The BIF format consists of 5 columns: site ID, group ID, variable group name, variable name, and data value. A variable group is a set of variables that are reported together (e.g. a variable value, the date it was collected, and the method used to collect it). Sites may report multiple instances of the same variable group associated with different measurements collected over time, plant species, soil depths, collection methods, etc. The group ID uniquely identifies the data belonging to the same instance of a reported variable group. The variable names and data value provide the details of the reported data within a variable group. |
| YYYYMMDD | Indicates the date on which the BADM information was made available. If the BADM is part of a zip file, any changes to the BADM file do not increment the version of the zip file. |