Unified field studies of the algae testbed public-private partnership as the benchmark for algae agronomics

Sci Data. 2018 Nov 27:5:180267. doi: 10.1038/sdata.2018.267.

Abstract

National scale agronomic projections are an important input for assessing potential benefits of algae cultivation on the future of innovative agriculture. The Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership was established with the goal of investigating open pond algae cultivation across different geographic, climatic, seasonal, and operational conditions while setting the benchmark for quality data collection, analysis, and dissemination. Identical algae cultivation systems and data analysis methodologies were established at testbed sites across the continental United States and Hawaii. Within this framework, the Unified Field Studies were designed for algae cultivation during all 4 seasons across the testbed network. With increasingly diverse algae research and development, and field deployment strategies, the challenges associated with data collection, quality, and dissemination increase dramatically. The dataset presented here is the complete, curated, climatic, cultivation, harvest, and biomass composition data for each season at each site. These data enable others to do in-depth cultivation, harvest, techno-economic, life cycle, resource, and predictive growth modelling analysis, as well as development of crop protection strategies throughout the algae cultivation industry.

Publication types

  • Dataset
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Agriculture / methods*
  • Agriculture / standards*
  • Axenic Culture / methods
  • Biofuels / microbiology
  • Biomass
  • Chlorophyta* / growth & development
  • Chlorophyta* / metabolism
  • Microbiological Phenomena
  • Public-Private Sector Partnerships / standards*
  • Public-Private Sector Partnerships / trends
  • United States

Substances

  • Biofuels