**** DATA POLICY, LICENSE AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR ATTRIBUTION ****

License document version 20251226

The FLUXNET data product is shared under the CC-BY-4.0 license (Creative Commons by Attribution 4.0 International: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The CC-BY-4.0 license requires that attribution be given with every use. With correct attribution, the data user is free to Share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and/or Adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) for any purpose.

Attribution of FLUXNET data products requires inclusion of a citation for each site and acknowledgments. The site's citation guidelines and network-specific acknowledgments are provided in this DATA_POLICY_LICENSE_AND_INSTRUCTIONS document that is included in each site's FLUXNET data zip file. 
 
If FLUXNET data products from multiple networks are used, the attribution requirements for each of the included networks must be followed. Use the product source-network code (the first letters of the FLUXNET zip filename or the PRODUCT_SOURCE_NETWORK in the ancillary BIF file), to determine the lettered sub-items that are additionally required to the global requirements listed below.


---- REQUIRED ATTRIBUTION ----

(1) Include the citation for each site's FLUXNET data product in your paper or project. For journal articles, the citation must appear in the reference section or other section that supports citation tracking (e.g., not supplementary material). The citation is provided in the metadata available during the data download process, and must include the PID or DOI. Citations for the data can also be retrieved using the network-specific procedures at the end of this document.

(2) Include the following text in the acknowledgment, for any use of FLUXNET data: FLUXNET data products were produced and harmonized by eddy covariance regional networks and data processing centers, including AmeriFlux, ChinaFlux, European Fluxes Database, ICOS, JapanFlux, KoFlux, OzFlux, SAEON, and TERN. These products also include a modified version of ERA5 hourly data provided by the Copernicus Climate Change Service.

    (a) When AmeriFlux (AMF) data are used, add the text: "Funding for the AmeriFlux data service was provided by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science." 

    (b) When ChinaFlux (CNF) data are used, add the text: "ChinaFlux data are from the National ecosystem science data center https://www.nesdc.org.cn" and add in the references the paper Yu et al (2006) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2006.02.011

    (c) When JapanFlux (JPF) data are used, add in the references the paper Ueyama et al (2005) https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-3807-2025

    (d) When OzFlux (OZF) data are used, add the text: "OzFlux data are from the OzFlux Data Portal https://data.ozflux.org.au/home.jspx" and add in the references to the papers Beringer et al (2016) https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5895-2016 and Isaac et al (2017) https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2903-2017

    (e) When TERN (TERN) data are used, add the text: "TERN data are from the TERN Data Discovery Portal https://portal.tern.org.au/browse/theme" and add in the references to the papers Beringer et al (2016) https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5895-2016 and Isaac et al (2017) https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2903-2017

(3) If there is a Data Availability section in your paper, include the following in that section (in addition to the citation in a reference section): "The FLUXNET data products used in this work were downloaded from [SOURCE] on XX Month YYYY".

    [SOURCE] is the interface or tool used to access the data. It can be the AmeriFlux, TERN or ICOS data portal, the FLUXNET User Interface for the Shuttle, or the Shuttle code directly. 

    For example, "The FLUXNET data products used in this study were downloaded from the ICOS Carbon Portal (https://data.icos-cp.eu/portal/) on 1 January 2026".


The required data citation and PIs' name and email addresses for the downloaded sites are provided to the data user with the data download process (e.g., the shuttle metadata output). In case needed, these information can be retrieved also:

    (a) For sites processed by AmeriFlux (AMF), via each site's AmeriFlux Site Info page or can be generated for multiple sites using the "Site Set" feature (See Site Search: https://ameriflux.lbl.gov/sites/site-search/).

    (b) For sites processed by ICOS and European Fluxes Database (CNF, EUF, ICOS, JPF, KOF, SAEON), via https://data.icos-cp.eu/portal/ selecting FLUXNET as project or through the SPARQL endpoint at https://meta.icos-cp.eu/sparqlclient

    (c) For sites processed by TERN (OZF, TERN), via https://data.ozflux.org.au/pub/listPubCollections.jspx, select the collection for the site and copy the text under the Citation Information heading.


---- RECOMMENDED ATTRIBUTION ----

It is recommended to include the citation for the FLUXNET processing paper: Pastorello, G., Trotta, C., Canfora, E. et al. The FLUXNET2015 dataset and the ONEFlux processing pipeline for eddy covariance data. Sci Data 7, 225 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-0534-3.


---- ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS ----

Collaboration with data providers (PIs, site teams, data processing teams, etc.) during the preparation of a manuscript or other research product is not required under the CC-BY-4.0 license. However, such collaboration is strongly encouraged, as it can help prevent potential misinterpretations or other technical inconsistencies and is generally appreciated by the data providers.

The JapanFlux input data used for the FLUXNET product are available at https://ads.nipr.ac.jp/japan-flux2024/ with site specific DOIs that can be cited.


---- ADDITIONAL DATA POLICY RESOURCES ----

    (a) AmeriFlux (AMF) data generated and published by the AmeriFlux network: https://ameriflux.lbl.gov/data/data-policy/ (see the AmeriFlux CC-BY-4.0 license section). 

    (b) ICOS data generated and published: https://www.icos-cp.eu/how-to-cite

    (c) JapanFlux data generated and published: https://ads.nipr.ac.jp/japan-flux2024/
    
    (d) TERN data generated and published: https://www.tern.org.au/terms-of-use/

The always up-to-date FLUXNET data license and attribution guidelines are also available at data.fluxnet.org.


---- CONTACTS ----

For any question about proper data attribution please contact support@fluxnet.org.
