On 25 July 2012, a Leica ALS70 airborne laser scanner boarded on the Y-12 aircraft was used to obtain the point cloud data. Leica ALS70 airborne laser scanner has unlimited numbers of returns intensities measurements including the first, second, third return intensities. The wavelength of laser light is 1064 nm. The absolute flight altitude is 4800 m with the point cloud density 1 points per square meter. Aerial LiDAR-DEM was obtained through parameter calibration, automatic classification of point cloud density and manual editing.

This dataset includes data recorded by the Hydrometeorological observation network obtained from the automatic weather station (AWS) at the observation system of Meteorological elements gradient of Shenshawo sandy desert station between 1 September, 2012, and 31 December, 2013. The site (100.493° E, 38.789° N) was located on a desert surface in the Shenshawo, which is near Zhangye city, Gansu Province. The elevation is 1594 m. The installation heights and orientations of different sensors and measured quantities were as follows: air temperature and humidity profile (HMP45AC; 5 and 10 m, north), wind speed profile (010C; 5 and 10 m, north), wind direction profile (020C; 10 m, north), air pressure (PTB110; 2 m), rain gauge (52203; 10 m), four-component radiometer (CNR1; 6 m, south), two infrared temperature sensors (IRTC3; 6 m, south, vertically downward), soil heat flux (HFP01; 3 duplicates, -0.06 m), soil temperature profile (109; 0, -0.02, -0.04, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.6, and -1 m), and soil moisture profile (CS616; -0.02, -0.04, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.6 and -1 m). The observations included the following: air temperature and humidity (Ta_5 m and Ta_10 m; RH_5 m and RH_10 m) (℃ and %, respectively), wind speed (Ws_5 m and Ws_10 m) (m/s), wind direction (WD_10 m) (°), air pressure (press) (hpa), precipitation (rain) (mm), four-component radiation (DR, incoming shortwave radiation; UR, outgoing shortwave radiation; DLR_Cor, incoming longwave radiation; ULR_Cor, outgoing longwave radiation; Rn, net radiation) (W/m^2), infrared temperature (IRT_1 and IRT_2) (℃), soil heat flux (Gs_1, Gs_2 and Gs_3) (W/m^2), soil temperature (Ts_0 cm, Ts_2 cm, Ts_4 cm, Ts_10 cm, Ts_20 cm, Ts_40 cm, Ts_60 cm and Ts_100 cm) (℃), and soil moisture (Ms_2 cm, Ms_4 cm, Ms_10 cm, Ms_20 cm, Ms_40 cm, Ms_60 cm and Ms_100 cm) (%, volumetric water content). The data processing and quality control steps were as follows: (1) The AWS data were averaged over intervals of 10 min for a total of 144 records per day. The precipitation data were missing during 31 March, 2013 and 26 July, 2013 because of the malfunction of rain gauge. The missing data were denoted by -6999. (2) Data in duplicate records were rejected. (3) Unphysical data were rejected. (4) The data marked in red are problematic data. (5) The format of the date and time was unified, and the date and time were collected in the same column, for example, date and time: 2013-6-10 10:30. (6) Finally, the naming convention was AWS+ site no. Moreover, suspicious data were marked in red. For more information, please refer to Li et al. (2013) (for hydrometeorological observation network or sites information), Liu et al. (2011) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

The dataset of airborne WiDAS mission was obtained in the Linze station-Linze grassland flight zone on Jul. 11, 2008. Intra-band data available for general users include Level-2C data (after geometric, radiometric and atmospheric corrections), Level-1B browse image (after intra-band matching) and Level-2B browse image (after registration). The raw data, Level-1A, and data processing parameters were filed; applications would be evaluated prior to access. Data processing started in Aug. 2008 and ended in Apr. 2009, and in Nov. 2009, CCD data were reprocessed to adjust radiometric calibration. The flying time of each route was as follows: {| ! id ! flight ! relative height ! starttime ! endtime ! data size ! data state ! data quality ! ground targets |- | 1 || 1#13 || 1500m || 1:52:06 || 11:58:02 || 90 || processed; compelete || good || Pingchuan reservoir |- | 2 || 1#11 || 1500m || 12:11:38 || 12:09:54 || 95 || processed; compelete || good || Linze grassland station |- | 3 || 1#9 || 1500m || 12:14:58 || 12:20:42 || 87 || processed; compelete || good || Pingchuan reservoir |- | 4 || 1#7 || 1500m || 12:27:14 || 12:33:18 || 92 || processed; compelete || good || desert transit zone |- | 5 || 1#5 || 1500m || 12:38:22 || 12:44:14 || 89 || processed; compelete || good || north-south desert plot |- | 6 || 1#3 || 1500m || 12:50:30 || 12:56:26 || 90 || processed; compelete || good || Pingchuan reservoir |- | 7 || 1#1 || 1500m || 13:01:46 || 13:07:46 || 91 || processed; compelete || good || Linze station |}

This dataset includes data recorded by the Hydrometeorological observation network obtained from an observation system of Meteorological elements gradient of Sidaoqiao Superstation between 11 July, 2013, and 31 December, 2013. The site (101.137° E, 42.001° N) was located on a tamarix (Tamarix chinensis Lour.) surface in the Sidaoqiao, Dalaihubu Town, Ejin Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The elevation is 873 m. The installation heights and orientations of different sensors and measured quantities were as follows: air temperature and humidity profile (HC2S3; 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 28 m, towards north), wind speed profile (010C; 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 28 m, towards north), wind direction profile (020C; 15 m, towards north), air pressure (CS100; in waterproof box), rain gauge (TE525M; 28 m, towards south), four-component radiometer (CNR4; 10 m, towards south), two infrared temperature sensors (SI-111; 10 m, towards south, vertically downward), two photosynthetically active radiation (PQS-1; 10 m, towards south, one vertically upward and one vertically downward), soil heat flux (HFP01SC; 3 duplicates with G1 below the tamarix; G2 and G3 between plants, -0.06 m), a TCAV averaging soil thermocouple probe (installed on 17 July, 2013, TCAV; -0.02, -0.04 m), soil temperature profile (109ss-L; 0, -0.02, -0.04, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.8, -1.2 and -1.6 m), and soil moisture profile (install on 7 December, 2013, ML2X; -0.02, -0.04, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.8, -1.2 and -1.6 m). The observations included the following: air temperature and humidity (Ta_5 m, Ta_7 m, Ta_10 m, Ta_15 m, Ta_20 m and Ta_28 m; RH_5 m, RH_7 m, RH_10 m, RH_15 m, RH_20 m and RH_28 m) (℃ and %, respectively), wind speed (Ws_5 m, Ws_7 m, Ws_10 m, Ws_15 m, Ws_20 m and Ws_28 m) (m/s), wind direction (WD_15 m) (°), air pressure (press) (hpa), precipitation (rain) (mm), four-component radiation (DR, incoming shortwave radiation; UR, outgoing shortwave radiation; DLR_Cor, incoming longwave radiation; ULR_Cor, outgoing longwave radiation; Rn, net radiation) (W/m^2), infrared temperature (IRT_1 and IRT_2) (℃), photosynthetically active radiation of upward and downward (PAR_up and PAR_down) (μmol/ (s m^-2)), average soil temperature (TCAV, ℃), soil heat flux (Gs_1, Gs_2 and Gs_3) (W/m^2), soil temperature (Ts_0 cm, Ts_2 cm, Ts_4 cm, Ts_10 cm, Ts_20 cm, Ts_40 cm, Ts_80 cm, Ts_120 cm and Ts_160 cm) (℃), and soil moisture (Ms_2 cm, Ms_4 cm, Ms_10 cm, Ms_20 cm, Ms_40 cm, Ms_80 cm, Ms_120 cm and Ms_160 cm) (%, volumetric water content). The data processing and quality control steps were as follows: (1) The AWS data were averaged over intervals of 10 min for a total of 144 records per day. The wind speed (10 m height) data were missing before 12 November, 2013 because of the sensor problem. The missing data were denoted by -6999. (2) Data in duplicate records were rejected. (3) Unphysical data were rejected. (4) The data marked in red are problematic data. (5) The format of the date and time was unified, and the date and time were collected in the same column, for example, date and time: 2013-9-10 10:30. (6) Finally, the naming convention was AWS+ site no. Moreover, suspicious data were marked in red. For more information, please refer to Li et al. (2013) (for hydrometeorological observation network or sites information), Liu et al. (2011) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

This dataset includes data recorded by the Hydrometeorological observation network obtained from the automatic weather station (AWS) at the observation system of Meteorological elements gradient of Sidaoqiao barren-land station between 9 July, 2013, and 31 December, 2013. The site (101.133° E, 41.999° N) was located on a barren-land surface in the Sidaoqiao, Dalaihubu Town, Ejin Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The elevation is 878 m. The installation heights and orientations of different sensors and measured quantities were as follows: four-component radiometer (CNR4; 24 m, south), two infrared temperature sensors (SI-111; 24 m, south, vertically downward), soil heat flux (HFP01; 3 duplicates, -0.06 m), and soil temperature profile (AV-10T; 0, -0.02 and -0.04 m). The observations included the following: four-component radiation (DR, incoming shortwave radiation; UR, outgoing shortwave radiation; DLR_Cor, incoming longwave radiation; ULR_Cor, outgoing longwave radiation; Rn, net radiation) (W/m^2), infrared temperature (IRT_1 and IRT_2) (℃), soil heat flux (Gs_1, Gs_2 and Gs_3) (W/m^2), and soil temperature (Ts_0 cm, Ts_2 cm, Ts_4 cm) (℃). The data processing and quality control steps were as follows: (1) The AWS data were averaged over intervals of 10 min for a total of 144 records per day. Data were missing during 24 September, 2013 and 26 September, 2013 because of the malfunction of datalogger. The missing data were denoted by -6999. (2) Data in duplicate records were rejected. (3) Unphysical data were rejected. (4) The data marked in red are problematic data. (5) The format of the date and time was unified, and the date and time were collected in the same column, for example, date and time: 2013-9-10 10:30. (6) Finally, the naming convention was AWS+ site no. Moreover, suspicious data were marked in red. For more information, please refer to Li et al. (2013) (for hydrometeorological observation network or sites information), Liu et al. (2011) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

In mid July 2011, the photosynthetic organs (leaf or assimilating branches) of typical desert plants were collected and determined by laboratory. The indicators include: leaf water potential, total leaf water content, relative water content, dry weight water content, leaf dry matter content, specific leaf area, specific leaf volume, free water, bound water, etc.

The dataset of crop biochemical parameter measurements was obtained in the maize field (May 25-Jun. 8, 2008) and the wheat field (Jun. 18-Jul. 4, 2008) of Yingke oasis foci experimental area. Observation items included LAI by LAI-2000, the chlorophyll content by SPAD and leaf moisture by the oven and the scales. Four files were included, readme.txt, wheat sample coordinates.xls, wheat.xls for wheat biochemical parameters and Yingke oasis maize field.xls for maize biochemical parameters.

This dataset contains the flux measurements from the Sidaoqiao superstation eddy covariance system (EC) in the lower reaches of the Heihe hydrometeorological observation network from 6 July to 31 December, 2013. The site (101.137° E, 42.001° N) was located in the Tamarix surface, Ejin Banner in Inner Mongolia. The elevation is 873 m. The EC was installed at a height of 8 m, and the sampling rate was 10 Hz. The sonic anemometer faced north, and the separation distance between the sonic anemometer and the CO2/H2O gas analyzer (CSAT3&Li7500A) was 0.15 m. The raw data acquired at 10 Hz were processed using the Edire post-processing software (University of Edinburgh, http://www.geos.ed.ac.uk/abs/research/micromet/EdiRe/), including the spike detection, lag correction of H2O/CO2 relative to the vertical wind component, sonic virtual temperature correction, coordinate rotation (2-D rotation), corrections for density fluctuation (Webb-Pearman-Leuning correction), and frequency response correction. The EC data were subsequently averaged over 30 min periods. The observation data quality was divided into three classes according to the quality assessment method of stationarity (Δst) and the integral turbulent characteristics test (ITC), as proposed by Foken and Wichura [1996]: class 1 (level 0: Δst<30 and ITC<30), class 2 (level 1: Δst<100 and ITC<100), and class 3 (level 2: Δst>100 and ITC>100), which represent high-, medium-, and low-quality data, respectively. In addition to the above processing steps, the half-hourly flux data were screened using a four-step procedure: (1) data from periods of sensor malfunction were rejected; (2) data collected before or after 1 h of precipitation were rejected; (3) incomplete 30 min data were rejected when the missing data constituted more than 3% of the 30 min raw record; and (4) data were rejected at night when the friction velocity (u*) was less than 0.12 m/s. There were 48 records per day, and the missing data were replaced with -6999. Suspicious data were marked in red. The released data contained the following variables: data/time, wind direction (Wdir, °), wind speed (Wnd, m/s), the standard deviation of the lateral wind (Std_Uy, m/s), virtual temperature (Tv, ℃), H2O mass density (H2O, g/m^3), CO2 mass density (CO2, mg/m^3), friction velocity (ustar, m/s), stability (z/L), sensible heat flux (Hs, W/m^2), latent heat flux (LE, W/m^2), carbon dioxide flux (Fc, mg/ (m^2s)), quality assessment of the sensible heat flux (QA_Hs), quality assessment of the latent heat flux (QA_LE), and quality assessment of the carbon flux (QA_Fc). In this dataset, the time of 0:30 corresponds to the average data for the period between 0:00 and 0:30; the data were stored in *.xls format. For more information, please refer to Li et al. (2013) (for hydrometeorological observation network or sites information), Liu et al. (2011) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

In July 19, 2012 (UTC+8), the airborne LIDAR data is acquired in the foci area in the Heihe,middle reaches, which can provide high spatial resolution (m) and high precision (20 cm) of the surface elevation information. Based on airborne LIDAR data processing, the land surface DEM, DSM and point cloud density map were generated. By subtracting DSM and DEM directly, a Vegetation height product in the middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin was obtained. The product overall accuracy is 88%.

This dataset contains the flux measurements from the Zhangye wetland station eddy covariance system (EC) in the flux observation matrix from 25 June to 26 September, 2012. The site (100.44640° E, 38.97514° N) was located in a wetland surface, which is near Zhangye city, Gansu Province. The elevation is 1460.00 m. The EC was installed at a height of 5.2 m; the sampling rate was 10 Hz. The sonic anemometer faced north, and the separation distance between the sonic anemometer and the CO2/H2O gas analyzer (Gill&Li7500A) was 0.25 m. Raw data acquired at 10 Hz were processed using the Eddypro post-processing software (Li-Cor Company, http://www.licor.com/env/products/ eddy_covariance/software.html), including spike detection, lag correction of H2O/CO2 relative to the vertical wind component, sonic virtual temperature correction, angle of attack correction, coordinate rotation (2-D rotation), corrections for density fluctuation (Webb-Pearman-Leuning correction), and frequency response correction. The EC data were subsequently averaged over 30 min periods. Moreover, the observation data quality was divided into three classes according to the quality assessment method of stationarity (Δst) and the integral turbulent characteristics test (ITC), which was proposed by Foken and Wichura [1996]: class 1 (level 0: Δst<30 and ITC<30), class 2 (level 1: Δst<100 and ITC<100), and class 3 (level 2: Δst>100 and ITC>100), representing high-, medium-, and low-quality data, respectively. In addition to the above processing steps, the half-hourly flux data were screened in a four-step procedure: (1) data from periods of sensor malfunction were rejected; (2) data before or after 1 h of precipitation were rejected; (3) incomplete 30 min data were rejected when the missing data constituted more than 3% of the 30 min raw record; and (4) data were rejected at night when the friction velocity (u*) was less than 0.1 m/s. There were 48 records per day; the missing data were replaced with -6999. Moreover, suspicious data were marked in red. The released data contained the following variables: data/time, wind direction (Wdir, °), wind speed (Wnd, m/s), the standard deviation of the lateral wind (Std_Uy, m/s), virtual temperature (Tv, ℃), H2O mass density (H2O, g/m^3), CO2 mass density (CO2, mg/m^3), friction velocity (ustar, m/s), stability (z/L), sensible heat flux (Hs, W/m^2), latent heat flux (LE, W/m^2), carbon dioxide flux (Fc, mg/ (m^2s)), quality assessment of the sensible heat flux (QA_Hs), quality assessment of the latent heat flux (QA_LE), and quality assessment of the carbon flux (QA_Fc). In this dataset, the time of 0:30 corresponds to the average data for the period between 0:00 and 0:30; the data were stored in *.xlsx format. For more information, please refer to Liu et al. (2016) (for multi-scale observation experiment or sites information), Xu et al. (2013) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

Spectral reflectance observation was carried out for the typical underlying surface and black and white cloth in the low reaches of the Heihe River Basin during the aviation flight experiment in 2014, which will provide basic data set for the preprocessing of the flight data. 1. Observation Instrument PRS-3500 portable spectrometer, with the spectral range is 350-2500 nm, and the reference board. 2. Samples and observation methods The samples including the black and white cloth, the cantaloupe, the Tamarix chinensis, the Populus euphratica, the reeds, the weeds, the Karelinia caspica, the sandy soil, the gobi, the Sophora alopecuroides and so on. Reflectance of the reference board was measure vertically for once and then objective reflectance were measured for five times for each observation objective. 3. Observation time The typical underlying surface vegetation observation was on days of 24 July, 27 July, 31 July, 2014. The black and white cloth simultaneous observation was on 29 July, 2014. 4. Data storage The observation recorded data were stored in excel and the original spectral data were stored in *.sed files derived from the spectrometer, which can be opened by the matched software of the spectrometer or by a txt.

This dataset includes data recorded by the Hydrometeorological observation network obtained from the automatic weather station (AWS) at the observation system of Meteorological elements gradient of Sidaoqiao mixed forest station between 12 July, 2013, and 31 December, 2013. The site (101.134° E, 41.990° N) was located on a tamarix and populous forest (Tamarix chinensis Lour. and Populus euphratica Olivier.) surface in the Sidaoqiao, Dalaihubu Town, Ejin Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The elevation is 874 m. The installation heights and orientations of different sensors and measured quantities were as follows: air temperature and humidity profile (HMP45D; 28 m, north), wind speed and direction profile (034B; 28 m, north), air pressure (AV-410BP; in tamper box), rain gauge (52203; 28 m, south), four-component radiometer (CNR4; 24 m, south), two infrared temperature sensors (IRTC3; 24 m, south, vertically downward), two photosynthetically active radiation (PQS-1; 24 m, south, one vertically upward and one vertically downward), soil heat flux (HFP01; 3 duplicates, -0.06 m), soil temperature profile (AV-10T; 0, -0.02, -0.04, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.6 and -1.0 m), and soil moisture profile (ML2X; install on Dec. 7, 2013, -0.02, -0.04, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.6 and -1.0 m). The observations included the following: air temperature and humidity (Ta_28 m; RH_28 m) (℃ and %, respectively), wind speed (Ws_28 m) (m/s), wind direction (WD_28 m) (°), air pressure (press) (hpa), precipitation (rain) (mm), four-component radiation (DR, incoming shortwave radiation; UR, outgoing shortwave radiation; DLR_Cor, incoming longwave radiation; ULR_Cor, outgoing longwave radiation; Rn, net radiation) (W/m^2), infrared temperature (IRT_1 and IRT_2) (℃), photosynthetically active radiation of upward and downward (PAR_up and PAR_down) (μmol/ (s m^-2)), soil heat flux (Gs_1, Gs_2 and Gs_3) (W/m^2), soil temperature (Ts_0 cm, Ts_2 cm, Ts_4 cm, Ts_10 cm, Ts_20 cm, Ts_40 cm, Ts_60 cm and Ts_100 cm) (℃), and soil moisture (Ms_2 cm, Ms_4 cm, Ms_10 cm, Ms_20 cm, Ms_40 cm, Ms_60 cm and Ms_100 cm) (%, volumetric water content). The data processing and quality control steps were as follows: (1) The AWS data were averaged over intervals of 10 min for a total of 144 records per day. The missing data were denoted by -6999. (2) Data in duplicate records were rejected. (3) Unphysical data were rejected. (4) The data marked in red are problematic data. (5) The format of the date and time was unified, and the date and time were collected in the same column, for example, date and time: 2013-9-10 10:30. (6) Finally, the naming convention was AWS+ site no. Moreover, suspicious data were marked in red. For more information, please refer to Li et al. (2013) (for hydrometeorological observation network or sites information), Liu et al. (2011) (for data processing) in the Citation section.