Date

2015

Abstract

Humans are creating significant global environmental change, including shifts in climate, increased nitrogen (N) deposition, and the facilitation of species invasions. A multi-factorial field experiment is being performed in an arid grassland within the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) to simulate increased nighttime temperature, higher N deposition, and heightened El Niño frequency (which increases winter precipitation by an average of 50%). The purpose of the experiment is to better understand the potential effects of environmental change on grassland community composition and the growth of introduced creosote seeds and seedlings. The focus is on the response of three dominant species, all of which are near their range margins and thus may be particularly susceptible to environmental change.It is hypothesized that warmer summer temperatures and increased evaporation will favor growth of black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda), a desert grass, but that increased winter precipitation and/or available nitrogen will favor the growth of blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), a shortgrass prairie species. Furthermore, it is thought that the growth and survival of introduced creosote (Larrea tridentata) seeds and seedlings will be promoted by heightened winter precipitation, N addition, and warmer nighttime temperatures. Treatment effects on limiting resources (soil moisture, nitrogen mineralization), species growth (photosynthetic rates, creosote shoot elongation), species abundance, and net primary production (NPP) are all being measured to determine the interactive effects of key global change drivers on arid grassland plant community dynamics.To measure above-ground NPP (i.e., the change in plant biomass, represented by stems, flowers, fruit and foliage, over time), the vegetation variables in this dataset, including species composition and the cover and height of individuals, are sampled twice yearly (spring and fall) at permanent 1m x 1m plots. The data from these plots is used to build regressions correlating biomass and volume via weights of select harvested species obtained in SEV157, "Net Primary Productivity (NPP) Weight Data." This biomass data is included in SEV205, "Warming-El Nino-Nitrogen Deposition Experiment (WENNDEx): Seasonal Biomass and Seasonal and Annual NPP."

Handle

http://hdl.handle.net/1928/30040

Other Identifier

SEV176

Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity (KNB) Identifier

knb-lter-sev.176.234290

Document Type

Dataset

Comments

This dataset was originally published on the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Data Portal, https://portal.lternet.edu, and potentially via other repositories or portals as described. The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) of the source data package is doi:10.6073/pasta/3e05e4f6d92b854f4ffb0514da44fd4c, and may be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/3e05e4f6d92b854f4ffb0514da44fd4c. Metadata and files included in this record mirror as closely as possible the source data and documentation, with the provenance metadata and quality report generated by the LTER portal reproduced here as '*-provenance.xml' and *-report.html' files, respectively.

Rights

Data Policies: This dataset is released to the public and may be freely downloaded. Please keep the designated Contact person informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation or collaboration with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset must include proper acknowledgement of the Sevilleta LTER. Datasets must be cited as in the example provided. A copy of any publications using these data must be supplied to the Sevilleta LTER Information Manager. By downloading any data you implicitly acknowledge the LTER Data Policy (http://www.lternet.edu/data/netpolicy.html).

Publisher

SEV LTER, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131

Source

http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/3e05e4f6d92b854f4ffb0514da44fd4c

Temporal coverage

2006-02-02 - 2015-05-20

Spatial coverage

Location: Deep Well is located on McKenzie Flats and is site of the longest running SEV LTER met station, number 40, which has been active since 1988. In addition to studies of meteorological variables, core line-intercept vegetation transects and line-intercept transects from the 1995 and 2001 Deep Well fires are sampled here. The mini-rhizotron study, blue and black grama compositional comparison, blue and black grama patch dynamics investigation, and kangaroo rat population assessement are all ongoing here. Deep Well Blue/Black Grama Mixed is also the location of the warming and monsoon experiments, as well as portions of the line-intercept and vegetation removal studies. On August 4, 2009, a lightning-initiated fire began on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. By August 5, 2009, the fire had reached the area of Deep Well Blue/Black Grama Mixed. While portions of this site were burned, the entirety was not. See individual projects for further information on the effects of the fire.Vegetation: The vegetation of Deep Well Blue/Black Grama Mixed is Chihuahuan Desert Grassland, dominated by black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) and blue grama (B. gracilis). Other grasses found at the site include dropseeds (Sporobolus spp.) and threeawns (Aristida spp.). Shrubs are uncommon but those that occur include Yucca glauca, Ephedra torreyi, and four-wing saltbush (Atriplex canescens). Herbaceous plants include Plantago purshii, Hymenopappus filifolius, and globe mallows (Sphaeralcea spp.). , Location: The Warming site is located just to the northeast of the Deep Well meteorological station. The site can best be accessed by parking on the main road next to signs for Deep Well and the mini-rhizotron study. Note that vehicles are not permitted on the road to the Deep Well meteorological station. Travel on foot towards Deep Well and look for a well-trod path to the northwest shortly before the meteorological station. For plot maps, see power point slides in the on-line Sevilleta LTER WIKI page. On August 4, 2009, a lightning-initiated fire began on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. By August 5, 2009, the fire had reached the Warming site, which was burned extensively though not entirely. Approximately 50% of plots burned on August 5 and those plots which did not burn were burned within three weeks by US Fish and Wildlife. Thus, the condition of all plots at the Warming site was comparable by early September 2009.Vegetation: The vegetation is Chihuahuan Desert Grassland, dominated by black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) and blue grama (B. gracilis), siteid: 28

DOI

doi:10.6073/pasta/3e05e4f6d92b854f4ffb0514da44fd4c

Permanent URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/3e05e4f6d92b854f4ffb0514da44fd4c

knb-lter-sev.176.234290-metadata.html (126 kB)
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knb-lter-sev.176.234290-provenance.xml (4 kB)
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knb-lter-sev.176.234290-report.html (27 kB)
Show original LTER Network Data Portal ingest report

sev176_nppwarmquadrat_20150819.txt (1085 kB)
Data in TXT format

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