NPP quadrat data : Project documentation, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Jornada Basin LTER

Originator: Huenneke, Laura

Publication_Date: 2005

Title:

NPP quadrat data : Project documentation, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: entity

Series_Information:

Publication_Information:

Other_Citation_Details:

Contact info for data set originator: Jornada Basin LTER Address:NMSU, Wooton Hall, Room 2002995 Knox Street, Room 200Box 30003, MSC 3JERLas CrucesNM88003 Phone:(505) 646-7918 Email address:datamanager@jornada.nmsu.edu Contact info for data set originator: Huenneke, Laura Address:Dean, College of Arts & Sciences Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5621 Phone:928-523-0516 Email address:Laura.Huenneke@nau.edu

Online_Linkage:

http://jornada-www.nmsu.edu/datacat.htm

Description:

Abstract:

Deserts and semi-deserts are characterized as ecosystems of low primary productivity, but a more pertinent trait is the variability of plant production in space and time. In dryland ecosystems there are usually some locations on the landscape (e.g., sites receiving run-on moisture from adjacent areas) and some time periods where plant growth is lush in response to temporary favorable conditions. Our objective in monitoring net primary production, therefore, is to understand the temporal and spatial patterns of production within ecosystems as well as to characterize the relative productivity of various ecosystems. Our chief questions pertain to the impact of desertification (shrub encroachment in former semi-arid grasslands) on patterns of production. First, can we detect significant differences in productivity between shrub-dominated and grass-dominated systems? Second, given our evidence for greater spatial heterogeneity in soil resources at the plant scale in shrub systems, how does the spatial heterogeneity of aboveground production compare among ecosystems? Finally, how do seasonal and interannual patterns of plant production response to climate vary among ecosystems? Our methodology for measuring aboveground net primary production has been adopted to allow explicit comparison of production among ecosystems of different structure and to facilitate assessment of spatial variation. We have designed a non-destructive method that samples vegetation of different structures with consistent methodology and intensity of sampling, and that allows the quantification of NPP for particular unit areas such that one can characterize spatial patterns in NPP. In early 1989 grids of permanent 1 m2 quadrats were established in 15 sites: 3 each in Larrea shrubland, Bouteloua eriopoda grassland, Prosopis dune systems, Flourensia cernua alluvial flats, and grass-dominated dry lakes or playas. Sites were selected to represent the range of biomass and vegetation structure within each ecosystem type, rather than randomly selected among sites of that ecosystem type in the basin (Figure 1). Aboveground biomass is estimated for every species in 49 quadrats per site, three times per year, using non-destructive measures of plant size and applying regressions based on harvests from adjoining areas. These data provide quantitative measures of the abundance of all vascular plant species at each site every season. Productivity over an interval for a quadrat is estimated as the sum of all positive increments of biomass for all species in that quadrat. At each of the 15 sites we are also measuring soil moisture (via neutron probe) monthly. Rain gauges at each site provide localized precipitation data to accompany weather data from the central meteorological station.

This is part of a multi-part data set.

Purpose: N/A

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates_Times:

Beginning_Date: 1989-04-25

Currentness_Reference: as it was at time of compilation

Status:

Progress: Complete

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency:

Frequency of MeasurementWinter, spring, and fall of each yearMetadata History LogData set title - NPP quadrat data, for given year and seasonData set file name - NPPQUAD.DSD----------------------------------------------------------------mm/dd/yyyy - Date of CommentInt - Initials of person making CommentKJL = Kevin J. La FleurJPA = John P. AndersonKR = Ken RamseyJL = Jim LenzChanges/Updates - List any changes made to documentmm/dd/yyyy Int Changes/Updates---------- --- -----------------------------------------------04/10/1996 KJL Form completed by investigator03/13/1996 KJL Converted data set document file to new format.02/20/1997 JPA Documentation revised.12/10/1997 JPA Data file list updated.07/23/1998 JPA Data file list updated.02/02/2000 JPA Split history file (NPPQUAD.HIS) into 3 files.02/04/2000 JPA Tape i.d. field added to Attributes and explantionof this added to Comments.02/18/2000 JPA Updated data file list.08/24/2000 JPA Updated data file list.10/09/2000 KR Updated data entry file list.11/08/2000 JPA Updated data file list.12/13/2000 JPA Added clarification of values associated with"NONE" species to "Missing or Questionable Values"and "Comments."04/30/2001 JPA Updated data file list.10/15/2001 JPA Updated data file list.06/13/2002 JL Added Dataset ID and Project ID sections.04/29/2002 JPA Updated data file list.07/25/2003 JPA Updated date file list.07/31/2003 JPA Unrestricted as per Laura Huenneke.03/01/2004 KR Changed format for Attributes and AssociatedFiles section.Moved Dataset and Project IDs to top of form.Removed Missing/Questionable data section andincorporated into Attributes section.Updated Associated Files section.11/12/2004 JPA Added Corrections_Nppq_89-03w.his to file list.-------------------------------------------------------------------Data History Log

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent: Jornada Basin,Chihuahuan Desert, 17 miles NE of Las Cruces, NM, USA

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -107.002148

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -106.502641

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 32.831393

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 32.428919

Bounding_Altitudes:

Altitude_Minimum: 1188

almax: 2658

Altitude_Distance_Units: meter

Keywords:

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Place_Keyword: Chihuahuan Desert

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Place_Keyword: Las Cruces

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Place_Keyword: NM

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Place_Keyword: Southwest USA

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Place_Keyword: Dona Ana County

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Theme_Keyword: JRN

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Theme_Keyword: Jornada Basin LTER

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Theme_Keyword: LTER

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Theme_Keyword: plants

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Theme_Keyword: productivity

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Theme_Keyword: harvest

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: N/A

Theme_Keyword: spatial and temporal patterns

Access_Constraints:

Allow all to users: uid=JRN,o=lter,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org

Allow read to users: public

Use_Constraints:

Data Use and Acknowledgement StatementThis dataset is released to the public and may be used for academic, educational, or commercial purposes subject to the following:ObjectivesThe Jornada Basin LTER Information Management System provides protocol and services for data collection, verification, organization, archives, and distribution.Quality Assurance StatementData managers interact with researchers during the entire scientific process--from the initial planning of sampling designs and field data collection to archiving and distribution of long-term data. The goal of data management is to build and maintain an archive of Jornada Basin LTER data files that are fully documented, error free, and organized in useful ways. Our protocol for data collection and processing seeks maximum interaction between researchers and data management personnel to avoid confusion and potential loss of data or problems with integrity of data. The data manager helps researchers to construct data forms that allow convenient data entry and analysis. Data documentation forms are completed by principal investigators prior to data entry. Data are entered into computer data files by data entry personnel using programs that error- check and verify the data as it is entered. Computer files are subjected to further verification by graphing and/or error-checking programs, and/or examination by field investigators. Error-checked data files are stored with associated documentation files on floppy disks and on a hard-disk database. Back-up data files are maintained as "hard-copy," on multiple floppy disks, and on read/write 30- year magneto-optical disks. Various sets of these data are stored at different sites on the NMSU campus. The final responsibility for quality assurance (both in data and documentation content) rests with the principal investigator who submits the data for inclusion in the Jornada Basin LTER Information Management System. To facilitate quality assurance, the data management staff will provide copies of data and documentation submitted by a principal investigator to that investigator upon request.Policy on Submission of DataAll data collected during a calendar year should be submitted to the Jornada Basin LTER data manager prior to July first of the following year. Data must be submitted with standard Jornada Basin LTER forms (both Project Abstract and Data Set documentation) which include objectives of the study, methods, as well as format and content of the data.Data Access PolicyData will be made publicly available no later than 2 years after submission of the data unless an earlier date is specified by the principal investigator. In the event that an extension of the 2 year period is necessary, the principal investigator may petition the Jornada Basin LTER Executive Committee for a longer protected period.Data Acknowledgement PolicyIndividuals and institutions utilizing data from the Jornada Basin LTER database are requested to place the following acknowledgment in any publication in which these data are mentioned: Data sets were provided by the Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) projects. Funding for these data was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grants DEB-92-40261 and DEB 94-11971). Please send 1 copy of any publication that cites Jornada Basin LTER data to: John P. Anderson Jornada Experimental Range P.O. Box 30003, MSC 3JER New Mexico State University Las Cruces, NM 88003-0003

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: NMSU, Wooton Hall, Room 200

Contact_Person: Data Manager

Contact_Position: Data Manager

Address_Type: Mailing

Contact_Address:

Address: NMSU, Wooton Hall, Room 200

Address: 2995 Knox Street, Room 200

Address: Box 30003, MSC 3JER

City: Las Cruces

State_or_Province: NM

Postal_Code: 88003

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (505) 646-7918

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (505) 646-5889

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: datamanager@jornada.nmsu.edu

Data_Set_Credit:

Anderson, John

position name:Researcher

Lightfoot, David

position name:Researcher

Sandell, Cathie

position name:Researcher

McGlone, Chris

position name:Researcher

Stotz, Nancy

position name:Researcher

Gehlhausen, Sophia

position name:Researcher

Data_Quality_Information:

Logical_Consistency_Report:

Treatment of DataData are entered into ASCII files by a PC FORTRAN dataentry program (NPPQUAD.EXE); the resulting files(NPPQyys.DAT) are uploaded to the IBM mainframe. Each ofthese files is read in as input to a SAS program(NQBIOyys SAS, where yy is the year and s is the season)that contains regressions for biomass against plantdimensions (see harvest data and regression construction,data set documentation), updated for that season. firstvolume is calculated (cover*height*100), and then biomass(weight = volume*regression parameter*count) for eachobservation. Cover, volume, and biomass are summed for allobservations of a given species in a single quadrat. Hardcopies of the NQBIOyys SAS programs are archived in fileswith the output.The resulting weights are sorted by species and can besummarized by site, by species, and/or by quadrat, asdesired, by choosing different summary options in theNQBIOyys SAS program. Output can be the sorted data file,or can be written as separate DATA files for each site (usedas input to the geostatistics program, GEOEAS).The SAS program NQNPPyy SAS is used to merge thebiomass files from individual seasons, and to calculate netprimary production as the difference in total biomassbetween seasons. The input is two data files written by theabove NQBIOyys SAS programs, with cover, volume, and biomassvalues for each species in each quadrat. NQNPPyy SAS mergesthe two data files by quadrat and species, and calculatesthe difference in weight between the two sample periods. Ifthe increment is negative (e.g., a species is present attime 1 but absent at time 2), the difference is set to zero.A hard copy is printed, showing the difference is set tozero. A hard copy is printed, showing the site, quadnumber, species ID, weight at time 1, weight at time 2, andthe increment. Then a summary is made, summing the netpositive increments over all species for each quadrat -- theestimated net primary productivity for that quadrat overthat interval. These values are written to a data file,NQNPPyyn DAT, where n represents the interval during theyear (1 represents fall to winter, 2 represents winter tospring, 3 represents spring to fall). These productivityvalues can be summarized in whatever fashion is necessary(e.g., averaging over all quadrats).

Lineage:

Methodology:

methodtype: Method Type; field, lab, etc

methoddesc:

----------------------------------------------------------------Field sites and design: Grids of permanent 1 squaremeter quadrats have been established in 15 sites: threesites in each of 5 community types or zones (gramagrassland, creosote bush scrub, tarbush flats, mesquitedunes, playa). Grids consist of 49 quadrats arranged in asquare 7 x 7 pattern, with quadrats 10 m apart. (Exception:P-COLL, the College Ranch playa, has 48 quadrats arranged ina 3 x 16 pattern.) Quadrats are permanently marked withaluminum nails inserted into the soil at two diagonalcorners; quadrats are identified by nearby rebar stakesand tags (numbered 1-49, starting at the northwest cornerand wrapping back and forth in a north-south direction).Field sampling: Standing biomass is sampled three timesa year: in winter (February - March), before shrubs beginspring growth; in spring (May), when shrubs and springannuals have reached peak biomass; in fall (late summer;October), when summer annuals have reached peak biomass butbefore killing frosts. At each sample date, each site isvisited (order of sampling may vary, according tophenological stage of sites) and the dimensions of eachplant on each quadrat are measured and recorded. Recordedfor each observation are: date, zone, plot, quadrat #,species (4 letter acronym), observation # (one for eachmeasurement of that species in that quadrat), cover(percentage of quadrat covered by canopy of that individualor species), height (vertical extent of that individual orspecies), count (if multiple individuals with the samedimensions are present), and phenological stage(Flowering/fruiting or Vegetative). Plants rooted outsidebut reaching into the quadrat are measured in terms of theirvertical and horizontal extent only in the rectangularvolume above the quadrat. Large plants (e.g., shrubs) arebroken down into individual branch systems or other sub-volumes and recorded as separate observations. Early sampleperiods included measurements of diameter, rather than cover,for some species; see data files from those periods. Cactiare measured for number of pads (count), average length ofpad (height), and average width of pad (diameter).From these dimensional measurements, volume can becalculated for each species in each quadrat. A regressionof biomass against volume is constructed by harvestingplants near but outside of the grid of permanent quadrats.Dominant species, and others showing significant differencesamong sites in past regressions, are harvested from eachsite; for other species, samples may be taken in smallernumbers at any one site and samples from different sitespooled in the regression (see species list). Sample sizesare 15 for dominants, 10 for most other species (see specieslist). Range of cover values to be harvested is based on therange of cover values recorded from the permanent quadrats.Plants to be harvested are located in situations typical ofthose encountered in the permanent quadrats, and their coverand height values measured as for the quadrats. Volumesare harvested, returned to the laboratory, held in a coldroom (4 degree Celsius), sorted (dead material discarded,unless obviously from the current season of growth), dried(55 degree Celsius), and weighed. Dominant shrubs (Larrea,Flourensia, Prosopis) are separated into leaves, stems, andreproductive material (either before or after weighing oftotal biomass); these components are weighed separately.Tissue samples are selected and ground for nutrientconcentrations or for archival.Harvest data are used to build regressions of biomassagainst volume. Quadrat data are used to estimate plantvolume by species by quadrat, and then total biomass on aquadrat; positive increments in biomass over a time intervalprovide estimates of productivity for that quadrat. See flowchart for summary of analysis.See NPPFIELD.PRO for detailed field sampling protocol.

Process_Step:

Process_Description: Read Methods description above if applies

Process_Date: Read method descriptions if applicable

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Detailed_Description:

Entity_Type:

Entity_Type_Label: NPPVEG.PRJ

Entity_Type_Definition: Project documentation, File Format: ASCII, File Type: Text file

Entity_Type_Definition_Source: N/A

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: Jornada Basin LTER

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing

Address: NMSU, Wooton Hall, Room 200

City: Las Cruces

State_or_Province: N/A

Postal_Code: 88003

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (505) 646-7918

Contact_Voice_Telephone: N/A

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (505) 646-5889

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: (505) 646-7918

Resource_Description: knb-lter-jrn.2002049.4

Distribution_Liability: distribution liability information is not available

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: Unknown; NOT ASCII

ASCII_File_Structure:

Record_Delimiter: N/A

Number_Header_Lines: N/A

Orientation: columnmajor

Case_Sensitive: N/A

Authentication: N/A

Quote_Character: N/A

Data_Field:

Data_Field_Name:

Field Name data is included as part of the Entity/Attribute element (eainfo).

Data_Field_Width_Delimiter: N/A

Format_Information_Content: See Entity/Attribute element (eainfo)

File_Decompression_Technique: No compression applied

Transfer_Size: N/A

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Offline_Option:

Offline_Media: N/A

Recording_Capacity: N/A

Recording_Format:

Recording_Density: N/A

Recording_Density_Units: N/A

Recording_Format: N/A

Fees: N/A

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 2005

Metadata_Review_Date: N/A

Metadata_Future_Review_Date: N/A

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: Jornada Basin LTER

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing

Address: NMSU, Wooton Hall, Room 200

City: Las Cruces

State_or_Province: N/A

Postal_Code: 88003

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (505) 646-7918

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (505) 646-5889

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: datamanager@jornada.nmsu.edu

Metadata_Standard_Name:

FGDC/NBII Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (from Ecological Metadata Langualge 2.0)

Metadata_Standard_Version: 1999 Version (from Ecological Metadata Langualge 2.0.1)

Metadata_Extensions: