Assessing the rate and reversibility of large herbivore effects on community composition in a semi-arid grassland ecosystem with GZTX data on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1992-2017
This data package was produced initially by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Then, was continued by the Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit of the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Data collection was conducted on the Central Plains Experimental Range in Nunn, Colorado.
When the CPER was established in 1939, researchers constructed a .5-1 ha grazing exclosure in each of the pastures. These areas have remained protected from grazing for the past 70 years. The remaining areas have been grazed for the past 20+ years. This collection of pastures and exclosures provided an extraordinary opportunity to reinitiate grazing and protection, and evaluate the balance between degradation and aggradation. We proposed to rearrange fences and expose areas to grazing that have been protected for 50 years, and protect areas from grazing that had been grazed for 50 years. The combinations of grazing conditions were: 1. Long-term protection 2. Long-term grazing (moderate) 3. 50 years of protection followed by grazing 4. 50 years of grazing followed by protection Net primary production, nitrogen dynamics, cattle utilization, and community dynamics of vegetation were measured. Additional information and referenced materials about many of the long-term studies initiated on the CPER can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/85596.
Resources in this dataset:
Resource Title: Monthly Precipitation Data (1991-2017) from the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, CO.
File Name: precipitationData.xlsx
Resource Description: These data were collected from a catch can located at the CPER headquarters
Resource Title: Species level percent basal cover data associated with the GZTX study on the Central Plains Experimental Range..
File Name: baseline3_GZTX.xlsx
Resource Description: Species level percent basal cover data associated with the GZTX study on the Central Plains Experimental Range.
Resource Title: baseline3 GZTX Data Dictionary.
File Name: baseline3_GZTX_dataDictionary.csv
Funding
USDA-ARS: 3012-21610-001-00D
National Science Foundation: DEB-0217631, 0823405
History
Data contact name
Augustine, DavidData contact email
David.Augustine@usda.govPublisher
Ag Data CommonsIntended use
In this study, we are interested in understanding how fast, how reversible, and how much plant species change on the shortgrass steppe of Colorado (North American Great Plains) when we add and take away grazing. To study this, we evaluated rates and magnitude of basal cover change in newly ungrazed and newly grazed sites (established in 1991), relative to change in a long-term (grazed and ungrazed) comparison treatments (established in 1939) over 25 years. Our findings documented rapid, reversible and largely symmetric effects of both adding and removing grazing between 1992-2017. This was primarily due to differences in the rate of increase in basal cover of cool season midgrasses, litter, and bare ground. This is important because effective adaptive management will need to consider the ways the effects of grazing can be reversible in a relatively symmetrical pattern and that they appear to be changing more rapidly in the early 21st century than was observed in the mid-late 20th century.Temporal Extent Start Date
1992-07-01Temporal Extent End Date
2017-09-01Theme
- Not specified
Geographic Coverage
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Central Plains Experimental Range is a ~6400 ha Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) Network site in northeast Colorado, USA (40˚50’N, 104˚43’W)ISO Topic Category
- biota
- environment
- farming
Ag Data Commons Group
- Central Plains Experimental Range
- Long-Term Agroecosystem Research
National Agricultural Library Thesaurus terms
herbivores; community structure; arid lands; ecosystems; Colorado; steppes; rangelands; Agricultural Research Service; data collection; grazing; pastures; fences; net primary productivity; nitrogen; cattle; spatial data; atmospheric precipitationOMB Bureau Code
- 005:18 - Agricultural Research Service
OMB Program Code
- 005:040 - National Research
ARS National Program Number
- 215
Primary article PubAg Handle
Pending citation
- No
Public Access Level
- Public