SGS-LTER Long-Term Monitoring Project: Vegetation Structure on Small Mammal Trapping Webs on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1999 -2006, ARS Study Number 118
This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/83458. The abundance and diversity of small mammals in shortgrass steppe is strongly influenced by the structure and composition of vegetation. Vegetation structure provides cover from predators and harsh abiotic conditions. Plant species composition affects the types of seeds and herbaceous material available to granivores and herbivores, and influences arthropod populations, which are important prey for the omnivorous species that dominate in shortgrass steppe. Both vegetation structure and plant community composition are sensitive to the availability of precipitation as well as the activity of large mammalian herbivores. In 1999, we began measuring vegetation structure and plant community composition on the three grassland and three shrubland trapping webs where we live-trap small mammals. Vegetation measurements are made once each year, usually in mid-July. Percent canopy cover of each plant species was estimated visually in 30 0.10-m2 Daubenmire quadrats on each web. To estimate habitat structure, we measured the height of grass, forb and shrub plants adjacent to each quadrat, the density of half-shrubs, small mammal mounds and burrows, harvester ant mounds and the dimensions of large shrubs and animal mounds.
Resources in this dataset:
Resource Title: Website Pointer to html file.
File Name: Web Page, url: https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?scope=knb-lter-sgs&identifier=141
Webpage with information and links to data files for download
Funding
Agricultural Research Service
National Science Foundation, DEB 1027319
History
Data contact name
Stapp, PaulData contact email
pstapp@fullerton.eduPublisher
Colorado State UniversityUse limitations
URL for Access Policies http://www.lternet.edu/policies/data-access Data Access Policy Data sets were provided by the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Program, a partnership between Colorado State University, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, and the U.S. Forest Service Pawnee National Grassland. Significant funding for these data was provided by the National Science Foundation Long Term Ecological Research program (NSF Grant Number DEB-1027319). The SGS-LTER project (1980-2014) was established as one of the first sites in the US LTER Network and has produce a rich legacy of digital materials including reports, proposals, images, and data packages. Data, products and other information produced from the SGS-LTER are curated as a collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). Materials can be accessed from the Institutional Digital Repository of Colorado State University or upon request by emailing ecodata_nrel@colostate.edu. All data are open for dissemination and re-use for any purpose, but you must attribute credit to the owner and cite use appropriately according to the LTER Data Access Policy.Temporal Extent Start Date
1999-07-15Temporal Extent End Date
2006-07-31Theme
- Not specified
Geographic Coverage
{"type":"FeatureCollection","features":[{"geometry":{"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[-104.785833,40.8575],[-104.730556,40.8575],[-104.730556,40.800278],[-104.785833,40.800278],[-104.785833,40.8575]]]},"type":"Feature","properties":{}}]}Geographic location - description
The Short Grass Steppe Site Encompasses A Large Portion Of The Colorado Piedmont Section Of The Western Great Plains. The Extent Is Defined As The Boundaries Of The Central Plains Experimental Range (cper). The Cper Has A Single Ownership And Landuse (livestock Grazing). The Png Is Characterized By A Mosaic Of Ownership And Land Use. Ownership Includes Federal, State Or Private And Land Use Consists Of Livestock Grazing Or Row-crops. There Are Ngo Conservation Groups That Exert Influence Over The Area, Particularly On Federal Lands.ISO Topic Category
- environment
- climatologyMeteorologyAtmosphere
- biota
- farming
- geoscientificInformation
Ag Data Commons Group
- Central Plains Experimental Range
- Long-Term Agroecosystem Research
National Agricultural Library Thesaurus terms
agroecosystems; rangelands; sustainable agricultural intensificationOMB Bureau Code
- 005:18 - Agricultural Research Service
OMB Program Code
- 005:040 - National Research
ARS National Program Number
- 215
Pending citation
- No
Public Access Level
- Public