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1. Soil seedbank analysis under experimental drought and delayed monsoon treatments in blue grama and black grama grassland at Sevilleta

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/0c1cfdf74faae96dd4d489f8b6c49c24  

   Loydi, Alejandro; Collins, Scott L (January 2021, Environmental Data Initiative)

   {"Abstract":["This study investigated the question, "Does climate change\n affect vegetation and seed bank composition in desert\n grasslands?" The work was done in the Sevilleta National\n Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, USA, in in the Extreme Drought in\n Grassland Experiment (EDGE). Vegetation and seed bank species\n composition were recorded in black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) and\n blue grama (B. gracilis) grasslands at Sevilleta. At each site, two\n rainfall manipulations and ambient controls were established in 2013\n (n=10). Treatments included extreme drought (-66% rainfall\n reduction) and delayed monsoon (precipitation captured during\n July-August and reapplied during September-October). Aboveground\n species composition was assessed and composite soil samples were\n collected in 2017, five years after the experiment started. Seed\n bank composition was evaluated using the seedling emergence method.\n Rainfall treatments increased aboveground species richness at both\n sites, and seed bank richness only in the blue grama community.\n Vegetation cover was reduced by both rainfall manipulations, but\n seed bank density increased or remained the same compared with\n controls. In aboveground vegetation, cover of annual and perennial\n forbs increased, and dominant perennial grasses decreased. In the\n soil seed bank, species composition was similar among all treatments\n and was dominated by annual and perennial forbs. The seed bank was\n more resistant to drought than aboveground vegetation. Because seed\n banks enhance long-term community stability, their drought\n resistance plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem\n processes during and following drought in these grassland\n communities."]} 

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2. Field-Collected Spectral Reflectance of Dominant Vegetation at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/d318e3b1691898448548f163ea708171  

   LTER, Sevilleta; Converse, Rowan L (January 2021, Environmental Data Initiative)

   {"Abstract":["This dataset includes field-collected spectral reflectance of\n dominant vegetation species in grassland and shrubland at the\n Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge collected monthly May \u2013 September\n 2019. A spectroradiometer was used to collect the percent spectral\n reflectance of electromagnetic radiation (range 400-2500nm) of a\n sample of dominant vegetation species ("spectra"),\n yielding a spectral curve for each species. At least ten individuals\n per species were sampled. These data form a spectral library which\n was used to calibrate a multiple-endmember spectral mixture analysis\n (MESMA) of satellite imagery of the Sevilleta NWR, as part of an\n ongoing collaboration between the LTER and the Center for the\n Advancement of Spatial Informatics Research and Education (ASPIRE).\n Ultimately, we aim to produce fractional images of green vegetation,\n non-photosynthetic vegetation, bare soil, and shade to form a\n synoptic thirty-year record of vegetation dynamics at the Refuge.\n The spectral library can be referenced by future researchers using\n remote sensing methods to examine vegetation dynamics at the\n Sevilleta NWR."]} 

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3. Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research Program Plant Species List

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/685df487cb89f424969904bcdf4f2926  

   Baker, Stephanie R; Baur, Lauren; Muldavin, Esteban H; Rudgers, Jennifer A (January 2019, Environmental Data Initiative)

   Sevilleta Long-Term Ecological Research Program has monitored plant species cover, height, abundance (counts), and biomass since 1999. This list represents the plant species found at the Sevilleta, including those species featured in long-term datasets on plant abundance and biomass. Species codes have been updated to the most recent taxonomic designations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (plants.sc.egov.usda.gov), and are listed by their kartez codes, or character and number symbols. 

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4. Bee species abundance and composition in three ecosystem types at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, USA

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/cdc8381b8b2be97188daeffcd6310e9b  

   Wright, Karen W; Kazenel, Melanie R; Bettinelli, Julieta; Griswold, Terry L; McLellan, Jade; Whitney, Kenneth D; Rudgers, Jennifer A (January 2023, Environmental Data Initiative)

   This study was designed to examine community- or population-level fluctuations in bee species at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, both intra- and inter-annually. From 2002 to 2019, passive funnel traps were used to collect bees at three sites, each representing a different ecosystem type of the southwestern U.S. (Plains grassland, Chihuahuan Desert grassland, and Chihuahuan Desert shrubland). Bees were collected during each month from March through October, and were identified to species by taxonomic experts. 

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5. Effects of Fire Seasonality on Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2007-2020)

   https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/7813946ab0e50565ba59ca1b6a772cc1  

   Collins, Scott (January 2021, Environmental Data Initiative)

   Desert grassland vegetation is a key resource upon which rangelands in the southwestern US are built, and managing these ecosystems remains a critical challenge today. This experimental fire seasonality research project, in collaboration with the USFWS, USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station, and the Sevilleta LTER, is intended to provide land management agencies with information about vegetation recovery following fire under different seasonal conditions and burning treatments. This experimental research will enable the FWS to more effectively set project objectives for prescribed burning on the Sevilleta NWR to benefit not only wildlife habitat, but to better align the timing and intensity of fire to benefit the reestablishment of the dominant native grama grasses Bouteloua eriopoda and B. gracilis. Since its creation in 1973, management has been devoted to restoring the Sevilleta NWR to the natural conditions that might have been seen around the turn of the century. The Sevilleta NWR is an ideal place for research because climatic conditions, plant species composition and net primary production following wildfire have been well documented by the Sevilleta LTER. Additional experimental research is needed, however, to better inform managers about the timing and use of fire as an ecosystem restoration and management tool. This is an on-going, long-term experiment under the auspices of the Sevilleta LTER program. 

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