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{"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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Effects of Fire Seasonality on Chihuahuan Desert Grasslands at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2007-2020)
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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- Award ID(s):
- 1655499
- PAR ID:
- 10424114
- Publisher / Repository:
- Environmental Data Initiative
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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