skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Net Primary Productivity (NPP) Weight Data at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico
Several long-term studies at the Sevilleta LTER measure net primary production (NPP) across ecosystems and treatments. Net primary production is a fundamental ecological variable that quantifies rates of carbon consumption and fixation. Estimates of NPP are important in understanding energy flow at a community level as well as spatial and temporal responses to a range of ecological processes. Above-ground net primary production (ANPP) is the change in plant biomass, including loss to death and decomposition, over a given period of time. To measure this change, vegetation variables, including species composition and the cover and height of individuals, are sampled up to three times yearly (winter, spring, and fall) at permanent plots within a study site. The weight data presented here is obtained by harvesting a series of covers for species observed during plot sampling. These species are always harvested from habitat comparable to the plots in which they were recorded. This data is then used to make volumetric measurements of species and build regressions correlating biomass and volume. From these calculations, seasonal biomass and seasonal and annual NPP are determined.    more » « less
Award ID(s):
1655499
PAR ID:
10424128
Author(s) / Creator(s):
Publisher / Repository:
Environmental Data Initiative
Date Published:
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; (, Environmental Data Initiative)
    {"Abstract":["This dataset is part of a long-term study at the Sevilleta LTER,\n begun in spring 2004, which examines how fertilization affects\n above-ground biomass production (ANPP) in a mixed desert-grassland.\n Net primary production is a fundamental ecological variable that\n quantifies rates of carbon consumption and fixation. Estimates of\n NPP are important in understanding energy flow at a community level\n as well as spatial and temporal responses to a range of ecological\n processes. Above-ground net primary production is the change in\n plant biomass, represented by stems, flowers, fruit and foliage,\n over time and incorporates growth as well as loss to death and\n decomposition. To measure this change the vegetation variables in\n this dataset, including species composition and the cover and height\n of individuals, are sampled twice yearly (spring and fall) at\n permanent 1m x 1m plots. The data from these plots is used to build\n regressions correlating biomass and volume via weights of select\n harvested species obtained in SEV157, "Net Primary Productivity\n (NPP) Weight Data." This biomass data is included in SEV186,\n "Nitrogen Fertilization Experiment (NFert): Seasonal Biomass\n and Seasonal and Annual NPP Data.""]} 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; ; (, Environmental Data Initiative)
    {"Abstract":["Begun in spring 2013, this project is part of a long-term study at\n the Sevilleta LTER measuring net primary production (NPP) across\n three distinct ecosystems: creosote-dominant shrubland (Site C),\n black grama-dominant grassland (Site G), and blue grama-dominant\n grassland (Site B). Net primary production is a fundamental\n ecological variable that quantifies rates of carbon consumption and\n fixation. Estimates of NPP are important in understanding energy\n flow at a community level as well as spatial and temporal responses\n to a range of ecological processes. Above-ground net primary\n production is the change in plant biomass, represented by stems,\n flowers, fruit and foliage, over time and incorporates growth as\n well as loss to death and decomposition. To measure this change the\n vegetation variables in this dataset, including species composition\n and the cover and height of individuals, are sampled twice yearly\n (spring and fall) at permanent 1m x 1m plots within each site. A\n third sampling at Site C is performed in the winter. The data from\n these plots is used to build regressions correlating biomass and\n volume via weights of select harvested species obtained in SEV999,\n "Net Primary Productivity (NPP) Weight Data." This biomass\n data is included in SEV999, "Seasonal Biomass and Seasonal and\n Annual NPP for Core Grid Research Sites.""]} 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; ; ; (, Environmental Data Initiative)
    {"Abstract":["This dataset contains pinon-juniper woodland quadrat data and is\n part of a long-term study at the Sevilleta LTER measuring net\n primary production (NPP) across four distinct ecosystems:\n creosote-dominant shrubland (Site C, est. winter 1999), black\n grama-dominant grassland (Site G, est. winter 1999), blue\n grama-dominant grassland (Site B, est. winter 2002), and\n pinon-juniper woodland (Site P, est. winter 2003). Net primary\n production is a fundamental ecological variable that quantifies\n rates of carbon consumption and fixation. Estimates of NPP are\n important in understanding energy flow at a community level as well\n as spatial and temporal responses to a range of ecological\n processes. Above-ground net primary production is the change in\n plant biomass, represented by stems, flowers, fruit and and foliage,\n over time and incorporates growth as well as loss to death and\n decomposition. To measure this change the vegetation variables in\n this dataset, including species composition and the cover and height\n of individuals, are sampled twice yearly (spring and fall) at\n permanent 1m x 1m plots within each site. A third sampling at Site C\n is performed in the winter. The data from these plots is used to\n build regressions correlating biomass and volume via weights of\n select harvested species obtained in SEV157, "Net Primary\n Productivity (NPP) Weight Data." This biomass data is included\n in SEV182, "Seasonal Biomass and Seasonal and Annual NPP for\n Core Research Sites.""]} 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; (, Environmental Data Initiative)
    {"Abstract":["Begun in fall 2006, this long-term study at the Sevilleta LTER\n examines changes in net primary production (NPP) caused by increased\n precipitation variability within a semiarid grassland. Net primary\n production is a fundamental ecological variable that quantifies\n rates of carbon consumption and fixation. Estimates of NPP are\n important in understanding energy flow at a community level as well\n as spatial and temporal responses to a range of ecological\n processes. While measures of both below- and above-ground biomass\n are important in estimating total NPP, this study focuses on\n above-ground net primary production (ANPP). Above-ground net primary\n production is the change in plant biomass, including loss to death\n and decomposition, over a given period of time. Volumetric\n measurements are made using vegetation data from permanent plots\n (SEV188, "Monsoon Rainfall Manipulation Experiment (MRME): Net\n Primary Production Quadrat Data") and regressions correlating\n species biomass and volume constructed using seasonal harvest\n weights from SEV157, "Net Primary Productivity (NPP) Weight\n Data.""]} 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; ; ; (, Environmental Data Initiative)
    {"Abstract":["This dataset contains pinon-juniper woodland biomass data and is\n part of a long-term study at the Sevilleta LTER measuring net\n primary production (NPP) across four distinct ecosystems:\n creosote-dominant shrubland (Site C, est. winter 1999), black\n grama-dominant grassland (Site G, est. winter 1999), blue\n grama-dominant grassland (Site B, est. winter 2002), and\n pinon-juniper woodland (Site P, est. winter 2003). Net primary\n production is a fundamental ecological variable that quantifies\n rates of carbon consumption and fixation. Estimates of NPP are\n important in understanding energy flow at a community level as well\n as spatial and temporal responses to a range of ecological\n processes. Above-ground net primary production is the change in\n plant biomass, represented by stems, flowers, fruit and and foliage,\n over time and incoporates growth as well as loss to death and\n decomposition. To measure this change the vegetation variables in\n this dataset, including species composition and the cover and height\n of individuals, are sampled twice yearly (spring and fall) at\n permanent 1m x 1m plots within each site. A third sampling at Site C\n is performed in the winter. Volumetric measurements are made using\n vegetation data from permanent plots (SEV278, "Pinon-Juniper\n (Core Site) Quadrat Data for the Net Primary Production Study")\n and regressions correlating species biomass and volume constructed\n using seasonal harvest weights from SEV157, "Net Primary\n Productivity (NPP) Weight Data.""]} 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email