1995 Annual Report
Table of Contents
CORE AREA 1
Net Primary Production: Patterns and Implications
Project Coordinator: Laura F. Huenneke, Department of Biology,
New Mexico State University
We have sampled vegetation at 15 sites (3 each in Larrea-
dominated, Prosopis-dominated, and Flourensia-dominated
shrublands, and 3 each in Bouteloua eriopoda-dominated grasslands
and dry lake (playa) ecosystems) since spring l989--an
accumulation of l8 sample periods thus far. Analyses from the
first several years of data indicate:
- mean aboveground biomass does not differ between ecosystem types.
- aboveground biomass is distributed in a more heterogeneous
manner in the shrublands than in the grass-dominated systems,
when measured at the scale of l-m2-quadrats.
- mean net aboveground productivity (NPP) does not differ between
ecosystem types.
- productivity is more spatially heterogeneous in shrublands than
in grasslands in some seasons.
As we gather enough data, we will test the prediction that
grassland systems demonstrate greater temporal variation in
productivity than do shrub systems, because of the greater
reliance of grasses on shallow soil moisture.
Because the dataset separates biomass and NPP by species, we have
a rich record of plant community structure and dynamics.
Analyses indicate that our shrub systems are more species-poor
(and display lower values for evenness) than the grasslands, and
that the species assemblage of shrub-dominated sites is derived
from an impoverishment of the grasslands (rather than from a
replacement of one set of species by another). This research
also shows the difficulties of evaluating the biodiversity of
arid ecosystems, which experience great temporal variability.
The community data are currently being used to address a topic of
major concern: the relationship between biodiversity and
ecosystem function. We are interested in whether sites with
different plant species diversity or growth forms display
different levels of NPP and other measures of ecosystem function.
Preliminary analyses suggest a tendency for the most species-rich
ecosystems to have higher NPP--at least in some seasons (e.g.,
fall l992 in Figure l). However, the cumulative species number
recorded for a site over the entire study is not correlated with
mean annual NPP Figure 2). We are particularly interested in
whether higher diversity serves to buffer the severe fluctuations
in NPP that characterize arid lands. To date, our data for
cumulative species number are not correlated with simple measures
of variation in NPP Figure 3).
CORE AREA 2
Studies of Animal Communities
Project Coordinator: David C. Lightfoot, Department of Biology,
University of New Mexico
Initiation of new studies of animal populations and modifications
of existing (Jornada LTER-II) studies were completed over the
l994-95 academic year. Some existing lizard pitfall trapping
plots have been moved to locations adjacent to plant production
plots to better balance our experimental design. Each of the
lizard sampling plots in each of the major habitats--
creosotebush, mesquite, tarbush, and grassland-- is now
associated with a vegetation plot. Lizard sampling for spring
l995 has just been completed at all sites.
Termite foraging measurements that are conducted on the lizard
study plots are continuing. Termite foraging baits were placed
on the study plots in January l995. In addition, a new series of
arthropod pitfall traps has been installed, and these have been
operational since February l995. The first series of samples was
collected in April l995. Pitfall traps that are specifically
designed for ground-dwelling arthropods have also been installed
in the major study sites. The arthropod pitfall traps employ the
design used at the Sevilleta LTER site, to allow for cross-site
comparisons of ground-dwelling arthropods in the Chihuahuan
desert. Thus, we now have an integrated sampling program to
collect data on plant production, various arthropod trophic
groups, and predatory lizards--in major habitats of the Jornada
basin.
Vegetation and soil measurement plots and rodent trapping webs
for the new small mammal exclosure study were installed in
February l995 at grassland and creosotebush sites. The first
series of rodent trapping and vegetation and soil sampling was
completed in April l995. Exclosure fences will be constructed
during the l995-96 academic year, after one year of pretreatment
measurements on the study plots.
CORE AREA 3
Spatial Distribution of Soil Resources
Project Coordinator: William H. Schlesinger, Departments of
Botany and Geology, Duke University
We examined the spatial distribution of soil nutrients in
various desert ecosystems of the southwestern United States to
test the hypothesis that the invasion of semiarid grasslands by
desert shrubs is associated with the development of "islands of
fertility" under shrubs. In grasslands of the Chihuahuan desert
of New Mexico, 35-76% of the variation in soil N was found at
distances < 20 cm, which may be due to local accumulations of
soil N under Bouteloua eriopoda--a perennial bunchgrass Figure 4). The remaining variance is found over distances extending to
7 m, which is unlikely to be related to nutrient cycling by
grasses. In adjacent shrublands, in which Larrea tridentata has
replaced these grasses over the last century, soil N is more
concentrated under shrubs and autocorrelated over distances
extending to l.0-3.0 m, similar to mean shrub size and reflecting
local nutrient cycling by shrubs. A similar pattern was seen in
the shrublands of the Mojave desert of California. Soil PO4, Cl,
SO4, and K also accumulate under desert shrubs, whereas Rb, Na,
Li, Ca, Mg and Sr are usually more concentrated in the intershrub
spaces. Changes in the distribution of soil properties may be a
useful index of desertification in arid and semiarid grasslands
worldwide.
CORE AREA 3
Dynamics of Soil Organic Matter in Response to Vegetation Change
Project Coordinator: Ross A. Virginia, Environmental Studies
Program, Dartmouth College
We are using the l3C/l2C isotope ratio of soil organic matter and
pedogenic carbonate to quantify changes in the soil carbon pools
that are associated with the replacement of grasslands by
shrublands at the Jornada. The grasslands are dominated by
plants using C-4 photosynthesis, whereas the shrublands are
characterized by C-3 plants--resulting in different isotopic
ratios in the organic matter deposited in the soil.
The 13C isotope ratio of plant debris derived from mesquite and
black grama are -25% and -l5% , respectively. Preliminary
results indicate that the C4-C3 community transition can be
traced by isotopic analysis of soils Figure 5). C-l3 values for
soil detritus in the black grama grassland suggest that 93% and
l00% of the heavy and light fractions, respectively, at the soil
surface are derived from C-4 plants. C-4 dominance declines to
72% at 90 cm in the light fraction and to 51% at 100 cm in the
heavy fraction. This trend suggests that C-3 plants previously
dominated this site; C-4 grasses arrived more recently. Detritus
derived from C-3 plants is found in a calcic horizon at l00 cm,
which may represent material that is considerably older than the
organic matter immediately above the calcic horizon. This might
be expected if calcic horizons protect ancient carbon from modern
pedogenic processes.
The C-l3 profile for carbonate indicates a relatively stable
proportion of C3 and C4 plants over the period of carbonate
formation. Average C-4 influence is approximately 55%,
suggesting that this material formed early in the site's history.
Rapid C-l3 enrichment with depth in recently deposited dune
material serves as a marker for the modern C4 to C3 community
transition. This enrichment exceeds typical profile variations
seen in steady-state conditions. From the soil surface to l70-cm
depth, the percent C3 contribution decreases from 72% to l6% and
from 92% to 78% in heavy and light fractions, respectively.
These differences, when compared to the grassland profile,
indicate that mesquite detritus is present in the light fraction
to l70 cm and in the heavy fraction to l40 cm. Differences
between fractions may result from greater turnover rates
associated with the light fraction. Comparisons of percent C-4
carbon in the A and Ab horizons of grassland and mesquite dune
profiles, respectively, allow a calculation of the turnover of
grass litter. Assuming a dune age of 80 years, the approximate
turnover time of grass detritus is 98 years.
CORE AREA 3
Studies of Soil Development in the Quaternary
Project Coordinator: H. Curtis Monger, Department of Agronomy,
New Mexico State University
Human land use is closely linked to the modern trends of
desertification in the Chihuahuan desert. Although remote
sensing can monitor current desertification and old photographs
and survey records provide estimates of desertification since the
late l800s, an understanding of the prehistoric trends in arid
lands must rely on the sedimentary record. Detailed soil-
geomorphic mapping reveals several cycles of erosion and
sedimentation during the Quaternary. More recent studies
indicate that paleosols contain isotopic evidence of
desertification that is driven by changing climates and
atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
The goal of our pedologic studies is to refine our knowledge of
natural desertification by mapping, dating and analyzing stable
isotopes and fossil pollen in paleosols. Then by using
sedimentation rates as a proxy for desertification, we hope to
gain insight about the magnitude of human-induced desertification
by comparing it to natural, historic desertification. In order
to achieve this goal, detailed, comparative soil-geomorphic
mapping is being conducted in the Chihuahuan desert in the
Jornada basin, at Big Bend National Park, and at Boot Hill in
southwestern New Mexico.
Although the mineralogy of arid soils has been studied using
thin-section petrology the relationship between soil minerals,
microbes and roots is not well known. Our petrographic studies
are designed to observe the relationships of microbes--mainly
fungi--with soil minerals and roots. The goal of this research
is to help elucidate the role that microbes play in mining soil
nutrients and water for desert plants.
CORE AREA 4
Studies in microbial ecology - pattern and process.
Project Coordinator: R. Peter Herman, Department of Biology, New
Mexico State University
There is little difference in the population of microbes in the
Nitrogen Efficient Guild (NEG) in soil samples taken near plants
compared to between-plants in grasslands, with a 10-40 fold
rhizosphere effect limited to root-adhering soil. These results
are consistent with predictions based on the resource island
hypothesis. If soil nutrients are relatively evenly distributed
in grasslands, one would predict that soil microorganisms would
be relatively evenly distributed.
We have examined the resource island hypothesis further by
measuring the NEG and "total heterotroph" populations in one
example of each of the five major vegetation types found at the
Jornada LTER. Soils were collected from the plant and interplant
spaces in bajada and playa grasslands, as well as creosotebush,
mesquite and tarbush shrublands. Total heterotrophs were
enumerated by a most probable number (MPN) technique due to
problems with swarming organisms on dilution plates. The NEG
were enumerated by plate counts as previously described (Herman
et al. 1994). Both heterotrophs and NEG members followed the
distribution pattern predicted by the resource island hypothesis.
There were no significant differences in heterotroph or NEG
numbers comparing plant and interplant samples for both the playa
and bajada grasslands. Further, populations were generally
higher in nutrient-rich playa grasslands than nutrient-poor
bajada grasslands.
In contrast, both heterotroph and NEG numbers were higher under
shrubs than between shrubs in all three shrub sites. The ratios
of counts taken under plants compared to those taken between
plants clearly show much higher ratios in shrublands than in
grasslands. These results are illustrated in Figure 6 and Table 1). They suggest that resource abundance in shrub islands
predicts the distribution of heterotrophic bacterial numbers in
desert soils (Herman et al 1995).
CORE AREA 4
Population variability in water-use characteristics of
creosotebush (Larrea tridentata)
Project Coordinator: Vincent P. Gutschick, Department of Biology,
New Mexico State University
Individual plants of Larrea tridentata vary in transpiration
rates, water-use efficiency, and drought tolerance. These
characteristics determine plant water status, competitive water
use and ultimately fitness. We are sampling the variability in
stomatal control that underlies many of these traits.
In regional hydrologic and general circulation models of global
climate, evapotranspiration is typically predicted from
remotely-sensed stand structure, plus knowledge of stomatal
conductance as a function of microclimate and physiological
control parameters. A plant's stomatal conductance, CO2
assimilation rate, transpiration rate, and water-use efficiency
are determined by fundamental processes, of which stomatal
control at various stages of shoot development is the least well
understood. Among factors affecting stomatal control, we focus
on surveying variation in the Ball-Berry slope, m, in leaf
investment in carboxylation capacity, and in resultant water-use
efficiency traits, especially leaf internal CO2 concentration.
We believe that Ci and related physiological traits vary among
plants as a function of local variation in soil texture,
topography (areas of runoff or runon), neighbor density, and
current plant stature.
For these studies, we have chosen 50 plants along a well-
described (i.e., soil characteristics) transect in the Jornada
Experimental Range. We make repeated measures of soil and leaf
water potentials to measure plant water status in the field. To
measure underlying stomatal control parameters, we measure leaf
gas exchange over day-long intervals. A novel aspect of our work
is the use of process models to reconstruct the diurnal course of
leaf performance in free air from 3 to 4 measurements in
cuvettes. We are testing our predictions of time-averaged Ci
against those derived from carbon isotope discrimination in
recent photoassimilate extracted from leaves. We are using
hierarchical analysis of variance to examine variations in
stomatal control among plants in different growth situations.
We have a special interest in assessing whether thermal damage
and photoinhibition during drought affect the assimilation
capacity of creosotebush. We have begun a comprehensive effort
to measure photoinhibition and to measure and model the
microclimatic histories of each leaf that might determine its
potential for photoinhibition. To this end, Dr. Gutschick will
visit M.C. Ball of Australian National University during the
summer of l995, where he will make comparative field tests near
Bungedore, NSW. This effort is supported by ancillary funding
obtained from the International Programs Division at NSF.
CORE AREA 4
Hydrologic and Mass Transport Studies in the Jornada Basin
Project Coordinator: Athol D. Abrahams, Department of Geography,
State University of New York at Buffalo.
A conceptual model of the hydrological behavior of the bajada
surface has been developed, taking into account the flow
concentration and dispersal mechanisms. These routing mechanisms
are poorly understood and have not been implemented in other
recent models. Accordingly, parts of the bajada below Mount
Summerford were surveyed and 6 flumes were installed in January
l995 to investigate whether there is a link between the
topographic parameters of slope and planform shape and the
erosional controls of flow routing. These links are currently
being developed into an algorithm for bajada flow, so that
initial testing and validation of predicted patterns of flow may
be performed. This testing will use the Digital Elevation Model
(DEM) for the Mount Summerford area. Eventually more extensive
testing and analysis of the model will be conducted over a larger
area.
The record of runoff from natural precipitation events will be
supplemented by studies using simulated rainfall on small runoff
plots during June and July l995. This work will encompass:
- an analysis of the movement of solutes in overland flow on
grassland and shrubland.
- an investigation of runoff and sediment yield from the
grassland and shrubland sites, coupled with an evaluation of the
ability of WEPP (The Water Erosion Project Model) to predict
these fluxes.
- a study of the impact of digging by small rodents on runoff and
sediment yield.
- an investigation of the hydrological consequences of shrub
canopies in intercepting and redistributing rainfall.
In addition, laboratory experiments are being carried out at
SUNY-Buffalo with the goal of developing a sediment transport
equation to predict overland flow on irregular hillslope surfaces
under different rainfall regimes.
CORE AREA 4
Wind Erosion: Relation to crusting in barren soils.
Project Coordinator: Dale A. Gillette, Air Resources Laboratory,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Research
Triangle Park, N.C.
In the absence of protecting vegetation or clastic cover,
resistance of the soil to wind erosion comes about by crusting of
the surface. This crusting is caused by physical and chemical
processes and by the presence of nonvascular plants.
Experimental work is aimed at identifying soil crusts at the
Jornada Range and to measure the stresses required to destroy
these crusts with respect to wind erosion.
Samples of soil crust were obtained from 3 barren sites with
visible soil crusting at the Jornada Experimental Range, over a
period of about l year. During this period, there were no major
wind erosion events although the crusts were wetted and reformed
following precipitation events. These strong crusts required
disturbance by animals or humans to lower the threshold velocity,
allowing erosion by observed winds. Simultaneously, wind erosion
thresholds were exceeded at the nearby Jornada USGS Geomet site,
but the barren, sandy soils at that site were protected from wind
erosion by shrub vegetation--not by crusting. Thus, barren soils
are potentially protected from wind erosion by a variety of
mechanisms in the Jornada basin.
In the past year, a permanent study site has been located, where
crusting is present but the soil is abradable by wind. Three
automated meteorological towers are being erected at this site
and the in-situ history of the crust will be monitored. The
three towers measure wind speed at 4 heights (0.2, 0.5, l.0 and
2.0 m) and wind direction. The towers have been placed in the
direction of the strongest winds, so that detailed 20-minute
averaged measurements may be obtained for individual wind erosion
events. In addition to wind, particle flux measurements are
obtained at 4 heights--5, 10, 20 and 50 cm. The towers are
powered by solar panels and record data on a DOS-based POQUET
computer located in weather-proof data logger shells on each
tower. Other measurements include soil moisture and air
temperature taken at 2 heights. Collections of airborne soil
particle fluxes are made using the BSNE collectors for 7
locations (3 of them corresponding to the towers) at 6 heights
each--l0, 20, 30, 50, 60 and l00 cm.
These studies are being made in parallel with similar
measurements at Owens Lake, California, where environmental
conditions at the NOAA/USGS cooperative Geomet tower have been
monitored since May l992. Several breakages in the surface
crust have been recorded by the automated towers, allowing us to
determine the conditions that produce active wind erosion at that
site.
CORE AREA 5
Disturbance: Patterns of Herbivory on the Jornada Experimental
Range
Project Coordinator: Kris Havstad, Agricultural Research Service,
U.S. Department of Agriculture
During l994-95 we established the first of two sites designed to
study the effects of acute defoliation stress on the dynamics of
desert ecosystems. Each site consists of eighteen 0.5-ha
exclosures; the first site was fenced and the main effect
manipulation--shrub removal--was applied in l994. The second
site will be constructed by August l995 and the shrub treatments
will be applied in early l996. The area selected for the second
experiment is pictured in the color composite (page 27) included
with this report.
Preliminary data, including vegetation composition and basal
cover, have been collected across the exclosures of the first
site. In addition, initial winter grazing and burning
treatments have been applied, and 6 exclosures were winter-grazed
by livestock in l995. Approximately 80% of the aboveground
perennial grass biomass was removed in a 24-hour grazing period.
Small plots (3 x 4 m) in each of the l8 exclosures were burned in
l994. Baseline analyses of carbon and nitrogen in plant and soil
samples from all treatments are being completed. Vegetation
responses to these treatments will be first assessed in fall
l995.
We have studied the mediation by plant secondary chemistry of the
selection of desert shrubs by grazing livestock. Diet selection
by ruminants, including domestic livestock, can be described as a
learned hedyphagia with euphagic consequences. We have focused
on tarbush (Flourensia cernua), and hypothesize that diet
selection is a function of preingestive sensory perceptions and
postingestive feedbacks. We have converted lambs to tarbush
consumption through early life exposure to feed mixtures
containing tarbush leaves Figure 7).
It is recognized that ruminants will reduce their ingestion of
potential toxins to nontoxic levels, and we observed that
postingestive malaise can control the intake of tarbush. We will
continue these studies of animal feedbacks on diet selection from
desert rangelands during l996.
MODELING
Patch and Landscape Models of Desertification
Project Coordinator: J.F. Reynolds, Department of Botany, Duke
University.
During the past year, we have continued to develop the Patch Arid
Lands Simulator (PALS) and the REgional General Arid Lands
Simulator (REGALS). We developed 3 soil water models for use in
PALS to evaluate the extent to which variation in plant growth
form, plant cover, and soil texture interact to affect relative
rates of evaporation and transpiration. These models incorporate
the l-dimensional distribution of water in the soil and have
functions to make explicit calculations of transpiration and soil
evaporation. PALS-SW includes soil water fluxes and emphasizes
physiological control of water loss by different plant life
forms; 2DSOIL emphasizes the physical aspects of soil water
fluxes, and SWB is a simple water-budget model that has no soil
water redistribution and simplified schemes for soil evaporation
and transpiration by different life forms.
Model predictions were compared to observed soil water
distributions at 5 positions, representative of different plant
communities along the LTER topographic gradient from the base of
Mt. Summerford to the playa. All models predict soil water
distributions reasonably well Figure 8), with similar trends in
the fractions of water lost as evaporation vs. transpiration.
Transpiration was lowest (ca. 40% of total ET) for the
creosotebush community. The fraction of ET lost as transpiration
increased with increasing plant cover, with 2DSOIL predicting the
highest transpiration (60% of total ET) for the mixed vegetation
community with 60% cover on relatively fine-textured soil, and
PALS-SW predicting highest transpiration (69% of ET) for the
mixed vegetation community with 70% cover on relatively coarse-
textured soil. Community type had an effect on the amount of
water lost as transpiration primarily via differences in the
depth and distribution of roots. In this respect, PALS-SW
predicted the greatest difference among stations as related to
differences in plant community types. However, since PALS-SW did
not fit the soil moisture data as well as 2DSOIL, differences in
the morphology and physiology of life forms may be secondary to
the overall control of water loss by the primary factors
accounted for in 2DSOIL--the vertical distribution of soil
moisture, canopy cover, and the evaporative energy budget of the
canopy. Soil texture interacted with the amount and type of
plant cover to affect evaporation and transpiration, but the
effect was relatively minor.
We conducted a theoretical study of the definition and
quantification of heterogeneity to aid us in understanding
landscape ecology. The central hypothesis of the Jornada LTER
suggests that an increase in the temporal and spatial
heterogeneity of soil resources is an important mechanism of
desertification. Testing the Jornada hypothesis requires us to
examine the "if" and "how" of changes in spatial heterogeneity,
but a rigorous definition of spatial heterogeneity and its
measurement is lacking. We proposed an operational definition
and measurement approach that facilitates quantification of
heterogeneity (Li and Reynolds l995). We used a simulation
experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of some landscape
indices to measure spatial heterogeneity.
We are currently developing versions of REGALS to study the
dynamics of desert landscapes. The objective is to examine the
effects of spatial configuration, climate, and grazing on
landscape dynamics. REGALS combines principles of cellular
automata with Markov transition probabilities that include
neighborhood effects. The model uses 3 functional groups (i.e.,
cover types of soil, grass and shrub). In our preliminary runs,
we use a regular lattice of 50 x 50 cells, each of which is
occupied by one of the cover types. Drought is defined by a
time-series of rainfall generated as a random event with two
parameters-- one incorporating the frequency (uniform
distribution) and the other the length (geometric distribution)
of droughts. Grazing affects the transition probabilities. The
neighborhood effect is a function of the state of a cell and the
number of neighbors of different functional types. We
experimented with 3 factors to determine their relative
importance in vegetation dynamics and ran the model with initial
maps with different spatial configurations and transition
probabilities that were a function of disturbances (i.e., climate
and grazing) and neighborhood configurations. When we run the
model for long periods, we can establish the relationship between
the probability of landscape change and the relative importance
of the four factors. Some preliminary results are shown in
Figure 9).
REMOTE SENSING
Ms. Barbara Nolen acts as our full-time expert in Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing applications. Her
efforts jointly support the LTER and the USDA research programs
on the Jornada Experimental Range, including such l994-95
milestones as:
- collection and archiving of satellite and aerial imagery.
- GPS survey of the research sites and associated human features
on the landscape (e.g., fences and wells) to expand our on-line
GIS database.
- processing a level-2 Digital Elevation Model for the area near
Mt. Summerford.
- maintaining the following software on a PC platform for use by
various local and visiting researchers: ARC/INFO for GIS layers,
ERDAS for satellite imagery, Trimble Pathfinder for GPS
surveying, ARCVIEW for viewing all data layers, and Adobe
Photoshop for image manipulation.
- intersite cooperation with the University of Wisconsin's Remote
Sensing Center for the archiving of LANDSAT-TM images on CD-ROM.
- acquisition and availability of Daedalus Imagery for some areas
of the Jornada basin, courtesy of the Environmental Protection
Agency's Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Las Vegas,
N.V.
______________________________
N.B. Figure l0) (overleaf) shows the Daedalus image of the area
in which the second large "stressor" experiment is under
construction. (See core area 5). The wavebands in microns are:
Band 6 0.60 to 0.65
Band 9 0.80 to 0.89
Band 11 8.0 to l3.5
Vegetation appears blue and bare ground as yellow.
DATA MANAGEMENT & NETWORKING
Mr. Kevin LaFleur, the Jornada LTER data manager, accomplished a
number of milestones during the past year, including:
- updating of all LTER-II data set documentation (metadata), and
historical documentation of projects at the Jornada LTER.
- updating of all data sets with data header information, which
describes the data fields and the various codes used in the data
sets.
- revision and updating of data set keyword listing and catalog
listings.
We now have an Insight Pentium 90 MHz IBM-Compatible PC with CD-
ROM drive, 7 GB of hard disk storage area, l4.4 fax/modem and 8
GB WangDat tape drive. The Insight PC acts as a file server,
storing and allowing on-line access to data sets and remote
sensing images. The Insight PC will also act as a print server,
allowing local users access the high speed HP LaserJet 4M+
printer, HP DeskJet l200c color printer, and an Epson LQ-l500 dot
matrix printer. The Insight PC is currently running Novell
Netware v4.10, and access to the server is limited to the five
computers in the LTER office. Currently all of the necessary
software applications are being transferred from individual PCs
in the office to the file server, and menu systems are being
developed to allow easy access to the software, while maintaining
security.
Current access to the campus network is by remote access as dummy
terminals or dial-up communications. Efforts are being made to
connect the Insight Novell server to the campus network and allow
TCP/IP access to the server utilizing FTP, Telnet, Gopher and
World Wide Web (WWW). The TCP/IP utilities will allow remote
access to datasets that are placed on line as well as enhanced
communication in both local and wide-area networks without
logging onto the campus network.
_________________________
N.B. The following tables show a list of long-term datasets
maintained and a list of the requests received by our data
management office during the last year and how, and how quickly,
we were able to accommodate them.
Jornada LTER Long Term Data Sets
RESEARCH PROJECT PERIOD DESCRIPTION
------------------- ------ -----------------------------
Animal Transects 89-now Biweekly; flush transects: birds, lizards, rabbits
Jornada LTER Weather Station 83-now Meets Participation Level @ & 3, Standardized
Meteorological Measurements for LTER sites
Jornada Precipitation 81-now Tipping bucket and graduated gauge precipitation
Hydrology (LTERI) 83-92 Soil surface rainfall runoff and sediment transport
data from termite exclusion
Hydrology (LTERII) 89-now Soil surface rainfall runoff and sediment transport
data from desert shrub and grassland zones
Net Primary Production 89-now Yearly; Winter,Spring,Fall biomass measurements
Pit Fall Traps - Lizard/Arthropod 89-now Quarterly; lizards-mark/release; arthropods-
collection
Soil Water Content - NPP 89-now Monthly; 10 depths; 30-300cm
Soil Water Content - Transect 83-now Monthly; 5 depths; 30-150cm
Termite Baits 89-now Yearly; termite foraging activity
Vegetation - Fenceline (LTERI) 82-now Every 5 yrs, spring & fall; vegetation response to
grazing release
Vegetation - Transect (LTERI) 83-now 83-88 yearly then every 5 years; spring & fall;
vegetation spatial & temporal pattern
Wet-Dry Precipitation Chemistry 83-now NO3,NH4,Cl,SO4,Ca,Mg,Na,K,total N,total P
USDA Jornada Experimental Range Long-Term Data Set
Abiotic
-precipitation, monthly, 29 locations, 1915-present
-precipitation, daily, 27 locations, 1976-present
-precipitation (summer), intensity, 27 locations, 1976-1986
-soil movement, 5-yr measurements, 160 sample points along 2 transects, 1933-1990
-soil moisture, weekly (soil moisture blocks), numerous sites, 1956-1976
Biotic
-basal cover, annually, 104 1m*2 quadrats, 1915-1979
(intermittent later years). Quadrats grouped within vegetation
types and along grazing gradient.
-vegetation production, annually, clipping methods, variable locations, 1941-1988
-vegetation utilization, annually, transects, plant height
measurements, 1939-1989
-vegetation composition, annually, transects, grouped by soil
type, intercept measurements, 1957-1977
Livestock
-stocking, animal days, by pasture, 1920's-present
-performance, annually, various measures, 1972-present
JORNADA LTER DATA REQUEST LOG
SentBy: JA = John Anderson KL = Kevin La Fleur
Date of
Request DateSent
RecBy mm/dd/yy mm/dd/yy RequestBy RequestDescription FileSize FormatSent SentBy
KL 10/03/94 10/07/95 Matt Hohmann Transect Plant Line Intercept 395 floppy KL
Ohio St. Univ. OCT82, OCT83, SEP84
JA 10/21/94 10/21/94 Ted Floyd Monthly air(min,max,avg), precip 2 email JA
Penn St. Univ. Apr-Aug 93 & 94
JA/KL 10/20/94 10/25/94 Leslie Sieger Jornada LTER keyword listing 125 email KL
Colorado St. Univ. Jornada bibliography 191 email KL
JA 11/21/94 11/21/94 Kay Gross Jornada LTER plant species list 114 email JA
KBS Listing: alpha and family
JA 12/06/94 12/09/94 Bob Waide Long term data set list 2 email JA
r_waide@upr1.upr.clu.edu
KL 01/02/95 01/06/95 Walt Whitford Data set doc for Animal Transect, 77 floppy KL
EPA Lizard and Arthropod pitfalls
JA 01/10/95 01/10/95 Mike Atchley Air temp & precip 10 floppy JA
Jun-Sep 92-94
KL/JA 01/25/95 01/30/95 Peter Herman Transect soil H2O content & 9 email JA
NMSU soil H2O potential
JA 01/30/95 02/06/95 Kirk Maloney Jornada bibliography 191 ftp/ JA
Iowa State Univ. binary
JA 01/31/95 Ben Sherman Jornada bibliography
University of WI [Waiting for Sherman response
on file format and destination]
JA 02/03/95 02/07/95 Adrienne Pilmanis Monthly summary climate data 18 email JA
Duke 1983-1994
KL 02/03/95 03/14/95 Debbie Hartell USDA/NOAA evap pan 220 floppy KL
Holloman AFB 1962-1974
JA 03/07/95 03/07/95 Chris Tripler Jornada bibliography 191 email JA
Idaho St. Univ.
JA 03/14/95 03/14/95 Jeff Straka Jornada playa invertebrate citations 3 email JA
Iowas St. Univ.
JA/KL 03/15/95 03/16/95 Wes Jarrell Transect SWC 8889 floppy KL
Graduate Research Inst. (soil water content)
Beaverton, OR
JA 04/03/95 04/04/95 Judith Lancaster Pub: LTER in the U.S. - A hardcopy JA
Desert Research Institute Network of Research Sites
Univ of NV 1991
JA 04/25/95 05/01/95 Anne Hartley Precip @ Upper Trailer 18 email JA
Jun-Sep 92-94
JA 04/28/95 04/28/95 Keith Killingbeck Precip for U.T. (85-95) & 26 floppy JA
Univ of RI C-CALI (89-95)
JA 05/15/95 05/16/95 Sarah Valentine Jornada LTER plant list 61 email JA
McBeans@io.com
JA 05/19/95 05/29/95 Ben Sherman Jornada bibliography 182 email JA
ben@allstenex.botany.wisc
.edu
JA 05/31/95 05/31/95 Troy Jamison for Whitford Jornada bibliography 1891 floppy JA
(picked up) (Procite format)
Papers Published as Part of the Jornada LTER-III
15 October 1994 -- present
BAssiriRad, H., D.C. Tremmel, J.F. REYNOLDS and R.A. VIRGINIA.
199x. short-term patterns in resource capture by two desert
shrubs following a simulated summer rain. Plant and Soil, in
review.
Brisson, J. and J.F. REYNOLDS. 199x. Plasticity in the zone of
influence during plant neighborhood interaction and its effect on
plant population attributes. Manuscript.
de Soyza, A.G., A.C. Franco, R.A. VIRGINIA, J.F. REYNOLDS, and
W.G. WHITFORD. 199x. Photosynthesis and water relations of
large and small shrubs of Prosopis glandulosa in a sand dune
habitat of the Chihuahuan Desert, U.S.A. American Journal of
Botany, in press.
Fredrickson, E., J. Thilsted, R. Estell and K. HAVSTAD. 1994.
Effects of chronic ingestion of tarbush (Flourensia cernua) on
ewe lambs. Veterinary and Human Toxicology 36: 409-415.
Fredrickson, E.L., R.E. Estell, K.M. HAVSTAD, W.L. Shupe and L.W.
Murray. 1995. Potential toxicity and feed value of onions for
sheep. Livestock Production Science, in press.
Gallardo, A. and W.H. SCHLESINGER. 1995. Factors determining
soil microbial biomass and nutrient immobilization in desert
soils. Biogeochemistry 28: 55-68.
HERMAN, P.P., K.R. Provencio, J. Herrera-Matos and R.J. Torrez.
1995. Resource islands predict the distribution of heterotrophic
bacteria in Chihuahuan desert soils. Applied and Environmental
Microbiology 61: 1816-1821.
HUENNEKE, L.F. and I.R. Noble. 1995. Ecosystem function of
biodiversity in arid ecosystems pp. xx-xx. In H.A. Mooney, J.H.
Cushman, E. Medina, O. Sala and D. Schulze (eds.). Functional
Roles of Biodiversity: A Global Perspective. John Wiley and
Sons, New York.
HUENNEKE, L.F. and I.R. Noble. 1995. Arid Lands. In H.A.
Mooney, J. Lubchenco, R. Dirzo and O.E. Sala. (eds.). Global
Biodiversity Assessment. United Nations Environmental Program,
Nairobi.
Kratz, T.K., J.J. Magnuson, P. Bayley, B.J. Benson,
C.W. Berish, C.S. Bledsoe, E.R. Blood, C.J. Bowser, S.R.
Carpenter, G.L. CUNNINGHAM, R.A. Dahlgren, T.M. Grost, J.C.
Halfpenny, J.D. Hansen, D. Heisey, R.S. Inouye, D.W. Kaufman, A.
McKee and J. Yarie. 1995. Temporal and spatial variability as
neglected ecosystem properties: Lessons learned from 12 North
American ecosystems. pp. 359-383. In D.J. Rapport, C.L. Gaudet,
and P. Calow (eds.). Evaluating and Monitoring the Health of
Large-scale Ecosystems. Springer-Verlag, N.Y.
Li, H. and J.F. REYNOLDS. 1994. A simulation experiment to
quantify spatial heterogeneity in categorical maps. Ecology 75:
2446-2455.
Li, H. and J.F. REYNOLDS. 1995. On definition and quantification
of heterogeneity. Oikos 72: 1-5.
Marion, G.M. and W.H. SCHLESINGER. 1994. Quantitative modeling
of soil forming processes in deserts: The CALDEP and CALGYP
models. pp. 129-145. In R.B. Bryant and R.W. Arnold (eds.).
Quantitative Modeling of Soil-Forming Processes. Soil Science
Society of America, Madison, Wisconsin.
Moorhead. D.L., R. Sinsabaugh, A.E. Linkins and J.F. REYNOLDS.
199x. Decomposition processes: Modelling approaches and
applications. Science of the Total Environment, in press.
Nash, M.H. and W.G. WHITFORD. 1995. Subterranean termites:
Regulators of soil organic matter in the Chihuahuan desert.
Biology and Fertility of Soils 19: 15-18.
REYNOLDS, J.F., R.A. VIRGINIA, and W.H. SCHLESINGER. 199x.
Defining plant functional types for models of desertification.
pp. xx-xx. In T.M. Smith, H.H. Shugart and F.I. Woodward.
(eds.). Functional Types in the Analysis of Global Change.
Chapman and Hall, in press.
SCHLESINGER, W.H. 1994. The vulnerability of biotic diversity.
pp. 245-260. In R. Socolow, C. Andrews, F. Berkhout, and V.
Thomas (ed.). Industrial Ecology. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge.
SCHLESINGER, W.H., J.A. Raikes, A.E. Hartley, and A.F. Cross.
199x. On the spatial pattern of soil nutrients in desert
ecosystems. Ecology, in press.
Thomas, P.M., K.F. Golly, R.A. VIRGINIA, and J.W. Zyskind. 199x.
Cloning of mesquite rhizobial and bradyrhizobial nod gene regions
and nucleotide sequence of the mesquite rhizobial nodD gene.
Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, in press.
WHITFORD, W.H. 1995. Desertification: Implications and
limitations of the ecosystem health metaphor. pp. 273-293. In
Monitoring the Health of Large-Scale Ecosystem. Springer-
Verlag, New York.
Articles in the popular press, television interviews, and other
public media that interpret Jornada LTER research for a general
audience
October 15, 1994 -- present
Publications:
"Science at Home on the Range," November 1994 article in
Agricultural Research, a monthly magazine publicized by the
U.S. Department of Agriculture for farmers and ranchers.
"Watching Desert Creep," December 1994 article in Dialogue
a weekly newspaper published for the Duke University
community.
"Students Study Growth in NM," December, 12, 1994 article in
The El Paso Times,
"How to Make a Desert," February 1995 article in Discover, a
national monthly science magazine published by The Walt
Disney Company
"Success Secrets of Desert Plants," March 1995 article in
Agricultural Research (see above)
Students Trained as part of the Jornada LTER-III
15 October 1994 -- present
Completed Degree Requirements:
Tiszler, J. 1994. Changes in soil nitrogen dynamics with the
establishment of desert shrubs in a Chihuahuan black grama
grassland. M.S. Thesis, San Diego State University (R.A.
Virginia, advisor).
Horton, J.D. 1995. Using kriging to predict distribution of arid
vegetation, with discussion of cokriging field data and satellite
imagery. Ph.D. Dissertation, New Mexico State University (K.M.
Havstad. advisor).
Thompson, J.B. 1995. Regeneration niches and nurse plant
associations in Chihuahuan desert perennials. M.S. Thesis, New
Mexico State University (L.F. Huenneke, advisor).
In Progress:
Baggs, J. M.S. Program, New Mexico State University (L.F.
Huenneke, advisor).
Buck, B.J. Ph.D. Program, New Mexico State University (H.C.
Monger, advisor).
Connin, S.E. Ph.D. Program, Dartmouth College (R.A. Virginia,
advisor).
Encina-Rojas, A. M.S. Program, New Mexico State University (H.C.
Monger, advisor).
Fernandez, R. Ph.D. Program, Duke University (J.F. Reynolds,
advisor).
Gross, K. A.B. Program. Duke University (J.F. Reynolds, REU
advisor, summer 1995).
Gurrola, J. A.B. Program. New Mexico State University (L.F.
Huenneke, REU advisor, 1994-95).
Hartley, A.e. Ph.D. Program. Duke University. (W.H.
Schlesinger, advisor).
Herrera-Matos J. M.S. Program, New Mexico State University
(R.P. Herman, advisor)
Kipp, J.M. Ph.D. Program, New Mexico State University, (H.C.
Monger, advisor).
Li, G. Ph.D. Program, State University of New York, Buffalo,
(A.D. Abrahams, advisor).
McCabe, S. B.A. Program. State University of New York,
Buffalo, (A.D. Abrahams, REU advisor, summer 1995)
Mooney, J. B.A. Program. Dartmouth College, (R.A. Virginia,
REU advisor, summer 1995).
Najera, F. B.S. Program. New Mexico State University. (V.P.
Gutschick, REU advisor, 1994-95).
Neave, M. Ph.D. Program, State University of New York, Buffalo.
(A.D. Abrahams, advisor)
Pilmanis, A. Ph.D. Program, Duke University. (W.H. Schlesinger,
advisor).
Provencio, K. B.A. Program, New Mexico State University (R.P.
Herman, REU advisor, 1994-1995)
Wright, A. B.A. Program, New Mexico State University (R.P.
Herman, REU advisor, 1994-1995).
Ancillary Grants Received as part of the Jornada LTER-III
15 October 1994 -- present
National Science Foundation, Division of environmental biology.
$ 80,000 to Drs. Andrew Stephenson and James Windsor (PENN
STATE) to support the project "Genetic and Environmental
Factors that Influence Pollen Performance and Result in
Non-random Fertilization."
National Science Foundation, International Programs.
$ 13315 supplement to LTER-III to support V. Gutschick's
(NMSU) comparative ecophysiological studies in the U.S.
and Australia.
National Science Foundation, Division of Environmental Biology.
$ 49605 EROL supplement to DEB-91-07481 to support
investigations by Kay Gross (MICHIGAN STATE) at the
Jornada and Sevilleta LTER sites.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute fo rGlobal
Environmental Change. $101,069 to V.P. Gutschick to support
the project "Predicting large-scale patterns in vegetated-
surface conductance for CO2 and water vapor."
U.S. Department of Interior, Natioanl Biological Service,
$365,000 to L.F. Huenneke (NMSU) to support the project
"Plant community dynamics of northern Chihuahuan desert
communities."
U.S. Department of Agriculture, NRCS. $30,000 to H.C. Monger
(NMSU) to support the development of a video describing the
evolutio of the rio Grande Valley and its soils, New
Mexico.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. $100,000 to K.M. Havstad (NMSU)
to support a postdoctoral fellowship for the project "New
products from desert shrubs."
Environmental Protection Agency. $860,000 to K.M. Havstad for
a cooperative program to study "Desertification, biodiversity
and sustainable use of arid ecosystems." (Co-Pi with W.G.
Whitford).
National Science Foundation, Long-Term Projects. $10,000 supple-
ment to LTER-III to support Research Experience for
Undergraduates (REU) at the Jornaa, Summer 1995.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. $5000/yr subcontract through
Colorado State University to K.M. Havstad to maintain the
Jornada's participation in the "Uv-B Radiation Monitoring
Network."
Network Participation as Part of the Jornada LTER III
15 October 1995 -- present
October 1994 Schlesinger attended LTER-CC meeting
Dillard, Georgia (Cowetta LTER Site)
October 1994 Reynolds attended the 3rd Joint U.S.-Japan
Workshop on Global Change
January 1995 Reynolds, Virginia, Huenneke attended
a meeting at Sevilleta to develop a cross-site
experiment (with SEV and CPER) examining
grama grasslands in arid and semiarid
environments
April 1995 Havstad attended LTER-CC Meeting
Norfolk, Virginia (VCR LTER Site)
June 1995 Huenneke was an invited member of the arid lands
working group at a workshop of the Americas
Interhemisphere Geo-Bioshphere Organization
(AMIGO), Stanford, California
Presentations made at Scientific Meetings and Workshops as part
of the Jornada LTER-III
15 October 1994 -- present
International symposium and Workshop on Desertfiication in
Developed Countries, Tucson, Arizona, 24-29 October 1994
Keynote Address by W.H. Schlesinger, "Long-Term Ecological
Research in the United States."
Poster by Al Peters, "Derivation and Temporal Analysis of
Satellite-Based Vegetation Indices in Desert Shrub
Communities of the Arid Southwest."
Contributed paper by H.C. Monger, "A Major Desertification
Episode beginning about 8,000 years ago in the Chihuahuan
Desert of southern New Mexico and western Texas."
Eighth Mogollon Archaeology Conference, El Paso, Texas, 21-22
October 1994.
Contributed papers by H.C. Monger, "Eolian geomorphology,
survey intensity, and landscape patterning in the surface
archaeological record," and
"Eolian geomprphology, artifact patterning, and
assemblage composition."
Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America, Seattle,
24-27 October 1994
Contributed Paper by S.L. Connin, R.A. Virginia, and C.P.
Chamberlain. "Recent pedogenic carbonate formation in the
southwestern United States from carbon isotope measurements."
Annual Meeting of the Soil Science Society of America, Seattle,
November 1994
Symposium Paper by H.C. Monger. "Stable carbon and oxygen
isotopes of carbonates as paleoenvironmental indicators
in arid regions."
Annual Meeting for the Society of Range Management. Symposium on
Alien Plant Invasions, Phoenix, Arizona, 17 January 1995
Symposium Paper by L.F. Huenneke, "Ecological Impacts of
Plant Invasions in Rangeland Ecosystems."
Annual Meeting of the Soil Ecology Society of America. Fort
Collins, Colorado, March 1995
Contributed paper by B.S. Bamforth, D.W. freckman, and R.A.
Virginia. "Early soil biogenesis."
Fourth Annual Professional Range Managers Forum, Brownwood,
Texas, March 1995
Invited Symposium Paper by K.M. Havstad, "Long-term
ecological monitoring technologies."
Ninth Annual wildland Shrub Symposium, Las Cruces, N.M., May 23-
25, 1995.
N.B. The Jornada was host to the 1995 meeting, and is pleased to
include a symposium program in its annual report.
Plenary Paper by K.M. Havstad. "Reflections from nearly a
century of rangeland research in the Jornada basin."
Plenary Paper by W.H. Schlesinger, "Understanding global
desertification processes through long-term ecological
research in the Jornada basin."
Contributed Paper by L.F. Huenneke, "Shrublands and
grasslands of the Jornada Long-Term Ecological Research site:
northern Chihuahuan desert."
Contributed Paper by H.C. Monger, et al. "Vegetation
dynamics during the late Quaternary in the northern Chihuahuan
desert based on stable isotopes in pedogenic carbonates."
Poster by R.E. Estell, et al. "Tarbush leaf surface terpene
profile in relation to mammalian herbiory."
Poster by D.C. Lightfoot, "A comparison of
grasshopper species composition and population dynamics
in northern chihuahuan desert grassland and shrubland
communities."
Contributed Paper by W.G. Whitford, "Morphological
variation in creosotebush, Larrea tridentata, affects
ecosystem processes."
Contributed Paper by A.E. Hartley, "Nitrogen trace gas
emisssion from grassland and shrubland soils in the
Jornada Basin."
Contributed Paper by V.P. Gutschick, et al. "Physiological
control of evapotranspiration by shrubs: Scaling measuremnts
from leaf to stand with the aid of comprehensive models."
Contributed Paper by A.G. de Soyza, et al. "Effects of
summer drought on the water relations, physiology and
growth of large and small plants of Prosopis glandulosa
and Larrea tridentata."
Contributed Paper by Sean L. Connin, et al. "Origin and
flux of soil carbon following shrub invasion in the
Chihuahuan desert: Isotopic analysis of community change."
Contributed Paper by J. Thompson and L.F. Huenneke.
"Regeneration niches and differential germination in
shrubland perennials."
Contributed Paper by David Mouat et al. "time-series of
satellite data to identify mesquite response to stress as
an indicator of ecosystem health."
Contributed Paper by Barry Middleton and A. Peters.
"Monitoring arid and semi-arid shrubs and grassland
communities using coarse resolution satellite data."
Contributed Paper by R.A. Virginia, "Experimental studies
of shrub resource islands: Are they the key to the stability
of aridlands?"
Contributed Paper by J.F. Reynolds, "Modeling desertifi-
cation: The importance of shrub resource islands."
Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, August 1995,
Snowbird, Utah.
Contributed Paper by L.F. Huenneke et al., "Plant
biodiversity and ecosystem function in the northern
Chihuahuan desert."
International Humic Substances Society, Atlanta, Georgia, 27-31
August 1995.
Invited Paper by H.C. Monger, entitled, "Carbon in desert
soils: Its nature and isotopic significance."
International UNEP Workshop on Combatting Global Warming by
Combatting Land Degradation, Nairobi, Kenya, 4-8 September 1995
Invited Paper by W.H. Schlesinger, entitled, "The carbon
budget of drylands."
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