+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | JORNADA LTER | | New Mexico State University | | Data Set Documentation Form | +------------------------------------------------------------------+ All Jornada Desert Site NSF/LTER data sets must be documented on the following form. This applies to any data set intended for permanent archiving. All raw data sets collected under the auspices of the Jornada NSF/LTER Program will be described by the following standardized form. Information that is not available at this time, must be included when available. For these fields, enter . For fields that will not have information, enter . See data manager for any questions regarding this form. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Dataset ID: DSL2004008 Project ID: PRL2004002 1) Data set access (RESTRICTED or UNRESTRICTED): --------------------------------------------- UNRESTRICTED 2) Data set title: --------------- Ant nest soil organic matter 3) Project title: -------------- Effects of harvester ant nests on soil properties and vegetation 4) Responsible investigator(s): ---------------------------- Rodolfo R. Di Marco, Jan1987 5) Date data collection commenced (mm/dd/yyyy): -------------------------------------------- January 1987 6) Date data collection terminated (mm/dd/yyyy or ONGOING): -------------------------------------------------------- January 1987 7) Expected duration of study: --------------------------- several days for sampling 8) Frequency of measurement: ------------------------- once 9) Researchers: (Personnel who will be obtaining data and who would need to be contacted directly if there is a problem in the raw data): ---------------------------------------------------------------- Rodolfo R. Di Marco, Jan1987 10) Methods of recording (field data sheets, instrumental, etc.): ---------------------------------------------------------------- field data sheets 11) Site location (Describe in sufficient detail that the site can be relocated): ---------------------------------------------------------------- This study was conducted at three sites on the Jornada LTER during winter-spring 1987. A burrograss-tobosa swale grassland was site 1, an area dominated by the perennial grasses Scleropogon brevifolia (burrograss) and Hilaria mutica (tobosa). This area is located 3,000 ft. (1,000 m) SE of the playa bottom or playa basin (College Playa) and subject to rare sheet flooding. A playa fringe (College Playa) was site 2, an area characterized by scattered Prosopis glandulosa (mesquite) mixed with Yucca elata and Larrea tridentata (creosotebush). The upper basin slope was site 3, an area characterized by a fairly uniform cover of Xanthocephalum sarothrae (snakeweed) and a high diversity of annual forbs and grasses. The soil series described on the watershed by Wierenga et al. (1987) from site 1 to site 3 are Dalby (Typic Torrerts, fine), Headquarter (Ustollic Haplargid, fine loamy), Bucklebar (Typic Haplargid, fine-loamy), and Dona Ana (Typic Haplargid, coarse-loamy), respectively. 12) Data set description (State the hypothesis and / or objectives which collection of data set addresses): ---------------------------------------------------------------- The purpose of this investigation was to answer three general questions: 1. How does the modification of soil properties and the ratios of resources (e.g., water-N) by ants alter species assemblages of winter annual plants at the edge of the ant nests? 2. How does the "spring cleaning", clipping, predation or herbivory by ants affect success of the winter annual plants at the edge of ant nests? 3. Are there significant differences in the floristic assemblage and belowground standing crop (root biomass) between the edge of ant nest and the surrounding unaffected soils? Data set contains % organic matter of soils sampled in January 1987 from ant nests and adjacent reference sites. 13) Attributes measured: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Variable Name example: AIRMAX Name used in data set header. Variable Format example: C = character (C3: Three characters [XXX]) I = integer (I2: Integer with two places [##]) F = floating point (F4.2: Total places with decimal point = 4, with 2 decimal places. [#.##]) Variable Mask example: mm/dd/yyyy Date where mm=month, dd=day, yyyy=year Exception Value Codes format: [code] = [description] example: 'Q' = questionable data Code = code (surrounded by single quotes) Note: Equal signs (=) are used to separate code and description. Note: Enter multiple Exception Value Codes on separate lines. Acceptable Value Type examples: defined list undefined list range defined list of ranges undefined list of ranges complex external list Acceptable Value Codes format: [code] = [description] example: C = Creosotebush Code = code Note: Equal signs (=) are used to separate code and description. Note: Enter multiple Exception Value Codes on separate lines. Note: Equal signs (=) are used to separate values and commas (,) are used to separate multiple value sets. Ranges of acceptable values are separated by a dashes. Lists of acceptable values are separated by commas. Asterick symbols (*) are reserved to indicate external lookup file listing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- variable name: SAMPLE attribute description: Replicate sample analysis measured units: N/A start column position: 1 variable format: I1 variable mask: N/A exception value codes: N/A acceptable value type: undefined list acceptable value codes: 1 variable name: PLACE attribute description: Research site measured units: N/A start column position: 3 variable format: I1 variable mask: N/A exception value codes: N/A acceptable value type: defined list acceptable value codes: 1 = burrograss-tobosa swale 2 = playa fringe 3 = upper basin slope mixed grasses variable name: REP attribute description: Sample replicate measured units: N/A start column position: 5 variable format: I1 variable mask: N/A exception value codes: N/A acceptable value type: complex acceptable value codes: 1-8 When PLACE=1 1-5 When PLACE=2 1-7 When PLACE=3 variable name: TRT attribute description: Treatment measured units: N/A start column position: 7 variable format: I1 variable mask: N/A exception value codes: N/A acceptable value type: defined list acceptable value codes: 1 = Ant nest perimeter 2 = Reference site variable name: ORMAT attribute description: % organic matter measured units: % start column position: 9 variable format: F4.2 variable mask: N/A exception value codes: N/A acceptable value type: N/A acceptable value codes: N/A 14) Methodology (Provide sufficient detail such that an unaware reader could repeat the described data collection procedures.) ---------------------------------------------------------------- In January 1987, organic matter was determined by total combustion in an electric muffle furnace at 600 C for 8 hours using the same soil samples as used for water content measurements. 15) Key literature (Citations that describe sampling procedures, [reference of a published paper, thesis, etc.]): ---------------------------------------------------------------- 16) Keywords (keywords that describe data set; maximum of 10): ---------------------------------------------------------------- ants, soil organic matter, annual plants 17) Treatment of data: (List any programs used in analysis of the data): [Note: Programs should be appended and stored with this form.] ---------------------------------------------------------------- . The raw data which composes this data set was extracted from provided SAS files prior to analyses. 18) Associated computer accounts: ---------------------------------------------------------------- 19) Files associated with this data set: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- File Type Codes: Type Code Definition ---- ---------- MD Metadata files DS Data files DE Data entry, verification, and analysis files OT Other (Any other related files) File Format Codes: ASCII, BINARY ------Metadata files------------------------------------ file type: MD file name: ANTNESTS.PRJ description: Project documentation file format: Text file format type: ASCII file type: MD file name: ANSORGAN.DSD description: Data set documentation file format: Text file format type: ASCII ------Data files---------------------------------------- file type: DS file name: ANSORGAN.DAT description: Data set file file format: Text file format type: ASCII ------Data entry, verification, and analysis files------ file type: DE file name: B4.SAS description: SAS analysis file including raw data set file format: Text file format type: ASCII ------Other (Any other related files)------------------- file type: OT file name: Readme.txt description: General information file file format: Text file format type: ASCII 20) Comments (Include any comments here that more fully describe this data set): ---------------------------------------------------------------- No documentation was completed by the investigator. Project and data set documentation was completed by the LTER Data Manager with information obtained from Di Marco (1987) and header infor- mation from SAS files which also contained the data. 21) Data set documentation history log: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Data set title - Ant nest soil organic matter Data set file name - ANSORGAN.DSD ---------------------------------------------------------------- mm/dd/yyyy - Date of Comment Int - Initials of person making Comment JPA = John P. Anderson KR = Ken Ramsey Changes/Updates - List any changes made to document mm/dd/yyyy Int Changes/Updates ---------- --- ----------------------------------------------- 02/04/1998 JPA Data set documentation completed. 09/13/2004 KR Added Dataset ID and Project ID to top of form. Changed format for Attributes and Associated Files section. Removed Missing/Questionable data section and incorporated into Attributes section. 10/04/2004 KR Updated Associated Files section. 09/18/2007 KR Updated Responsible Investigators and Researchers sections to reflect dates associated with dataset. ------------------------------------------------------------------- END OF DATA SET FILE -------------------------------------------------------------------