+------------------------------------------------------------------+ | 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. See data manager for any questions regarding this form. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Data set access (RESTRICTED or UNRESTRICTED): --------------------------------------------- UNRESTRICTED 2) Data set title: --------------- Transect Soil Disturbance 3) Project title: -------------- Transect Soil Disturbance 4) Responsible investigator(s): ---------------------------- W. G. Whitford Steve Van Vactor Steve Loring 5) Date data collection commenced (mm/dd/yyyy): -------------------------------------------- 08/01/1986 6) Date data collection terminated (mm/dd/yyyy or ONGOING): -------------------------------------------------------- 08/30/1986 7) Expected duration of study: --------------------------- One month 8) Frequency of measurement: ------------------------- One time 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): ---------------------------------------------------------------- Jorge Cepeda Greg Forbes Yosi Steinberger 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): ---------------------------------------------------------------- In the spring of 1982, as part of the establishment of the Jornada Long-Term Ecological Research site in southern New Mexico, a 135 ha portion of a 1500 ha, internally drained, watershed was exclosed from grazing by domestic livestock. Prior to exclosure the watershed, as well as the rest of the Jornada basin, had been moderately to heavily grazed for the past 100 years. Concurrent with grazing, the vegetation had undergone a dramatic change from desert grassland, with an almost continuous cover of C4 perennial grasses, to isolated patches of the original grassland in a mosaic with desert shrub dominated plant communities (Buffington and Herbel, 1965). The exclosure lies along a northeast facing piedmont slope at the base of a steep isolated mountain peak, and covers a variety of component landforms from the foot of the mountain to the basin floor. The northeast side of the exclosure is immediately upslope of the College Playa located near the NMSU College Ranch. Three parallel transects (2.7 km in length) run from the middle of the College Playa up into the foot of Mt. Summerford. The Control transect is to the west, the Treatment transect on the east side of the Control transect, and the Alternate Control to the east of the Treatment transect. Each transect is 30 meters wide with a 45 meter buffer zone between each transect. The Treatment transect was treated annually until 1987 with NHNO3 in a concentration equal to 10g N/m2. The station markers at 30 meter intervals along each transect. 12) Data set description (State the hypothesis and / or objectives which collection of data set addresses): ---------------------------------------------------------------- Contains areas of disturbances on soil/surface for different categories of animal (for example, Novomesser ant). To be used to calculate % disturbance and soil disturbance density by animal. 13) Attributes measured: ------------------------------------------------------------------- Variable name: blank Number of columns between fields CCCCCCCC See attribute description Format: 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 code: * See attribute description listing See external listing of variable codes N/A = Not applicable VARIABLE MEASURED VARIABLE NAME FORMAT UNITS CODE ATTRIBUTE DESCRIPTION -------- -------- -------- -------- ------------------------- Year I4 N/A N/A Year Sta C1I2 N/A C Station = Control transect T = Treatment transect 06-90 Station Number Taxa C6 N/A * Type of disturbance Area C1 N/A 1-8 Area number S Total area of disturbance between stations R Running total of disturbance area along transect Disturb F5.3 cm2** N/A Calculated disturbance area *Taxa: NOVCOC = Novomessor cockerelli nest POGRUG = Pogonomyrmex sugosus nest DIDSPE = Dipodomys spectabalis mound DIDMER = Heteromyid rodent mound/den site THATAL = Gopher mound NEOALB = Woodrat (Neotoma spp.) soil disturbance around nest TAXTAX = Badger mound LAGMOR = Rabbit form DIGDIS = digging disturbance source unknown RODENT = Rodent den site/species **Please see comments section. 14) Missing or questionable values (describe how these are represented in the data set): ---------------------------------------------------------------- 15) Methodology (Provide sufficient detail such that an unaware reader could repeat the described data collection procedures.) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Area between matching stakes of 2 transects (e.g. T9-T10 and C9- C10) was examined for significant soil disturbance of animal origin. Disturbance axes (2) were measured (in cm.) and classified according to presumed animal activity (e.g. kangaroo rat mound). 16) Key literature (Citations that describe sampling procedures, [reference of a published paper, thesis, etc.]): ---------------------------------------------------------------- 17) Keywords (keywords that describe data set; maximum of 10): ---------------------------------------------------------------- soil disturbance, rodent mounds, rodent diggings, burrows, ant mounds 18) Treatment of data: (List any programs used in analysis of the data): [Note: Programs should be appended and stored with this form.] ---------------------------------------------------------------- 19) Associated computer accounts: ---------------------------------------------------------------- 20) Files associated with this data set: ---------------------------------------------------------------- A) Metadata files FILE NAME DESCRIPTION OF FILES ------------ ----------------------------------------------- TRANDIST.PRJ Project documentation TRANDIST.DSD Data documentation ------------ ----------------------------------------------- B) Data files FILE NAME DESCRIPTION OF FILES ------------ ----------------------------------------------- TRANDIST.DAT Transect Soil Disturbance Data (ASCII) ------------ ----------------------------------------------- C) Data entry, verification, and analysis files FILE NAME DESCRIPTION OF FILES ------------ ----------------------------------------------- DISTC86.WK1 Soil Dist. Data Entry- Control (Lotus 1,2,3) DISTT86.WK1 Soil Dist. Data Entry- Treatment (Lotus 1,2,3) ------------ ----------------------------------------------- D) Other (Any other related files.) FILE NAME DESCRIPTION OF FILES ------------ ----------------------------------------------- DISTDOC.WK1 Old documentation file (Lotus 1,2,3) ------------ ----------------------------------------------- 21) Comments (Include any comments here that more fully describe this data set): ---------------------------------------------------------------- [MAB:JPA 3/4/03] Original area measurements were based on centimeters; method of calculating disturbance area was not given in original documentation. It is assumed that calculated disturbance area is cm2. [JPA 3/4/03] TRANDIST.DAT data rounded to two significant digits to right of decimal. Used original spreadsheet data. [JPA 3/4/03] TRANDIST.DAT data restructured to normalize it. 22) Data set documentation history log: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Data set title - Transect Soil Disturbance Data set file name - TRANDIST.DSD ---------------------------------------------------------------- mm/dd/yyyy - Date of Comment Int - Initials of person making Comment KJL = Kevin J. La Fleur JPA = John P. Anderson MAB = Michelle A. Buonopane Changes/Updates - List any changes made to document mm/dd/yyyy Int Changes/Updates ---------- --- ----------------------------------------------- 11/27/2002 MAB Updated to current form. 03/04/2003 JPA Expanded "Comments" for clarification. 03/04/2003 JPA Updated "Variable description" section. 03/04/2003 JPA Changed DSD file name from TRANSOIL to TRANDIST. ------------------------------------------------------------------- END OF DATA SET FILE -------------------------------------------------------------------