knb-lter-sev.194.188142

Summary Information

Pino Gate Prairie Dog Study: Mound-scale Vegetation Plot Data from the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2000-2002)

Creator:

Individual:

Ana Davidson

Physical Address:
Delivery Address:	Sevilleta LTER, 167 Castetter Hall, University of New Mexico
City:	Albuquerque
Locality:	NM
Postal Code:	87131
Phone:	US

Email:

davidson@unm.edu

Creator:

Individual:

David Lightfoot

Physical Address:
Delivery Address:	Sevilleta LTER, 167 Castetter Hall, University of New Mexico
City:	Albuquerque
Locality:	NM
Postal Code:	87131
Phone:	US

Email:

dlightfo@unm.edu

Metadata Provider:

Individual:

Information Manager Sevilleta LTER

Physical Address:
Delivery Address:	1 University of New Mexico
City:	Albuquerque
Postal Code:	87131
Phone:	US

Phone:

(505) 277-2109

Phone:

(505) 277.5355

Email:

data-use@sevilleta.unm.edu

Associated Party:

Individual:

Yang Xia

Physical Address:
Delivery Address:	Sevilleta LTER UNM Biology Department, MSC03 2020 1 University of New Mexico
City:	Albuquerque
Postal Code:	87131
Phone:	US

Phone:

(505) 277-8119

Phone:

(505) 277.5355

Email:

yxia@lternet.edu

Role:

data manager

Associated Party:

Individual:

Ana Davidson

Physical Address:
Delivery Address:	Sevilleta LTER, 167 Castetter Hall, University of New Mexico
City:	Albuquerque
Locality:	NM
Postal Code:	87131
Phone:	US

Email:

davidson@unm.edu

Role:

field crew

Publication Date:

2016-03-03

Language:

English

Abstract:

Prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) and banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis) are considered keystone species of grassland ecosystems, and co-occur in the arid grasslands of the southwestern United States and in Mexico. Their keystone status is attributed primarily to the effects of their burrowing and foraging behavior, but they differ ecologically in several important respects. We studied the comparative functional roles of these species where they co-occur at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, focusing on their impacts on grassland vegetation. We found that vegetation cover, structure, and species richness varied across a gradient extending out from the mound centers, and these patterns differed between prairie dog and kangaroo rat mounds. Certain species and functional groups of plants associated differentially with mounds and landscape patches occupied by prairie dogs and banner-tailed kangaroo rats. Where both species co-occurred locally there was greater soil disturbance, more organic material from their feces, and higher activity of other animals. The overall effect of these rodents was to create a mosaic of different patches across the landscape such that their combined activities increased landscape heterogeneity and plant species richness. Our results demonstrate complementary effects of two co-occurring keystone species on their associated biotic communities.

Keywords:
Keyword:	disturbance
Keyword:	primary production
Keyword Thesaurus:	Core Areas

Keywords:
Keyword:	species
Keyword:	plant species
Keyword:	disturbances
Keyword:	transects
Keyword:	soil disturbance
Keyword:	soil
Keyword:	plants
Keyword:	vegetation
Keyword Thesaurus:	LTER Controlled Vocabulary

Additional Information:

Additional Information on the personnel associated with the Data Collection / Data Processing The Sevilleta Field Crew from 2000-2002 also helped collect data Additonal Study Area Information Study Area Name: Pino Gate Study Area Location: The study site was located near the base of the Los Pinos mountains and directly adjacent to the nothern fencline of the SNWR at Pino GateElevation: 1600 m Vegetation: Burrograss (Scleropogon brevifolius), sand dropseed (Sporobolus cryptandrus), and black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) were the dominant vegetation. Soils: Deep clayey loam soilsGeology: On an upper bajada slope, in a broad swale Climate: Long-term mean annual precipitation is 243 mm, about 60% of which occurs during the summer. Long-term mean monthly temperatures for January and July are 1.5Â°C and 25.1Â°C, respectively. Site history: Historically, prairie dogs were common throughout the area, but were exterminated by the early 1970â€™s (John Ford, United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, personalÂ communication). Gunnisonâ€™s prairie dogs began to re-colonize the study site from adjacent private land in 1998. During our study, the colony occurred within a 5 ha area, near the base of the Los PiÃ±os Mountains in an area with deep clayey loam soils. The site has been long inhabited by kangaroo rats, and represents typical northern Chihuahuan Desert grasslandNorth Coordinate:34.406954South Coordinate:34.406954East Coordinate:106.606269West Coordinate:106.606269

Intellectual Rights:

Data Policies

This dataset is released to the public and may be freely downloaded. Please keep the designated contact person informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation or collaboration with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset must include proper acknowledgement of the Sevilleta LTER. A copy of any publications using these data must be supplied to the Sevilleta LTER Information Manager.

Distribution:

Online:
URL:	http://sevdeims-d.lternet.edu/data/sev-194

Coverage:

Geographic Goverage:

Geographic Description:

The study site was located near the base of the Los Pinos mountains and directly adjacent to the nothern fencline of the SNWR at Pino Gate

Bounding Coordinates:

West Bounding Coordinates:

-106.606

East Bounding Coordinates:

-106.606

North Bounding Coordinates:

34.407

South Bounding Coordinates:

34.407

Bounding Altitude:
Altitude Minimum:	1600
Altitude Maximum:	1600
Altitude Units:	meter

Temporal Coverage:

Date Range:

Begin Date:
Calendar Date:	1999-10-01

End Date:
Calendar Date:	2002-05-01

Maintenance Information:

Description:
Additional Metadata: 1/23/2008 (Yang Xia). 1.updated and modified metadata to correct format. 2. Checked data for missing data points and errors. 3. any empty cells were filled in with either -999 for missing data or an NA for not applicable Updated the metadata 01/09/2009 (Yang Xia)these metadata were entered on 10/30/2008 by Kristin Vanderbilt from metadata supplied by Ana Davidson

Contact:

Position Title:

Information Manager

Organization:

LTER Network Office

Physical Address:
Delivery Address:	UNM Biology Department, MSC03-2020
Delivery Address:	1 University of New Mexico
City:	Albuquerque
Locality:	NM
Postal Code:	87131-0001
Phone:	USA

Phone:

505 277-2535

Phone:

505 277-2541

Email:

tech-support@lternet.edu

URL:

http://www.lternet.edu

Contact:

Individual:

Information Manager Sevilleta LTER

Physical Address:
Delivery Address:	1 University of New Mexico
City:	Albuquerque
Postal Code:	87131
Phone:	US

Phone:

(505) 277-2109

Phone:

(505) 277.5355

Email:

data-use@sevilleta.unm.edu

Publisher:

Individual:

Information Manager Sevilleta LTER

Physical Address:
Delivery Address:	1 University of New Mexico
City:	Albuquerque
Postal Code:	87131
Phone:	US

Phone:

(505) 277-2109

Phone:

(505) 277.5355

Email:

data-use@sevilleta.unm.edu

Publication Place:

Sevilleta LTER

Method Step:

Description:

Experimental Design Mound-Scale Plots: To measure plant species composition and vegetation structure associated with mound disturbance patches, we established replicated small-scale plots with paired mound and non-mound control plots. The mound and control plots were spatially intermixed on each landscape-scale plot. Specifically, transects were centered around 20 prairie dog mounds (fall 1999-spring 2002) and 20 kangaroo rat mounds (fall 2001 and spring 2002 only) on the Pdog+Krat plot, and around 20 kangaroo rat mounds on the Krat plot (fall 2001 and spring 2002). Field Methods Five-meter transects were located along the four cardinal directions centered on each mound. Plant canopy cover, height of live foliage, feces, and animal soil surface disturbance were measured on 30 cm x 30 cm quadrats, located at 1 m, 2 m, 3 m, 4 m, and 5 m along each transect line during, although only at 1 m, 3 m, and 5 m during fall 2001 - spring 2002. Transects also were established around a point located 10 m away from the sample mound to represent a non-mound area without mound-associated disturbance. Like the landscape-scale plots, sampling occurred during late spring and early fall.

Data Table:

Entity Name:

sev194_pdogvegmound_01132009.txt

Entity Description:

Data for Mound-Scale Vegetation at Pino Gate Prairie Dog Study

Object Name:

sev194_pdogvegmound_01132009.txt

Size:

1258633

Data Format:

Text Format:

Number of Header Lines:

Record Delimiter:

\r\n

Attribute Orientation:

column

Simple Delimited:
Field Delimiter:	,

Distribution:

Online:
URL:	https://pasta.lternet.edu/package/data/eml/knb-lter-sev/194/188142/0dd6d5a4cd050bd6617ffeed215df42f

Coverage:

Temporal Coverage:

Date Range:

Begin Date:
Calendar Date:	1999-10-22

End Date:
Calendar Date:	2002-05-08

Attribute List:

Attribute Name:

PERIOD

Attribute Label:

PERIOD

Attribute Definition:

season and year of collection

Storage Type:

string

Measurement Scale:

Nominal:

Non Numeric Domain:

Enumerated Domain:

Code Definition:
Code:	SYY
Definition:	summer

Code Definition:
Code:	FYY
Definition:	fall

Attribute Name:

Date

Attribute Label:

DATE

Attribute Definition:

Date samples collected

Storage Type:

date

Measurement Scale:

Datetime:
Format String:	MM/DD/YY

Attribute Name:

PLOT

Attribute Label:

PLOT

Attribute Definition:

landscape plot on which data was collected

Storage Type:

string

Measurement Scale:

Nominal:

Non Numeric Domain:

Enumerated Domain:

Code Definition:
Code:	PK
Definition:	prairie dog + kangaroo rat plot

Code Definition:
Code:	T
Definition:	transition plot

Code Definition:
Code:	K
Definition:	kangaroo rat plot

Attribute Name:

MND ID

Attribute Label:

MND ID

Attribute Definition:

mound identification number- indicates the type of mound and the mound number assciated with that mound type

Storage Type:

string

Measurement Scale:

Nominal:

Non Numeric Domain:

Enumerated Domain:

Code Definition:
Code:	KM
Definition:	kangaroo rat mound

Code Definition:
Code:	KN
Definition:	kangaroo rat non-mound

Code Definition:
Code:	PM
Definition:	prairie dog mound

Code Definition:
Code:	PN
Definition:	prairie dog non-mound

Attribute Name:

Attribute Label:

Attribute Definition:

Line on which data were collected

Storage Type:

string

Measurement Scale:

Nominal:

Non Numeric Domain:

Enumerated Domain:

Code Definition:
Code:	N
Definition:	line north

Code Definition:
Code:	S
Definition:	line south

Code Definition:
Code:	E
Definition:	line east

Code Definition:
Code:	W
Definition:	line west

Attribute Name:

Quad

Attribute Label:

QUAD

Attribute Definition:

Number of sample unit of a plot

Storage Type:

string

Measurement Scale:

Nominal:

Non Numeric Domain:

Text Domain:
Definition:	Number of sample unit of a plot

Attribute Name:

PSPP

Attribute Label:

PSPP

Attribute Definition:

Species code (Kartez code) of plant species sampled

Storage Type:

string

Measurement Scale:

Nominal:

Non Numeric Domain:

Text Domain:
Definition:	Species code (Kartez code) of plant species sampled

Attribute Name:

PCOV

Attribute Label:

PCOV

Attribute Definition:

the cover value for the plant species measured within the quad

Measurement Scale:

Ratio:

Unit:

Custom Unit:

percent

Precision:

0.1

Numeric Domain:

Number Type:

real

Bounds:
Minimum:	0.1
Maximum:	100

Attribute Name:

PHT

Attribute Label:

PHT

Attribute Definition:

Maximum height of plant species sampled

Measurement Scale:

Ratio:

Unit:

Custom Unit:

centimeters

Precision:

Numeric Domain:

Number Type:

real

Bounds:
Minimum:	1
Maximum:	100

Attribute Name:

Attribute Label:

Attribute Definition:

number of prairie dog fecal pellets within quad

Storage Type:

string

Measurement Scale:

Nominal:

Non Numeric Domain:

Text Domain:
Definition:	number of prairie dog fecal pellets within quad

Attribute Name:

KRF

Attribute Label:

KRF

Attribute Definition:

number of banner-tailed kangaroo rat fecal pellets within quad

Storage Type:

string

Measurement Scale:

Nominal:

Non Numeric Domain:

Text Domain:
Definition:	number of banner-tailed kangaroo rat fecal pellets within quad

Attribute Name:

RBF

Attribute Label:

RBF

Attribute Definition:

number of rabbit fecal pellets within quad

Storage Type:

string

Measurement Scale:

Nominal:

Non Numeric Domain:

Text Domain:
Definition:	number of rabbit fecal pellets within quad

Attribute Name:

SDUNK

Attribute Label:

SDUNK

Attribute Definition:

soil disturbance present within quad, but it is not known what animal species created the disturbance

Measurement Scale:

Ratio:

Unit:

Custom Unit:

percent

Precision:

0.1

Numeric Domain:

Number Type:

real

Bounds:
Minimum:	0
Maximum:	100

Attribute Name:

SDP

Attribute Label:

SDP

Attribute Definition:

soil disturbance by prairie dog: tracks, digs, mound

Measurement Scale:

Ratio:

Unit:

Custom Unit:

percent

Precision:

0.1

Numeric Domain:

Number Type:

real

Bounds:
Minimum:	0
Maximum:	100

Attribute Name:

SDKR

Attribute Label:

SDKR

Attribute Definition:

soil disturbance by banner-tailed kangaroo rat: mounds, digs, tracks

Measurement Scale:

Ratio:

Unit:

Custom Unit:

percent

Precision:

0.1

Numeric Domain:

Number Type:

real

Bounds:
Minimum:	0
Maximum:	100

Attribute Name:

SDRD

Attribute Label:

SDRD

Attribute Definition:

soil disturbance by rodent- used if soil disturbance was clearly caused by a rodent but it was too difficult to tell if prairie dogs, banner-tailed kangaroo rats or other rodents caused the soil disturbance

Measurement Scale:

Ratio:

Unit:

Custom Unit:

percent

Precision:

0.1

Numeric Domain:

Number Type:

real

Bounds:
Minimum:	0
Maximum:	100

Attribute Name:

SDAN

Attribute Label:

SDAN

Attribute Definition:

soil disturbance by pronghorn antelope: tracks, digs

Measurement Scale:

Ratio:

Unit:

Custom Unit:

percent

Precision:

0.1

Numeric Domain:

Number Type:

real

Bounds:
Minimum:	0
Maximum:	100

Attribute Name:

Attribute Label:

Attribute Definition:

initials of person that collected and entered the data

Storage Type:

string

Measurement Scale:

Nominal:

Non Numeric Domain:

Text Domain:
Definition:	initials of person that collected and entered the data