Summary Information
2003 Prescribed Burn Effect on Chihuahuan Desert Grasses and Shrubs at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico: Fuel Load Study (2003-present)
Creator:
Individual: Esteban Muldavin
Physical Address:
Delivery Address: New Mexico Natural Heritage Program, Biology Department Castetter Hall 167, University of New Mexico
City: Albuquerque
Locality: NM
Postal Code: 87131
Phone: US
Email: muldavin@sevilleta.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
Publication Date: 2010-09-15
Language: English
Abstract:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife's plan to apply a prescribed burn to a large portion of Mckenzie Flats was deemed an opportunity to study the effects of fire on the vegetation at the boundary between shrubland and grassland. This study actually was undertaken on an area that had prescribed fire applied to 8 of 16 (300 m x 300 m) plots 10 years before in 1993. This previous study had also examined the effects of fencing to exclude the indigenous prong-horn antelope. In the 2003 study the prescribed fire was applied to the northeastern half of the 16 plots while the southwestern plots were intentionally protected. Sampling prior to the prescribed burn included quantification of fuel load (ie. the standing biomass of all grasses and forbs in the area to be burned). These measurements were made using Daubenmire quadrat frames that are 5 cm x 20 cm and delineate a 0.1 square meter area. Four samples were taken adjacent to the six 3 m x 4 m quadrats in each of the eight plots that were to be burned. Quadrat frames were laid down over the vegetation and all vegetation rooted within the frame was clipped at ground level. This material was bagged, oven-dried and weighed. Following the prescribed burn, re-measurements were made in the fall of 2004 and continue to be measured every fall when vegetation has reached its annual peak biomass.
Keywords:
Keyword: disturbance
Keyword Thesaurus: Core Areas
Keywords:
Keyword: fires
Keyword: biomass
Keyword: aboveground production
Keyword: burning
Keyword: grasslands
Keyword Thesaurus: LTER Controlled Vocabulary
Additional Information:
Field Crew: Mike Friggens 1999-September 2001; Karen Wetherill February 7, 2000-August 2009; Terri Koontz February 2000-August 2003; August 2006-Present; Shana Pennington February 2000-August 2000; Heather Simpson August 2000-August 2002; Chris Roberts September 2001-August 2002; Caleb Hickman September 9, 2002-November 15, 2004; Seth Munson September 9, 2002-June 2004; Maya Kapoor August 9, 2003-January 21, 2005; April 2010-present; Tessa Edelen August 15, 2004-August 15, 2005; Charity Hall January 31, 2005-January 3, 2006; Yang Xia January 31, 2005-August 2009; Michell Thomey September 3, 2005-August 2008; Jay McLeod January 2006-August 2006; Amaris Swann August 25, 2008-January 2013; John Mulhouse August 2009-Present; Amanda Boutz August 2009-2010; Stephanie Baker October 2010-Present; Megan McClung April 2013-Present
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-165
Coverage:
Geographic Goverage:
Geographic Description: McKenzie Flats is located within the northeastern section of the Sevilleta NWR, encompassing an area from Black Butte south to Palo Duro Canyon and east to the Los Pinos.
Bounding Coordinates:
West Bounding Coordinates: -106.691
East Bounding Coordinates: -106.691
North Bounding Coordinates: 34.3592
South Bounding Coordinates: 34.3592
Bounding Altitude:
Altitude Minimum: 1615
Altitude Maximum: 1615
Altitude Units: meter
Temporal Coverage:
Date Range:
Begin Date:
Calendar Date: 2003-06-10
End Date:
Calendar Date: 2009-11-11
Purpose:
To study the effects of fire on the vegetation at the boundary between shrubland and grassland.
Maintenance Information:
Description:
Original file created on 2/27/07 D.M. Data checked for errors and all years combined. 1/23/09 TLK Checked data for errors along with assessing if all data points were present for 2003-2009. 2005 is the last year that Quad 3084 was sampled. 11 January 2010 tlk.
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:
Organization: Sevilleta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Project
URL: http://sev.lternet.edu
Publication Place: Sevilleta LTER
Method Step:
Description:
Sampling: Within each 300 m x 300 m plot, 3 m x 4 m quadrats were marked off with rebar for use in a previous burn experiment. Each of these quadrats also had a rebar on the southern edge of the quadrat with a numbered tag. Six of these quadrats were randomly selected in each plot. Measurements were made using a Daubenmire quadrat frame. These frames are PVC squares that are 5 cm x 20 cm that gives an enclosed area of 0.1 m2. From each corner of the 3 m x 4 m quadrat, a distance of 2.5 m was taped off and the Daubenmire frame was placed on the ground over vegetation. All vegetation rooted within the frame was clipped at ground level and placed in a paper sack. This included all live and dead standing material. Exceptions were made where the frame was located within the canopy of bushes or yuccas. The designation for the four niners in each quadrat was A through D, with A in the SW corner moving clockwise to D in the SE corner. Laboratory techniques: All samples were dried at 60 degrees C for 48 hours and then weighed. Specific location: Data were collected from 16 (300 m x 300 m) plots designated as the "Burn Antelope Exclosure" plots. These plots are located on the southern end of Mckenzie Flats. The plots are laid out in a 4 by 4 square with 300 m buffer between each plot. The plots are enclosed within a 440 ha box. The bounding coordinates of this large box are:                Latitude Longitude NW corner 34.3138 106.6926  NE corner 34.3202 106.6711  SE corner 34.3024 106.6634  SW corner 34.2960 106.2960 This large expanse has a variable mix of grass species. The 2 dominant species are black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda) and blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis). There are also sizeable patches of mule grass (Scleropogon brevifolius). A mixture of the drop seed species are present as well. These include Sporobolus cryptandrus, Sporobolus contractus, Sporobolus flexuosus and Sporobolus airoides. Galleta grass (Pleuraphis jamesii) and a couple of Muhlenbergia species are also present. Within this grass matrix are also several shrubs and subshrubs. The most noticeable shrub is creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). Other common non-grasses are Yucca glauca, Ephedra torreyana and Gutierrezia sarothrae.
Quality Control:
Description:
  Data were entered and then visually assessed for any errors.
Data Table:
Entity Name: sev165_burnxfuel_12092013.txt
Entity Description: Data for SEV165
Object Name: sev165_burnxfuel_12092013.txt
Size: 173869
Data Format:
Text Format:
Number of Header Lines: 1
Record Delimiter: \r\n
Attribute Orientation: column
Simple Delimited:
Field Delimiter: ,
Distribution:
Online:
URL: https://pasta.lternet.edu/package/data/eml/knb-lter-sev/165/121134/e0e8fee1ea331f9026c1cdfa8e17e581
Coverage:
Temporal Coverage:
Date Range:
Begin Date:
Calendar Date: 2003-06-16
End Date:
Calendar Date: 2013-11-20
Attribute List:
Attribute Name: Date
Attribute Label: Date
Attribute Definition: Date when data were collected
Storage Type: date
Measurement Scale:
Datetime:
Format String: MM/DD/YYYY
Missing Value Code:
Code: -999
Code Explanation: missing values
Attribute Name: Year
Attribute Label: Year
Attribute Definition: The year in which the data were collected.
Storage Type: date
Measurement Scale:
Datetime:
Format String: YYYY
Attribute Name: Season
Attribute Label: Seas
Attribute Definition: Season when data were taken
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Enumerated Domain:
Code Definition:
Code: 2
Definition: Spring
Code Definition:
Code: 3
Definition: Fall
Attribute Name: Line
Attribute Label: Line
Attribute Definition: Line of plots where data were taken
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Enumerated Domain:
Code Definition:
Code: 3
Definition: Line of plots furthest from the road: these plots were given a prescribed fire in 2003
Code Definition:
Code: 4
Definition: Line of plots furthest from the road: these plots were given a prescribed fire in 2003
Code Definition:
Code: 1
Definition: Line of plots closest to the road: these plots were not burned in 2003
Code Definition:
Code: 2
Definition: Line of plots closest to the road: these plots were not burned in 2003
Attribute Name: Pre-treatment
Attribute Label: Pre
Attribute Definition: Treatment of previous experiment
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Enumerated Domain:
Code Definition:
Code: C-O
Definition: Control open
Code Definition:
Code: B-O
Definition: Burned open
Code Definition:
Code: C-F
Definition: Control fenced
Code Definition:
Code: B-F
Definition: Burned fenced
Attribute Name: Quadrat
Attribute Label: Quad
Attribute Definition: Number of the 3 m by 4 m quadrat where data were collected
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Text Domain:
Definition: Number of the 3 m by 4 m quadrat where data were collected
Attribute Name: Corner
Attribute Label: Corner
Attribute Definition: Corner of quadrat
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Enumerated Domain:
Code Definition:
Code: A
Definition: Southwest corner
Code Definition:
Code: B
Definition: Northwest corner
Code Definition:
Code: C
Definition: Northeast corner
Code Definition:
Code: D
Definition: Southeast corner
Attribute Name: Weight
Attribute Label: Wt
Attribute Definition: Weight of biomass collected
Measurement Scale:
Ratio:
Unit:
Custom Unit: grams
Precision: 0.01
Numeric Domain:
Number Type: real
Bounds:
Minimum: 0
Maximum: 246.02
Missing Value Code:
Code: -999
Code Explanation: missing values
Attribute Name: Burn status
Attribute Label: Sta
Attribute Definition: Condition of area following the prescribed fire
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Enumerated Domain:
Code Definition:
Code: U
Definition: unburned
Code Definition:
Code: B
Definition: burned
Code Definition:
Code: na
Definition: not applicable, measurements taken before burn
Code Definition:
Code: NS
Definition: not sure
Attribute Name: Comments
Attribute Label: Comment
Attribute Definition: Any comments that were noteworthy during data collecting and QA/QC
Storage Type: string
Measurement Scale:
Nominal:
Non Numeric Domain:
Enumerated Domain:
Code Definition:
Code: na
Definition: no comments