Effects of Kangaroo Rat Mounds on Seed Banks of Grass and Shrublands at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2001)

Authors

Terri Koontz
Heather Simpson

Date

2011

Abstract

Disturbance is a major factor in determining the spatial structure and temporal dynamics of ecological systems. Many studies have been conducted concerning the plant assemblages around Dipodmys spectabilis mounds compared to the off mound area. These studies have shown that annual plant cover is higher on the kangaroo rat mound compared to off the mound. However, no studies have addressed the effects of these rodents disturbance on the soil seed bank. Soil seed banks are an important component of the plant community particularly in arid environments. Annual plants have been known to create viable seeds that remain dormant in the soil for many years making their seed bank a persistent one. A persistent seed bank allows for future recruitment of plants given favorable conditions that could have a dramatic impact on the overall species diversity of the community. We studied the seed bank of eight forb taxa to ask the following questions: 1) Are there more seeds in the seed bank around kangaroo rat mounds compared to other microhabitats? 2) Does the seed composition differ among the different microhabitats? 3) If the seed composition does differ, do specific physical components of microhabitats predict seed populations?

Handle

http://hdl.handle.net/1928/30007

Other Identifier

SEV208

Knowledge Network for Biocomplexity (KNB) Identifier

knb-lter-sev.208.102459

Document Type

Dataset

Comments

This dataset was originally published on the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Data Portal, https://portal.lternet.edu, and potentially via other repositories or portals as described. The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) of the source data package is doi:10.6073/pasta/115b8095a5e82028869a8c56eff14597, and may be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/115b8095a5e82028869a8c56eff14597. Metadata and files included in this record mirror as closely as possible the source data and documentation, with the provenance metadata and quality report generated by the LTER portal reproduced here as '*-provenance.xml' and *-report.html' files, respectively.

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. Datasets must be cited as in the example provided. A copy of any publications using these data must be supplied to the Sevilleta LTER Information Manager. By downloading any data you implicitly acknowledge the LTER Data Policy (http://www.lternet.edu/data/netpolicy.html).

Publisher

SEV LTER, Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM , 87131

Source

http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/115b8095a5e82028869a8c56eff14597

Temporal coverage

2001-08-27 - 2001-08-31

Spatial coverage

Location: Five Points Black Grama is on the transition between Chihuahuan Desert Scrub and Desert Grassland habitat. The site is subject to intensive research activity, including assessments of net primary productivity, phenology, and pollinator diversity, amongst other projects. It is the site of the unburned black grama (GU) component of the Burn NPP study. On August 4, 2009, a lightning-initiated fire began on the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. By August 5, 2009, the fire had reached the Five Points Black Grama site. Portions of this site were burned, but not the entirety. See individual projects for further information on the effects of the burn. Vegetation: The Five Points Black Grama site is ecotonal in nature, bordering Chihuahuan Desert Scrub at its southern extent and Plains-Mesa Grassland at its northern, more mesic boundary. Characteristically, the dominant grass is black grama (Bouteloua eriopoda).

DOI

doi:10.6073/pasta/115b8095a5e82028869a8c56eff14597

Permanent URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/115b8095a5e82028869a8c56eff14597

Recommended Citation

Koontz, Terri; Simpson, Heather (2011): Effects of Kangaroo Rat Mounds on Seed Banks of Grass and Shrublands at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2001). Long Term Ecological Research Network. http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/115b8095a5e82028869a8c56eff14597