This folder contains the final report and presentation PDF files for a project to evaluate plant root distributions in two cover types (Shell Disposal Trenches and Integrated Cover System) and natural grassland at Rocky Mountain Arsenal.  

The project was implemented through a contract between Navarro Research and Engineering, Inc. and Colorado State University from January through May, 2015. 

Raw image files of roots from different depths (tiff format) and data generated from these images (tsv format) using WinRHIZO Regular LA2400 System (Regent Instruments, Inc., Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) are available upon request. 

This data forlder contains 3 sheets: 
-  AVG_DIAM_by_Core - measured in diameter (mm)
-  MassPerVolume_byCore - measured in mass per volume (g/m^3)
-  RootLengthDensity_byCore - measured in Length per volume (m/m^3)

This table has 528 observations (rows) of 7 variables (columns). 

Columns:  
- site_id: type of site the core was taken from (control, ICS, SDT or natural_site)
- soil_core_id: the lysimeter below the site the core was taken from (LYS001, LYS002, LYS003,LYS004,LYS007,LYS0015, or NA for control and natural site core) 
- depth_in: the depth range of the core section analyzed (0-6, 7-12, 13-18, 19-24, 25-30, 31-36, 37-42, 43-48)
- A value column: numeric value of the aspect measured as indicated in the file name. len_per_vol, mass_per_vol_ or average diameter

For more information please contact Dr. Cynthia Brown at cynthia.s.brown@colostate.edu. 

Acronyms:	
LYS  	Lysimeter
NS	Native Site
ICS	Integrated Cover System
SDT	Shell Disposal Trenches
	
Soil core samples were collected near lysimeters that have exceeded the annual percolation compliance standard, which are located in the Shell Disposal Trenches (SDT) cover and near lysimeters with similar orientation that have not exceeded the annual percolation standard in the Integrated Cover Systems (ICS) area. Additionally, a Native Site (NS) on the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge (RMANWR) located in the northwest quadrant of Section 33, was selected as reference to a naturally occurring shortgrass prairie. Lysimeter 001, 002 and 003 were sampled from the SDT site and Lysimeter 004, 007 and 015 from the ICS site. ICS lysimeters were selected based on slope aspect and 
slope position to be similar to SDT lysimeters. Lysimeters 001 and 007 are on the north aspect at the toe of the slope. Lysimeters 002 and 015 are on the north aspect at the top of the slope. Lysimeters 003 and 004 are on the south aspect at the toe of the slope. Three soil cores were collected adjacent to each lysimeter and from NS to address vegetation and soil variability. One quality control core was also collected from near Lysimeter 003. 

For more detailed information please refer to the final report.	

Each soil core was four feet long and was divided into eight samples, each 6 inches long. In some cases, the core was slightly less than 4 feet long, which resulted in the deepest sample being less than 6 inches. More information on the sampling site locations and descriptions can be found in the Sample and Analysis Work Plan, Revision A (Navarro 2015b). Samples for root analysis were transported to Colorado State University (CSU) Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management (BSPM) on January 13th, 2016. The 22 soil cores (176 samples) were stored in a freezer at Dr. Cynthia Brown’s laboratory at CSU until processing and analysis.