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Shortgrass Steppe-Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER)

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/195549

These digital collections contain materials related to the SGS-LTER research site, established in 1980 by researchers at Colorado State University as part of a network of long-term research sites within the US LTER Network, supported by the National Science Foundation. Scientists within the Natural Resource Ecology Lab, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, and Biology Department at CSU, California State Fullerton, USDA Agricultural Research Service, University of Northern Colorado, and the University of Wyoming, among others, have contributed to our understanding of the structure and functions of the shortgrass steppe and other diverse ecosystems across the network while maintaining a common mission and sharing expertise, data and infrastructure.

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    SGS-LTER GIS layer with detailed information on CPER boundary on Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 2012
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1939-2012) Kaplan, Nicole
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection.
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    SGS-LTER standard met data: Monthly precipitation totals and temperatures from the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, CO 1940-1973
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1941-1973) Parton, William
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The objective of this study is to collect baseline meteorological data for the CPER. Datasets auto12_climdb and man11_climdb have been processed for quality and missing values.
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    SGS-LTER GIS layer with detailed information on buildings on Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 2012
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1962-2012) Kaplan, Nicole
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection.
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    SGS-LTER GIS layer with detailed information on IBP vegetation on Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 2012
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1964-1972) Kaplan, Nicole
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection.
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    SGS-LTER avian road counts, breeding bird survey, on the Pawnee National Grassland in eastern Colorado, USA
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1968-2002) Ryder, Ronald
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The Breeding Bird Survey is a large-scale survey of North American birds. It is a roadside survey, primarily covering the continental United States and southern Canada, although survey routes have recently been initiated in Alaska and northern Mexico. The BBS was started in 1966, and the over 3,500 routes are surveyed in June by experienced birders. Routes 305, Nunn and 901, Rockport are located in the area of the SGS research site. The primary objective of the BBS has been the estimation of population change for songbirds. However, the data have many potential uses, and investigators have used the data to address a variety of research and management objectives. In the USGS-BBS Home Page, results from the BBS are summarized and pictures of birds and other species are information. Data from 1966-2002 were managed by the SGS-LTER project.
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    SGS-LTER standard meteorological data on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, ARS study number 4
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1969-2010) Parton, William
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The objective of this study is to collect baseline meteorological data for the CPER. Datasets auto12_climdb and man11_climdb have been processed for quality and missing values.
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    SGS-LTER standard met data: 1969-2010 manually collected aboveground and belowground meteorological data collected on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA, ARS study number 4
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1969-2010) Parton, William
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The objective of this study is to collect baseline meteorological data for the CPER. Datasets auto12_climdb and man11_climdb have been processed for quality and missing values.
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    SGS-LTER ecosystem stress area: long-term dataset following nutrient enrichment stress on the Central Plains Experimental Range in Nunn, Colorado, USA, ARS study number 3
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1974-2011) Milchunas, Daniel G.; Lauenroth, William K.
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The effect of plant community structure on nutrient cycling is fundamental to our understanding of ecosystem function. We examined the importance of plant species and plant cover (i.e. plant covered microsites vs bare soil) on nutrient cycling in shortgrass steppe of northeastern Colorado. We tested the effects of both plant species and cover on soils in an area of undisturbed shortgrass steppe and an area that had undergone nitrogen and water additions from 1971 to 1974, resulting in significant shifts in plant species composition.
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    SGS-LTER disturbance intensity and above- and belowground herbivory effects on long-term recovery of shortgrass steppe on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1977-1990
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1977-1990) Lauenroth, William K.
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The importance of disturbance intensity and herbivory by cattle and white grubs, or the larvae of June beetles to recovery of shortgrass steppe ecosystems in Colorado, USA were evaluated over a 14 year time period. Disturbance intensity was defined by survival of the dominant grass species (Bouteloua gracilis) after an outbreak of root feeding activity by white grubs. 16 patches of vegetation consisting of four pairs of adjacent ungrazed-grazed by cattle locations with 2 replicates that were recently affected by white grubs were selected in 1977. Disturbance intensity was determined in 1977 by the area in each patch that contained live tillers of B. gracilis. Permanent plots were located both within and outside of each patch. Plant basal cover and density by species were estimated at time of peak aboveground biomass in 6 different years on each plot. Successional dynamics on patches was similar to areas affected by other types of disturbances, however, rate of recovery was faster for patches affected by grubs. Grazing by cattle was infrequently important to plant recovery, a result similar to effects of grazing on other aspects of shortgrass steppe. Disturbance intensity was important to recovery of B. gracilis since tiller survival in 1977 was linearly related to cover in each year of sampling. For ungrazed patches, initial conditions were important to recovery of B. gracilis for as many as 14 years. For grazed patches, initial conditions decreased and grazing increased in importance through time. Changes in resource quality and more uniform distribution of roots due to grazing likely resulted in more complete mortality of plants by grubs under grazed compared to ungrazed conditions. Persistence of shortgrass steppe ecosystems in spite of disturbances with different intensities are determined at least in part by characteristics of disturbances interacting with the ability of plants to respond, and in part by the evolutionary history of the system. Although white grubs affect shortgrass communities infrequently, they have large and important effects on plant community structure through time, and represent an important class of disturbance defined by intensity.
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    SGS-LTER historical LTER soil water-neutron probe field data from across the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA, ARS study number 10
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1981-1997) Lauenroth, William K.
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Long-term (1985-1992) dynamics and spatial variations in soil water below the evaporative zone were evaluated for a shortgrass steppe with a low and variable precipitation regime. Each of sandy loam, clay loam, and two sandy clay loam sites compromised a toposequence with upland, midslope, and lowland positions. Soil water was monitored at 15cm intervals providing estimates covering 22.5 to 97.5 cm depths. Soil water throughout the profile was highest in the clay loam and lowest in the sandy loam. However, stored soil water did npt vary systematically among slope positions.
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    SGS-LTER GIS layer with detailed information on study sites on Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 2012
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1982-2012) Kaplan, Nicole
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection.
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    SGS-LTER CPER hillslope soil spatial variability on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1983-1984
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1983-1984) Kelly, Eugene F.
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. CPER Hillslope Soil Spatial Variability - Pedons were characterized along three parallel transects, spaced at approximate 40 m intervals perpendicular to a hillslope at the CPER. Pedons were described at 7 landscape positions along each transect: summit, shoulder, upper backslope, middle backslope, lower backslope, footslope, and toeslope. Pedons were described by genetic horizon according to the standards of the National Cooperative Soil Survey. Analyses included: particle size; organic C; total N; organic and total P. Bulk Density was estimated using particle size and organic C data, according to: Rawls, W.J. 1983. Estimating soil bulk density from particle size analysis and organic matter content. Soil Sci. 135: 123-125.
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    SGS-LTER standard production data: 1983-2008 annual aboveground net primary production on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1983-2008, ARS study number 6
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1983-2008) Lauenroth, William K.
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The objective of the long-term ANPP study is to monitor long-term net above ground primary production of the shortgrass steppe community by species. There are 6 sites: ridgetop (ridge), midslope (mid), swale, ESA (replicate 1 not 2), Section 25 (SEC 25), and owl-creek (OC). Each site is located in a different landscape position or soil type on the shortgrass steppe and may be grazed or not. Ridgetop, midslope and swale are grazed and are sampled along a catena. Section 25 is grazed and is located in an upload grassland. ESA is an ungrazed upland grassland and is the control from the Ecosystem Stress Area experiment. Owl Creek is ungrazed and is located in the lowland along the owl creek drainage. There are 3 transects with 5 plots in each transect. Plots in the grazed locations are protected by cages. Because this is a monitoring effort, true replicates across the landscape are not available and it is recommended that the transect be used in calculating mean production at each sampling location.
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    SGS-LTER long term nitrogen concentration in LTNPP monitoring on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1983-2011, ARS study number 6
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1983-2011) Milchunas, Daniel G.
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Aboveground plant nitrogen dynamics monitoring consists of two separate data sets. a) Long-term peak-crop nitrogen concentrations have been sampled since 1983 annually from sites sampled for ANPP estimates across the CPER. Plots are clipped for ANPP in August each year and include moderately grazed sites in sections 24 and 25, ungrazed treatments at ESA and owl creek, coarse textured soils in owl creek, fine textured soils in section 25, as well as three catena topopositions in section 24. These datasets have been designed for monitoring and so it is advised to consider calculating average based at the transect level. B) Seasonal dynamics of life-form (dominant grass, forb, shrub species) nitrogen concentrations were obtained from random grab samples of aboveground plant tissue are taken monthly from May-Aug. and in Oct., Dec., Feb., and April from 1983 – 2007 at sites where ANPP has been collected since 1983 (ESA, ridge, mid-slope and swale in section 24). The objectives are to assess annual/seasonal weather and site productivity/management with quantity and quality of forage and/or litter production. Combined, these two data sets also provide an estimate of nitrogen yield. These data can be linked with secondary producer data sets such as annual cattle weight gains, grasshopper abundance, small mammal monitoring, etc., to assess how forage/plant tissue quantity and quality drive population dynamics.
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    Proceedings of the natural resources modeling symposium
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1985-04) DeCoursey, Donn G., editor; Shortgrass Steppe symposium, author; SGS-LTER, Colorado State University, publisher
    In the last few years, scientists in the Agricultural Research Service, ARS-USDA, have developed several mathematical models of field and small watershed response. The models have simulated the hydrologic, erosion, crop growth, and water quality characteristics representative of various land use and treatment scenarios. Most of the model development was in response to needs of the Soil Conservation Service (SCS); regulatory agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and other action agencies. In some cases, models have been developed to aid research programs by providing an analytical description of the physical processes being investigated. Recent model development has been rapid; it involves many disciplines and requires scientists from different backgrounds to work together. The Symposium was structured as a forum within which scientists could discuss the technical aspects of their work and compare ideas. It also provided the Soil Conservation Service an opportunity to learn more about the models that are being developed and an opportunity to describe what they need. The first part of the symposium, about two and one-half days, presented an overview of various ARS modeling and related programs and SCS efforts to incorporate them into their programs. The second part of the symposium, about one and one-half days, consisted of four concurrent sessions: chemical and biological processes, soil-water-plant relations, hydrology, and erosion. Presentations in the four concurrent sessions were selected to present the state-of-the-art and research needs as they exist in ARS and SCS.
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    SGS-LTER long-term seasonal root biomass on the Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 1985-2007, ARS study number 3
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1985-2007) Milchunas, Daniel G.
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The belowground system in arid and semiarid regions can be of relatively greater importance than in more mesic systems because plant competition is most often for soil water rather than for light in aboveground canopies. Belowground plant biomass in the shortgrass steppe represents approximately 80% of the total. These data, entitled Long-Term Seasonal Root Biomass, were obtained in section 21 of the Central Plains Experimental Range from 1985-2008 in conjunction with a 14C labeling experiment designed to test isotope methods of estimating root production. Paired plots for each of eight replicate 14C labeled plots were established and cored on average six times per year over 13 years (five cores each plot each date as above). There were two primary objectives for collecting these data, 1) to compare estimates of root production (or belowground net primary production - BNPP) obtained using the sequential coring of biomass methods with various isotope, minirhizotron, ingrowth, and other methods, and 2) to examine long-term controls on the temporal dynamics of root biomass. This shortgrass steppe LTER site is the only place we are aware of that has compared most methods of estimating BNPP, including sequential coring, ingrowth cores, and ingrowth donuts, 14C pulse-isotope dilution, 14C pulse-isotope turnover, rhizotron windows, and minirhizotron, and indirect methods including nitrogen budget, carbon flux, simulation carbon flow model, and regression model. All production methods are compared in Milchunas (2009), and more detailed comparisons among particular methods can be found in Milchunas and Lauenroth (1992, 2001), and Milchunas et al. (2005a, and 2005b). Results and conclusions concerning root biomass dynamics and relationships with precipitation, season, and aboveground biomass are reported primarily in Milchunas and Lauenroth (2001).
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    SGS-LTER 1986 proposal
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1986-04-10) Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER), author
    We propose to continue the long-term ecological research project in the Shortgrass Steppe, at the Central Plains Experimental Range in north central Colorado. The theme of this work revolves around the ideas of the origin and maintenance of spatial pattern in shortgrass ecosystems and the rules for transforming information about a particular temporal or spatial scale to information about the next higher scale in a hierarchy. The research we are proposing is organized by a nested hierarchy of spatial scales ranging from a single plant up to the Central Grassland region of the United States. The five LTER Core Topics provide a secondary organizing structure for the proposed work. Experiments are proposed for a range of spatial scales over each of the Core Topics. Our overall objective for this work is to begin unraveling some of the apparent complexities surrounding the issues of spatial and temporal heterogeneity and relationships among various scales of each. Even partial confirmation or rejection of these ideas will provide essential information to help move ecosystem ecology in the direction of principles for relating ecological processes and structures to spatial and temporal heterogeneity.
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    SGS-LTER standard met data: Cr21x station 12 - meteorological data on the Central Plains Experimental Range in Nunn, Colorado, USA 1986-2010, ARS study number 4
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1986-2010) Parton, William
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The objective of this study is to collect baseline meteorological data for the CPER. Datasets auto12_climdb and man11_climdb have been processed for quality and missing values.
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    SGS-LTER GIS layer with detailed information on meteorological stations on Central Plains Experimental Range, Nunn, Colorado, USA 2012
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1986-2012) Kaplan, Nicole
    This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Repository (http://hdl.handle.net/10217/100254). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection.
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    1987-1991 final report
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 1987-1991) Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER), author
    The Central Plains Experimental Range (CPER) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project focused on spatial and temporal patterns of ecosystem structure and function at the CPER in northcentral Colorado. Research was concentrated in 5 areas: soil water; primary production; population dynamics; organic matter accumulation and nutrient dynamics; and disturbances. We produced exciting results in each of these 5 areas and significantly changed the state of knowledge about the origin and sustainability of shortgrass steppe ecosystems.