Ecophysiological variables of common shrub and grass species during the growing season following simulated sandblasting trials at the Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico, USA, 2018 and 2019

In this dataset, we report ecophysiological variables of contrasting
perennial grass (Bouteloua eriopoda, Sporobolus airoides, and
Aristida purpurea) and shrub (Prosopis glandulosa, Atriplex
canescens, and Larrea tridentata) functional groups before and after
a series of simulated sandblasting events with various intensities
and frequencies. We hypothesized that grass species are more
susceptible to the resulting "sandblasting" (i.e.,
abrasive damage by wind-blown particulates) than shrubs, thus
contributing to the shift from grass to shrub dominance. To test
this, we conducted a wind tunnel experiment at the USDA Jornada
Experimental Range in 2018 and 2019 growing seasons. Potted plants
were subjected to different levels of sandblasting in a novel
portable wind tunnel, and plants’ ecophysiological responses
including leaf gas exchange and nighttime leaf stomatal conductance
were quantified. All tested plants were then grown in benign
greenhouse conditions to investigate plant recovery post
sandblasting. This dataset contains data about plant biomass and
height, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf gas exchange, stomatal
conductance, and water use efficiency (WUE) under the experimental
treatments above. This study is complete.

本数据集报告了不同强度和频率的模拟喷砂事件前后，多年生草本（Bouteloua eriopoda、Sporobolus airoides、Aristida purpurea）与灌木（Prosopis glandulosa、Atriplex canescens、Larrea tridentata）功能群（functional groups）的生理生态变量（ecophysiological variables）。我们假设草本物种比灌木更易受喷砂（即风吹颗粒物造成的磨蚀损伤）的影响，从而推动从草本主导到灌木主导的群落转变。为验证这一假设，我们于2018年和2019年生长季在美国农业部霍纳达实验场（USDA Jornada Experimental Range）开展了风洞实验。盆栽植物在新型便携式风洞中经受不同强度的喷砂处理，随后量化其生理生态响应，包括叶片气体交换和夜间叶片气孔导度。所有受试植物随后置于适宜的温室条件下培养，以研究喷砂后的恢复情况。本数据集包含上述实验处理下植物的生物量、株高、叶片叶绿素含量、叶片气体交换、气孔导度及水分利用效率（WUE）等数据。本研究已完成。