Nematode abundance in soil cores collected beneath mesquite trees in irrigated and non-irrigated plots at the Jornada Basin LTER site, 1988

This data package contains nematode abundance in soils subjected to an irrigation experiment in mesquite coppice dune habitats during the early years of Jornada Basin LTER (LTER-I and II). The purpose of this study was to quantify total nematode abundance, and the abundance of nematode functional groups, in irrigated and non-irrigated (control) soils beneath mesquite plants (Prosopis glandulosa). Soil cores were taken from three depths (0-50cm, 50-100cm, and 100-150cm) then divided into subsamples for nematode investigation. Nematodes were quantified via a semi-automatic elutriator with sugar flotation-sieving and the Baerman Funnel technique. Nematodes were counted and separated into trophic groups: fungal feeders, bacterial feeders, plant parasites, and omnivore-predators. The data collection began in March 1988 and ended in October 1988. This dataset is complete.