Plant cover on 2 x 2 meter rainfall runoff plots in grassland and creosotebush communities at the Jornada Basin LTER, 1989-1990

This data package contains plant cover measurements collected at natural rainfall-runoff plots installed on lands managed by the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center (CDRRC) and the Jornada Experimental Range (JER) during the early years of Jornada Basin LTER (LTER-I and II). The purpose of this study was to quantify plant cover and phenology in grassland and creosote bush in runoff study plots, including those that included a termite removal treatment. Plant cover was measured on 20 2 x 2 meter hydrology runoff plots located in zones dominated by either creosotebush or grassland using sampling quadrats divided into 10 x 10 cm units. The number of 10x10cm squares occupied each by plant species was counted and scaled up to determine the total percent cover of each species per plot. Data recorded includes plant species codes, raw cover, percent cover, height of vegetation, and phenology. This study was completed in October 1990.