Nitrogen Fertilization Experiment (NFert): Net Primary Production Quadrat Data at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico

This dataset is part of a long-term study at the Sevilleta LTER,
begun in spring 2004, which examines how fertilization affects
above-ground biomass production (ANPP) in a mixed desert-grassland.
Net primary production is a fundamental ecological variable that
quantifies rates of carbon consumption and fixation. Estimates of
NPP are important in understanding energy flow at a community level
as well as spatial and temporal responses to a range of ecological
processes. Above-ground net primary production is the change in
plant biomass, represented by stems, flowers, fruit and foliage,
over time and incorporates growth as well as loss to death and
decomposition. To measure this change the vegetation variables in
this dataset, including species composition and the cover and height
of individuals, are sampled twice yearly (spring and fall) at
permanent 1m x 1m plots. The data from these plots is used to build
regressions correlating biomass and volume via weights of select
harvested species obtained in SEV157, "Net Primary Productivity
(NPP) Weight Data." This biomass data is included in SEV186,
"Nitrogen Fertilization Experiment (NFert): Seasonal Biomass
and Seasonal and Annual NPP Data."