Quadrat Vegetation cover from Small Mammal Exclusion Study (SMES) at the Jornada Basin, 1995-2015

This data package contains vegetation cover from plots with various levels of herbivore exclusion on the Jornada Experimental Range (JER) and Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center (CDRRC) lands. Study sites were established in 1995; one in black grama grassland and the other in creosotebush shrubland to compare the impact of herbivores on ecosystem processes between these vegetation types. Parallel studies were established at the Sevilleta LTER site (New Mexico, USA) and Mapimi Biosphere Reserve (Durango, Mexico). Each study site is 1 km by 0.5 km in area. Four replicate experimental blocks were randomly located at each study site to measure vegetation responses using exclusion treatments including a) all mammalian herbivores, including cattle, lagomorphs, and rodents, b) lagomorphs and cattle only, c) cattle only, and d) control accessible to all herbivores. Thirty-six sampling points were positioned at 5.8-meter intervals on a systematically located 6 by 6 point grid within each plot. A permanent one-meter by one-meter vegetation measurement quadrat is located at each of the 36 points. Each year in spring and fall from 1995-2005, the vegetetion coverage was measured. Measurements include canopy gap, species identification, height (cm) and plant condition (living or dead). Data was collected in the spring and fall of every year since 1995. After 2005, sampling frequency channged to every 5 years in the fall. This study is ongoing.