Sevilleta LTER NPP Quadrat Sampling Data

(NPP) is a fundamental ecological variable that
measures 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 of the community to a wide
range of ecological processes. A long-term study has been established
at the Sevilleta LTER to monitor net primary production across four
distinct ecosystems: creosote dominant shrubland, black grama dominant
grassland, juniper-savannah and pinyon-juniper woodland. While
measures of both below and above ground biomass are important in
estimating NPP, the described study focuses on estimating above ground
biomass production (ANPP). ANPP is equal to the change in plant mass,
including any losses to death and decomposition, over a given period
of time. To measure this change, above ground biomass production
(ANPP) is sampled three times a year (winter, spring and fall) for all
species at each of the four sites. In addition, volumetric
measurements are obtained from permanent plots at the three sites to
build regressions correlating biomass and volume.