Soil water content under rainfall manipulation and nitrogen fertilization treatments at the Jornada Basin LTER site, 2007-2009

This data package contains soil water content data from a precipitation and nitrogen manipulation experiment conducted on the Jornada Experimental Range from 2006-2009. The objective of the study was to understand the interaction of precipitation and nitrogen dynamics on ANPP legacies. Rain-out shelters were used to create 5 levels of precipitation: 80% reduced, 50% reduced, ambient control, 50% increased, and 80% increased precipitation. Half of the plots were randomly assigned to receive ammonium nitrate fertilizer. In a subset of the plots, volumetric soil water content was monitored at shallow (0-5 cm) and deep (30-50 cm) depths. This data set contains the date of collection, block number, plot number, 2007-2008 precipitation treatment, 2009 precipitation treatment, nitrogen treatment, depth of soil probe, sensor voltage, and volumetric water content. Monitoring of soil moisture for this study was discontinued in November 2009. Also available are plant cover data from this study in data package knb-lter-jrn.210278002. For further information and results, see: Throop, H., L. G. Reichmann, O. Sala, and S. Archer. (2012), Response of dominant grass and shrub species to water manipulation: an ecophysical basis for shrub invasion in a Chihuahuan desert grassland. Oecologia 169: 373-383. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2217-4 Reichmann, L. G., O. E. Sala, and D. P. C. Peters. (2013), Water controls on nitrogen transformations and stocks in an arid ecosystem. Ecosphere 4(1):11. https://doi.org/10.1890/ES12-00263.1