Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
36
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
36 results for “desert ecosystem”
Data from: Burrowing detritivores regulate nutrient cycling in a desert ecosystem
Nutrient cycling in most terrestrial ecosystems is thought to be controlled by moisture-dependent decomposer activity. In arid ecosystems, plant litter cycling exceeds rates predicted based on precipitation amounts, suggesting that additional factors are involved in these systems. Attempts to reveal these factors have predominantly focused on abiotic degradation, precipitation frequency, soil-litter mixing, and alternative moisture sources. Our aim was to explore an additional hypothesis that macro-detritivores control litter cycling in deserts. We quantified the role different organisms play in clearing plant detritus from the desert surface, using litter-baskets with different mesh sizes that allow selective entry of micro-, meso- or macro-fauna. We also measured soil nutrient concentrations in increasing distances from the burrows of a highly abundant macro-detritivore, the desert isopod Hemilepistus reaumuri, in the field and in laboratory microcosms. Macro-detritivores controlled the clearing of plant litter in our field site. The highest rates of litter removal were measured during the hot and dry summer when isopod activity peaks and microbial activity is minimal. We also found substantial enrichment of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorous in the vicinity of isopod burrows. We conclude that burrowing macro-detritivores are important regulators of litter cycling in this arid ecosystem, providing a plausible general mechanism that explains the unexpectedly high rates of plant-litter cycling in deserts.
Figure 1 in Parasites of Moroccan desert Coptodon guineensis (Pisces, Cichlidae): transition and resilience in a simplified hypersaline ecosystem
Figure 1. Map of Morocco indicating the sampling sites.
Data for the article: Coupling of leaf elemental traits with root fungal community composition reveals a plant resource acquisition strategy in a desert ecosystem
<p><em>Purpose</em>: Plant-associated microbes enhance nutrient access and stress tolerance of the host species, and therefore, are crucial for plant traits and resource strategies. However, the links between aboveground plant traits and belowground microbes related to plant resource strategies under stressful conditions remain poorly understood.</p> <p><em>Methods</em>: We tested the relationships between leaf traits linked to water (carbon isotopic composition, δ<sup>13</sup>C) and nutrient use (elemental concentrations and stoichiometry) with microbial compositions in roots and rhizospheres of two dominant species (<em>Artemisia ordosica</em> and <em>Leymus secalinus</em>) in the Mu Us Desert, northern China.</p> <p><em>Results</em>: <em>L. secalinus</em> exhibited higher Mg and Mn concentrations, N:P ratios, stoichiometric flexibility, and root fungi:bacteria ratios, but lower foliar K and Ca concentrations and δ<sup>13</sup>C values than <em>A. ordosica</em>. The leaf N:P of <em>L. secalinus</em> increased with the root fungi:bacteria ratios, whereas the leaf N:P of <em>A. ordosica</em> decreased with the root fungi:bacteria ratios. The plant elemental levels (P, N, K, Ca, Mn, and δ<sup>13</sup>C) of <em>L. secalinus</em> but not <em>A. ordosica</em> were significantly related to their root fungal composition. Additionally, the random forest model identified four key fungal families in predicting leaf elemental traits for both plant species.</p> <p><em>Conclusion</em>: The results suggested tight coupling and coordination between leaf elemental traits and root microbial compositions (especially fungal communities) related to plant resource acquisition strategies. By regulating aboveground and belowground feedback loops through trait flexibility and root microbial compositions, the studied plant species can sustain their resource strategies under stressful environmental conditions.</p>
Warming decreases desert ecosystem functioning by altering biocrusts in drylands
<p><span>Warming and precipitation fluctuations are changing desert ecosystems in global drylands. However, the effects of climate change on keystone species such as cryptogamic biocrust in drylands remain relatively under-investigated, even though biocrusts play a vital role in desert ecosystems. </span><span>We conducted a long-term experiment (14 years) to simulate the responses of two main types of biocrusts to warming coupled with reduction in precipitation that was achieved by open-top chambers (OTCs) to simulate the predicted warming and precipitation decreasing under climate change scenario. We also conduct a structural analysis to evaluate the resulting changes in desert ecosystem functioning (carbon and nitrogen cycling).</span><span> </span><span>Neither warming and corresponding rainfall reduction treatments had a negative effect on lichen species richness, but both treatments reduced lichen cover and biomass. The negative effects of warming on moss-dominated crusts were much greater than those on lichen-dominated crusts. Although mosses and lichens had varying degrees of response to warming, the loss of mosses and decreased lichen cover and biomass, as well as the shortening of the wet time, resulted in a reduction in carbon and nitrogen fixation, soil enzyme activity and water-holding capacity of biocrusts and topsoil. These impacts collectively change the water balance of drylands and weaken the hydrological and biogeochemical function of biocrusts. </span></p> <p><span><em>Synthesis and applications</em>:</span><span> Results from this long-term experiment suggest that the ecosystem C and N cycling and water balance of global drylands may be highly impacted by climate change, in part because of the response of biocrusts, which contribute an important implication for both dryland restoration and earth system dynamics.</span></p>
Warming decreases desert ecosystem functioning by altering biocrusts in drylands
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data for the article: Coupling of leaf elemental traits with root fungal community composition reveals a plant resource acquisition strategy in a desert ecosystem
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Burrowing detritivores regulate nutrient cycling in a desert ecosystem
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Dissolved organic carbon dynamics in an urban desert stream ecosystem in central Arizona-Phoenix
Variation in stream chemistry is a function of the strength of terrestrial-aquatic linkages, the extent to which surface and groundwater exchanges, and the rate of instream biotic processes. The importance of these variables may fluctuate as a function of climate regime, catchment geomorphology, or level of human impact. A mechanistic understanding of the influence of each of these variables on ecosystem functioning will increase understanding of the role of streams in global nutrient and carbon cycles. Of particular interest is dissolved organic carbon (DOC), an important source of carbon and energy for microbial processes. Respiration by heterotrophic bacterial communities has recently been linked to the quality (ability of microbes to utilize C source) of the DOC pool in streams. DOC not only influences stream nutrient supply, but also the transport of contaminants and the attenuation of UV radiation. This dissertation focused on DOC delivery to two arid-land stream ecosystems, one native desert (Sycamore Creek, AZ), and one urban (Phoenix, AZ). The overall objectives of this work were to (1) document patterns in DOC quantity and chemical composition in response to flooding and groundwater exchange, (2) generate and test hypotheses explaining variation in DOC quantity and quality and (3) relate this variation to microbial activity. In the native desert stream ecosystem, the climate regime influenced seasonal variation in the quantity and quality of DOC inputs, with higher complexity and higher concentrations of DOC in summer monsoonal runoff. In contrast, human alteration of geomorphology and hydrologic flowpaths in the Phoenix metropolitan area significantly influenced streamwater chemistry in comparison to low-impact streams in the Sonoran Desert. In the city, mechanisms of nutrient retention and transformation were often shifted from dominance by biotic to abiotic ones, severely dampening the influence of climate regime and substituting instead the maintenance
Mycorrhizal diversity and effects on brittlebush in a Sonoran desert urban ecosystem
In this study, the functioning of AM fungi in brittlebush (Encelia farinosa A. Gray ex Torr.) grown at an urban site and a desert site are compared. E. farinosa is a native, desert shrub commonly found in the Sonoran Desert surrounding Phoenix and used as an ornamental shrub in residential and commercial sites in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Because this shrub is common in urban and desert areas, it can be used to compare AM fungal colonization levels between these areas. In addition, the impact of AM fungi on E. farinosa growth and reproductive output was studied by attempting to manipulate the levels of AM fungal colonization using the fungicide methyl-1-(butyl-carbamoyl)-2-benzimidazole (benomyl). This fungicide has been shown to suppress colonization of roots by AM fungi with little phytotoxicity or effect on soil nutrients (Fitter and Nichols 1988; Hartnett and Wilson 2002). Hartnett and Wilson (2002) stated that the best method available to assess the roles and functions of AM fungi in natural communities is through the use of fungicides such as benomyl. Treatment with benomyl should allow for comparisons between plants that have typical levels of mycorrhizal colonization and those with lower, suppressed levels of colonization. The impact of AM fungi on the productivity of brittlebush plants was examined at an urban and desert site. Fungal colonization was greater at the desert site but biomass and reproductive output was higher at the urban site. When mycorrhizal colonization was suppressed, plants had greater vegetative growth, but there was no effect on reproductive output.
Desert Fertilization Experiment: ecosystem response to nutrient enrichment across an urban airshed in the Sonoran desert
Launched in 2006 with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and leveraged by the CAP LTER, the Carbon and Nitrogen deposition (CNdep) project sought to answer the fundamental question of whether elemental cycles in urban ecosystems are qualitatively different from those in non-urban ecosystems. Ecosystem scientists, atmospheric chemists, and biogeochemists tested the hypothesis that distinct biogeochemical pathways result from elevated inorganic nitrogen and organic carbon deposition from the atmosphere to the land. To test the hypothesis, scientists examined the responsiveness of Sonoran desert ecosystems to nutrient enrichment by capitalizing on a gradient of atmospheric deposition in and around the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. Fifteen desert study sites were established, with five locations each west and east of the urban core, and in the urban core in desert preserves. In addition to the gradient of atmospheric deposition in and around the urban core, select study plots at each of the fifteen desert locations receive amendments of nitrogen, phosphorus, or nitrogen + phosphorus fertilizer. Measured variables include soil properties, perennial and annual plant growth, and atmospheric deposition of nitrogen. At the close of the initial grant period, the CAP LTER assumed responsibility for the project, renamed the Desert Fertilization Experiment, which provides a remarkable platform to study the long-term effects of nutrient enrichment on ecosystem properties. This data set features an amalgamation of data from the CAP LTER's long-term Desert Fertilization Experiment. The data presented here bring together many aspects of the project, and are featured in several papers, notably Hall et al. 2009 and 2011, and Sponseller et al. 2012. Investigators interested in other and more recent data from the CAP LTER's long-term Desert Fertilization Experiment should search the data repository for 'desert fertilization experiment'. Citations: Hall, S. J., B. Ah
Data from: A glimpse of an ancient agricultural ecosystem based on remains of micromammals in the Byzantine Negev Desert
It is widely believed that Byzantine agriculture in the Negev Desert (4th–7th cent. CE), with widespread construction of terraces and dams, altered local landscapes. However, no direct evidence in archaeological sites yet exists to test this assumption. We uncovered large amounts of small mammalian remains (rodents and insectivores) within agricultural installations built near fields, providing a new line of evidence for reconstructing anthropogenic impact on local habitats. Abandonment layers furnished high abundances of remains, whereas much smaller numbers were retrieved from the period of human use of the structures. Digestion marks are present in low frequencies (20% of long bones and teeth), with a light degree of impact, which indicate the role of owls (e.g., Tyto alba) as the principal means of accumulation. The most common taxa—gerbils (Gerbillus spp.) and jirds (Meriones spp.)—occur in nearly equal frequencies, which do not correspond with any modern Negev communities, where gerbils predominate in sandy low-precipitation environments and jirds in loessial, higher-precipitation ones. Though low-level climate change cannot be ruled out, the results suggest that Byzantine agriculture allowed jirds to colonize sandy anthropogenic habitats with other gerbilids and commensal mice and rats.
Data from: A glimpse of an ancient agricultural ecosystem based on remains of micromammals in the Byzantine Negev Desert
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Contrasting demographic processes underlie uphill shifts in a desert ecosystem
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Dissolved organic carbon dynamics in an urban desert stream ecosystem in central Arizona-Phoenix: site locations
Variation in stream chemistry is a function of the strength of terrestrial-aquatic linkages, the extent to which surface and groundwater exchanges, and the rate of instream biotic processes. The importance of these variables may fluctuate as a function of climate regime, catchment geomorphology, or level of human impact. A mechanistic understanding of the influence of each of these variables on ecosystem functioning will increase understanding of the role of streams in global nutrient and carbon cycles. Of particular interest is dissolved organic carbon (DOC), an important source of carbon and energy for microbial processes. Respiration by heterotrophic bacterial communities has recently been linked to the quality (ability of microbes to utilize C source) of the DOC pool in streams. DOC not only influences stream nutrient supply, but also the transport of contaminants and the attenuation of UV radiation. This dissertation focused on DOC delivery to two arid-land stream ecosystems, one native desert (Sycamore Creek, AZ), and one urban (Phoenix, AZ). The overall objectives of this work were to (1) document patterns in DOC quantity and chemical composition in response to flooding and groundwater exchange, (2) generate and test hypotheses explaining variation in DOC quantity and quality and (3) relate this variation to microbial activity. In the native desert stream ecosystem, the climate regime influenced seasonal variation in the quantity and quality of DOC inputs, with higher complexity and higher concentrations of DOC in summer monsoonal runoff. In contrast, human alteration of geomorphology and hydrologic flowpaths in the Phoenix metropolitan area significantly influenced streamwater chemistry in comparison to low-impact streams in the Sonoran Desert. In the city, mechanisms of nutrient retention and transformation were often shifted from dominance by biotic to abiotic ones, severely dampening the influence of climate regime and substituting instead the maintenance
Data from: Acoustic and camera surveys inform models of current and future vertebrate distributions in a changing desert ecosystem
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Hierarchical Bayesian scaling of soil properties across urban, agricultural, and desert ecosystems in central Arizona-Phoenix
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.