Find research datasets worth reusing

openCC (other)Nov 2021View details →

Germination and early establishment of dryland grasses and shrubs on wind-eroded soils from the Jornada Basin LTER Scrape site, 2018-2019

In this dataset, we report germination and seedling growth of contrasting perennial grass (Bouteloua eriopoda, Sporobolus airoides, and Aristida purpurea) and shrub (Prosopis glandulosa, Atriplex canescens, and Larrea tridentata) functional groups grown on non-winnowed and winnowed soils collected from the Jornada Basin LTER Scrape Site at the Jornada Experimental Range (JER) in southern New Mexico, U.S.A. The soil physical and chemical properties of winnowed and non-winnowed soils were evaluated, and soil water retention curves were obtained for the two soil types. A controlled pot experiment was conducted under the well-watered greenhouse conditions at the University of Arizona campus, Tucson, AZ in 2018 and 2019 to test if topsoil "winnowing" by wind erosion would differentially affect grass and shrub seedling establishment to promote shrub recruitment over that of grass. Data include soil water retention curves, soil chemistry, nutrients, and texture, seedling germination, and seedling growth and biomass. This study is complete and the data are published in the article below. Niu, F., Pierce, N. A., Archer, S. R., & Okin, G. S. (2021). Germination and early establishment of dryland grasses and shrubs on intact and wind-eroded soils under greenhouse conditions. Plant and Soil, 1-16. DOI: 10.1007/s11104-021-05005-9

openCC (other)Jul 2023View details →

Ecophysiological variables of common shrub and grass species during the growing season following simulated sandblasting trials at the Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico, USA, 2018 and 2019

In this dataset, we report ecophysiological variables of contrasting perennial grass (Bouteloua eriopoda, Sporobolus airoides, and Aristida purpurea) and shrub (Prosopis glandulosa, Atriplex canescens, and Larrea tridentata) functional groups before and after a series of simulated sandblasting events with various intensities and frequencies. We hypothesized that grass species are more susceptible to the resulting "sandblasting" (i.e., abrasive damage by wind-blown particulates) than shrubs, thus contributing to the shift from grass to shrub dominance. To test this, we conducted a wind tunnel experiment at the USDA Jornada Experimental Range in 2018 and 2019 growing seasons. Potted plants were subjected to different levels of sandblasting in a novel portable wind tunnel, and plants’ ecophysiological responses including leaf gas exchange and nighttime leaf stomatal conductance were quantified. All tested plants were then grown in benign greenhouse conditions to investigate plant recovery post sandblasting. This dataset contains data about plant biomass and height, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf gas exchange, stomatal conductance, and water use efficiency (WUE) under the experimental treatments above. This study is complete.

openCC0Jan 2023View details →

SMP01 Spatial variation of soil microbial processes under Cornus drummondii shrubs of varying size at Konza Prairie, 2017

Soil was collected from multiple locations under individual Cornus drummondii shrub islands of varying size to measure within-shrub heterogeneity in soil microbial processes. Soil chemistry (Total C, Total N, extractable inorganic N, extractable P, and organic matter cotent), microbial biomass C and N, and potential extracellular enzymatic activity of β-glucosidase, phosphatase, NAG-ase, and LAP-ase were measured. Potential carbon mineralization and the isotopic composition of respired soil carbon was measured over a 77-day laboratory incubation.

openCC0Jan 2023View details →

SLP01 Leaf physiology in response to fire and climate within Cornus drummondii shrubs at Konza prairie

Woody encroachment threatens the loss of remaining grasslands. Clonal shrubs are of particular concern because of their ability to resprout after disturbance, spread vegetatively, and share resources among interconnected stems. These traits contribute to the encroachment of deep-rooted clonal shrubs in tallgrass prairie. In this study, we investigated how leaf physiological traits differ among interconnected stems within a dominant encroaching shrub in tallgrass prairie, Cornus drummondii. Accounting for intra-clonal differences among stems in response to disturbance may be useful to more accurately parameterize models that predict the effects of shrub encroachment on ecosystem processes. Gas exchange rates, water potential, carbon isotopes, and leaf traits were collected from the periphery to the center of discrete C. drummondii shrubs. Measurements took place in the summers of 2015 and 2018

openCC (other)Mar 2025View details →

Phenologies of the Tabonuco Forest trees and shrubs

These data are being used to, among other things, (1) determine the seasonality of flowering and fruiting in Tabonuco forest and test hypotheses concerning the causation of seasonality (or lack thereof), (2) test the effect of annual variation in rainfall and other climatic variables on seed and fruit production of individual species, and (3) compare the relative dispersal of species on the Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot by applying information on the spatial distribution of canopy trees to the data on seed and fruit fall. These data also serve as background information on the flowering and fruiting of individual species. Support for this work was provided by grants BSR-8811902, DEB-9411973, DEB-9705814 , DEB-0080538, DEB-0218039 , DEB-0620910 , DEB-1239764, DEB-1546686, and DEB-1831952 from the National Science Foundation to the University of Puerto Rico as part of the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Additional support provided by the University of Puerto Rico and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Forest Service.

openCC0Mar 2023View details →

Density-dependent demography of creosote bush (Larrea tridentata) along grass-shrub ecotones.

The encroachment of woody plants into grasslands is a global phenomenon with implications for biodiversity and ecosystem function. Understanding and predicting the pace of expansion and the underlying processes that control it are key challenges in the study and management of woody encroachment. Theory from spatial population biology predicts that the occurrence and speed of population expansion should depend sensitively on the nature of conspecific density dependence. If fitness is maximized at the low-density encroachment edge then shrub expansion should be "pulled" forward. However, encroaching shrubs have been shown to exhibit positive feedbacks, whereby shrub establishment modifies the environment in ways that facilitate further shrub recruitment and survival. In this case there may be a fitness cost to shrubs at low density causing expansion to be "pushed" from behind the leading edge. We studied the spatial dynamics of creosotebush (Larrea tridentata), which has a history of encroachment into Chihuahuan Desert grasslands over the past century. We used demographic data from observational censuses and seedling transplant experiments to test the strength and direction of density dependence in shrub fitness along a gradient of shrub density at the grass-shrub ecotone. We also used seed-drop experiments and wind data to construct a mechanistic seed dispersal kernel, then connected demography and dispersal data within a spatial integral projection model (SIPM) to predict the dynamics of shrub expansion. The SIPM predicted that, contrary to expectations based on potential for positive feedbacks, the shrub encroachment wave is "pulled" by maximum fitness at the low-density front. However, the predicted pace of expansion was strikingly slow (ca. 8 cm/yr), and this prediction was supported by independent re-surveys of the ecotone showing little to no change in spatial extent of shrub cover over 12 years. Encroachment speed was acutely sensitive to seedling recruitment,

openCustomMay 2024View details →

LIDAR Derived Dune-Crest Elevation Values and Shrub Prediction Morphometrics for the Virginia Coast Reserve Barrier Islands: 2010 - 2017

This dataset includes LIDAR derived dune-crest elevation values for the VCR for 2010-2017. Dune-crest elevation values were sampled every 100 m from Smith to Cedar islands. The ArcGis Pro file includes the location of dune-crest transects. Additionally, this dataset includes island characteristics related to predicting shrub presence or absence for 2010, 2016, and 2017.

openCustomAug 2025View details →

Shrub Edge Community and Microclimate Data from Hog Island, VA 2021-2022

This data was collected from 2021-2023 on Hog Island, VA in the swale along the south end of the island where there is active shrub expansion of Morella cerifera (Southern wax myrtle). The microclimate data includes water table depth, soil moisture, soil nutrients, PAR (Photosynthetically active radiation), and temperature in (℃). These data were collected along the shrub edge and in the open grassland plots (n=10). The vegetation community data includes percent cover, stem density, and height measured in a 0.25 m2 plot. The 4 species identified to dominate in both communities were: Andropogon virginicus, Spartina patens, Panicum amarum, and Solidago sempervirens. These species were used for trait analyses. The trait data includes: specific leaf area (SLA), stem specific density (SSD), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), and leaf nutrients.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2020View details →

Data from: Dwarf shrubs impact tundra soils: drier, colder, and less organic carbon

In the tundra, woody plants are dispersing towards higher latitudes and altitudes due to increasingly favourable climatic conditions. The coverage and height of woody plants are increasing, which may influence the soils of the tundra ecosystem. Here, we use structural equation modelling to analyse 171 study plots and to examine if the coverage and height of woody plants affect the growing-season topsoil moisture and temperature (< 10 cm) as well as soil organic carbon stocks (< 80 cm). In our study setting, we consider the hierarchy of the ecosystem by controlling for other factors, such as topography, wintertime snow depth and the overall plant coverage that potentially influence woody plants and soil properties in this dwarf-shrub dominated landscape in northern Fennoscandia. We found strong links from topography to both vegetation and soil. Further, we found that woody plants influence multiple soil properties: the dominance of woody plants inversely correlated with soil moisture, soil temperature, and soil organic carbon stocks (standardised regression coefficients = -0.39; -0.22; -0.34, respectively), even when controlling for other landscape features. Our results indicate that the dominance of dwarf shrubs may lead to soils that are drier, colder, and contain less organic carbon. Thus, there are multiple mechanisms through which woody plants may influence tundra soils. Kemppinen, Niittynen, Virkkala, Happonen, Riihimäki, Aalto & Luoto (2021). Dwarf shrubs impact tundra soils: drier, colder, and less organic carbon. Ecosystems. These are the data from Kemppinen et al. (2021).

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2021View details →

Non-structural carbohydrates and photosynthesis in boreal Scots pine and dwarf shrubs, in field and laboratory.

The manuscript entitled "Non-structural carbohydrates and photosynthesis in boreal Scots pine and dwarf shrubs" used two set of data: Field data and Laboratory data ##### 1. FIELD DATA: We measured photosynthesis and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) content in adult Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), in boreal conditions at Hyytiaälä SMEAR II station in Sourthen Finland. In the folder "Field Data", you will find automatic CO2 exchange measurements by shoot chambers, dynamic parameters for the light response of photosynthesis, and needles´ non-structural carbohydrate content (NSC) in 2008, 2009 and 2015. See the readme file in the folder for further information.   #### 2. LABORATORY DATA We measured the relationship between photosynthesis and non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) content under stable laboratory conditions in three shrubs species: i) evergreen lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.), ii) evergreen heather (Calluna vulgaris (L.) Hull) and iii) deciduous bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.). The plants grew in chambers where we measured the CO2 gas exchange and estimated photosynthesis. After CO2 gas exhcnage measurements we sampled the leaves for NSC analyses. See the readme file in the folder for further information.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2023View details →

Spectral albedo and summer ground temperature of herbaceous and shrub tundra vegetation at Bylot Island, Canadian High-Arctic

These data are in support of a preprint: Comparing spectral albedo and NDVI of herbaceous and shrub tundra vegetation at Bylot Island, Canadian High-ArcticFlorent Domine, Maria-Belke-Brea, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, and Esther LévesqueTo be submitted in 2023. The spectral albedo of several vegetation assemblages on Bylot Island and in Mala River valley on nearby Baffin Island were recorded between 10 and 18 July 2015. The spectral range covered was 346 to 2400 nm. Surfaces were classified according to the main vegetation types. Classes used are graminoids, moss, Salix arctica, soil, and Salix richardsonii. S. richardsonii is the only truly erect species on Bylot Island. Transmission spectra of radiation through the S. richardsonii canopy were also recorded. S. richardsonii spectra were different depending on the location where they were measured and we present spectra for sites in active parts of an alluvial fan (Salix-G2), an inactive part of an alluvial fan (Salix-D1) and in a mesic area on Mala River Valley (Salix-M). We also present typical relative solar irradiance spectra recorded at Bylot Island during the campaign, under clear and overcast conditions. In conjunction with spectral albedo data, these irradiance spectra allow the calculation of the broadband (BB) albedo of the vegetation types and to compare BB albedo values under identical irradiance conditions.  83 spectra were recorded: 39 for S. richardsonii and 44 for low vegetation and soil. 17 transmission spectra under S. richardsonii were recorded. We present here only averages for each vegetation type. We also present averages for all low vegetation types and for all S. richardsonii spectra, to allow the calculation of the radiative impact of erect shrubs at Bylot Island. We also present soil temperature data at 15 cm depth for the spots GRASS (mostly Salix Arctica), TUNDRA (Mostly moss), SALIX-D1 (Salix richardsonii) and SALIX-F (Salix richardsonii). SALIX-F is similar to SALIX-G2. The data are during summer 2020. The locations of the various spots investigated are: Spot name  Latitude  Longitude Vegetation types foundTUNDRA 73.150° -80.004° Humid and moist polygons with low vegetation dominated by mosses, graminoids, S. arctica and S. herbacea.PLAINE 73.167° -79.915° Low vegetation and bare soil patches caused by cryoturbation (mudboils) with mosses, graminoids and S. arctica.GRASS 73.158° -79.907° Low vegetation between patches of S. richardsonii dominated by S. arctica, with litter, mosses, graminoids and occasional bare soil.  SALIX-D1 73.158° -79.907° Scattered patches of S. richardsonii <35 cm tall. Understory is mosses, graminoids, litter, S. arctica and bare soil.SALIX-M 73.006° -80.685° Mesic area with patches of S. richardsonii 35 to 40 cm tall. Understory includes moss, graminoids and litter. Between patches: herb tundra with graminoids and mosses. The area is not within an alluvial fan.SALIX-G2 73.168° -79.812° Extended area in an alluvial fan with S. richardsonii >40 cm. Understory includes litter, mosses, graminoids, bare soil, S. arctica and S. reticulata.SALIX-F 73.182° -79.745° Similar to SALIX-G2. Ground temperature is monitored there. No spectral data were recorded at that site.

opencc-by-4.0Mar 2022View details →

Data from: Radial stem growth of the clonal shrub Alnus alnobetula at treeline is constrained by summer temperature and winter desiccation and differs in carbon allocation strategy compared to co-occurring Pinus cembra

Data are documented in the following article: Oberhuber W., G Wieser, F. Bernich, A. Gruber (2022) Radial stem growth of the clonal shrub Alnus alnobetula at treeline is constrained by summer temperature and winter desiccation and differs in carbon allocation strategy compared to co-occurring Pinus cembra. Forests 2022, 13, 440. doi: 10.3390/f13030440.   Summary: Global change is affecting species areal distribution in many regions. A better understanding of how land-use change and climate warming affects shrub growth is essential for improved predictions of forest dynamics at the alpine treeline. Evaluation of radial stem growth of the clonal shrub Alnus alnobetula (= Alnus viridis) and the co-occurring tree species Swiss stone pine (Pinus cembra) within an alpine treeline ecotone revealed that mean ring width of nitrogen fixing A. alnobetula was about four times lower compared to P. cembra. Our findings are based on ring width data from A. alnobetula and P. cembra stems sampled at the alpine treeline ecotone on Mt. Patscherkofel (47°12’N, 11°27’E, Central European Alps, Austria, elevation range 2050 to 2190 m asl). Ring width time series include 86 radii from 51 stems of A. alnobetula (stems had mean age of 18±7 yrs) and 24 radii from 16 stems of P. cembra (18±4 yrs). We explain our findings by different carbon allocation strategies, i.e., preference of “vertical” stem growth in late successional P. cembra vs. favoring “horizontal” spread in the pioneer shrub A. alnobetula. By favouring clonal propagation over individual stem growth A. alnobetula is able to quickly spread at the alpine treeline ecotone.

opencc-by-4.0Jul 2022View details →

Dataset of polygons with the contour of 900 juniper shrubs used to track shrub growth from 1977 to 2020 in Sierra Nevada (Spain) using very high resolution aerial and satellite RGB images.

This database provides as polygons the contours of 900 juniper shrubs (Juniperus communis L. and Juniperus sabina L.) along 5 decades (years 1977, 1984, 2001, 2010 and 2020). The contour of each of 900 shrubs manually mapped using the Google Satellite composite for the year 2020) was tracked back in time using orthophotos provided by REDIAM. Contours were obtained by manual annotation as polygon shapefiles in QGIS 3.10.3. Additionally, for the year 2020, the polygons were characterized with five attributes that gather ecological information: Morphotype (Hemispherical, Striped, Senescent, With rock), Presence of surrounding vegetation (Bare Soil, Surrounding Vegetation), Presence of nearby human land-uses (Surrounded by human facilities within 250 meters, Non-anthropized environment) Health status (as percentage of canopy cover with brown foliage: values between 0-5, where 0 corresponds to 100% photosynthetically active cover, decreasing the photosynthetically active cover until category 5 which corresponds to 100% damaged cover), and the subjective annotation certainty of the GIS technician (values between 0-5, where the value 0 corresponds to a very uncertain annotation up to the value 5 which corresponds to a fairly certain annotation).

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2024View details →

Shrub inventory data such as shrub identity, height and biomass in a 20x5m core plot at Mt. Kilimanjaro

This dataset describes position and sizes of all shrubs above 130 cm high in all plots, also fruiting and flowering events in KiLi project. -999999 represents NA in numeric variables.  The shrub inventory was carried out within a 5 × 20 m subplot in the centre of each plot. Within this subplot, the shrub layer was defined as consisting of all woody stems exceeding 1.3 m in height, but below 10 cm dbh and thus not included in the tree inventory. We measured dbh at 1.3 m with a diameter tape (Forestry Suppliers; for dbh's above 3 cm) or a caliper (for dbh's below 3 cm) and the height of each shrub with a hypsometer. The KiLi project (2010-2018) is a German Science Foundation (DFG) funded research unit (DFG research unit FOR1246) that focuses on biodiversity and ecosystem processes along altitudinal and disturbance gradients on Mt. Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, Africa), capitalizing on its world-wide unique range of climatic and vegetation zones. The research unit comprises 2 central projects and 7 subprojects from various disciplines. On a total of 60 study sites in both natural and human-disturbed ecosystems biodiversity (e.g. plants, soil arthropods, ants, bees, frogs, lizards, bats, birds), related ecosystem processes (decomposition, seed dispersal, pollination, herbivory, predation), and biogeochemical processes and properties of ecosystems (climate, soil properties and nutrient status, regulation of water and carbon fluxes, trace gas emissions, primary productivity, functional diversity) are analyzed.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2022View details →

Dataset to the manuscript "Deciduous tundra shrubs shift toward more acquisitive light absorption strategy under climate change treatments"

The three datasets were used for the statistical analysis for the manuscript entitled "Deciduous tundra shrubs shift toward more acquisitive light absorption strategy under climate change treatments".

opencc-by-4.0May 2023View details →

CONUS NG-IDF 2.0: Shrub

The NG-IDF: Shrub datasets cover more than 200,000 sites at approximately 6 km resolution in the years 1951–2013  across the CONUS for the Shrub land use land cover (LULC). These [daily time series + annual maximum] datasets provide information on extreme hydrological events and their associated hydrometeorological drivers at a continental scale. They include 1) daily time series of precipitation (P), throughfall (TF), water available for runoff (W), and snow water equivalent (SWE); 2) annual maximum time series of P, W, TF, snowmelt, rain-on-snow (ROS); and 3) NG-IDF curves and their uncertainties. See the "Shrub_readmefirst.txt" file for details.

openCC (other)Mar 2023View details →

Winter sampling microclimatic data using handheld devices at a shrub gradient across Californian drylands.

During a two-week sampling period in February 2023, we collected microclimatic data, including temperature and relative humidity, at shrubs and in the open across 9 sites in California. We collected ambient and ground temperatures.

openCC (other)Jul 2020View details →

A micro-environmental dataset exploring shrub-open climate contrasts in Cuyama Valley, California, USA,

A total of 62 Hobo micro-station data logger weather stations were deployed in Cuyama Valley, California drylands on public lands. Each station had 4 channels with two EC5 soil moisture smart sensors and two 12-Bit temperature smart sensors. The sensor arrays were deployed for two years or a total of 24 months. Key ecological variables included microsite, location, vegetation type, and extent of vegetation at each microsite. Temperature sensors were deployed 15 cm above the soil surface under the shrub canopy of Ephedra californica (sheltered from direct sunlight) or at adjacent, open paired-microsites within 1.5m of a focal shrub.Temperatures listed are in degrees Celsius. Soil moisture sensors were inserted into the soil near each temperature probe. The x,y,z columns are the width, perpendicular measure, and height in m respectively of each shrub at those microsites.

openCC (other)Apr 2021View details →

Species and height of understory trees and shrubs in a chronosequence of reforested urban sites, Lexington, KY USA.

This dataset contains information on soil physical and chemical characteristics across twenty urban reforestation sites planted as part of the Reforest the Bluegrass program in Lexington, KY. Urban reforested areas located in Lexington, Kentucky were evaluated over the course of summer 2020. At least three plots (and up to nine plots) were established in each site, with additional plots added if forested patches were sufficiently large. At each plot, we established a 0.002-ha (0.005-ac) circular sampling plot to survey woody understory species, respectively. Height and species of all woody plants <2.5 cm DBH and ≥30 cm tall were tallied to the nearest 0.5 cm with a telescoping height pole. These data will contribute to understanding of understory stand dynamics in developing urban forests.