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3,105 results for “vegetation”
Phenology and Vegetation Growth in Prospect Hill Soil Warming Experiment at Harvard Forest 1992-1993
As the mean annual temperature of northeast North America rises as a component of global climatic change, it is important to understand how the predominant vegetation of the region will be affected. Existing experimental and correlative evidence from field sites suggests that temperature rise will significantly modify soil processes, nutrient availability, and plant growth. We investigated the responses of temperate deciduous forest vegetation to artificial soil warming at 20 sampling dates during the 1992 and 1993 growing season. We explored whether soil warming measurably altered growth and the temporal dynamics of leaf and fruit production in 26 species of three contrasting plant growth forms (herbaceous perennials, shrubs, and canopy trees). We hypothesized that soil warming would exert differential effects on emergence, phenology, leaf expansion rates, growth, photosynthesis, and vegetative and sexual reproduction among species, with implications for changing community structure in these forests. Timing of leaf emergence and flower production was not affected by treatment in saplings; however, mature trees and shrubs leafed out slightly earlier and in larger numbers in heated plots. Soil warming significantly enhanced relative growth in stem diameters of woody plants, especially shrubs, in 1992. This effect was less pronounced in 1993. Species richness was lower in heated plots than in intact control plots in both years; disturbed but unheated control plots showed the lowest species richness of all plots. Changes in relative abundance of herbaceous species from 1992 to 1993 were not significantly affected by treatment. Rank abundances of species were more stable between years in the heated and disturbance-control plots than in the intact plots. Total density of herbaceous species was highest in heated plots during April and May of both years, reflecting greatly accelerated emergence of two dominant species, Maianthemum canadense and Uvularia sessilifolia, due t
Spectral Vegetation Indices from Harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 Data for Harvard Forest 2015-2020
The goal of this work is to exploit time series of remotely sensed data sets with ground observations to improve our understanding of how seasonal variation in canopy and environmental conditions affect the relationship between vegetation indices and leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fAPAR). Using three different common vegetation indices (EVI2, NDVI, NIRV), we can estimate LAI, fAPAR, and daily absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR) using a semi-empirical model.
Vegetation Inventory of Harvard Forest 1986-1993
The three main tracts of the Harvard Forest (3000 acres) in Petersham MA have been sampled every 10-30 years since 1907. Though methods have varied, each survey has involved mapping forest stands followed by intensive sampling. This inventory was completed in 1986-1993.
Wildlands and Woodlands Stewardship Science Vegetation Plots in New England 2009-2015
The Wildlands and Woodlands (W&W) initiative is a broad, collaborative effort to protect 70% of New England in forest over the next 50 years. At the heart of this initiative is the awareness that our wooded landscapes provide immeasurable economic, environmental, and cultural benefits and the conviction that we should understand these systems better, manage them wisely, and conserve them for the future. As part of W&W, Stewardship Science seeks to encourage widespread application of an accessible approach to monitoring forests that interested landowners or conservation-minded individuals can use to track changes in their woods over time. Whether the motivation is active management for timber, understanding how forests are being shaped by factors ranging from climate change and ice storms to insect pests, or simple pleasure in observing nature’s dynamics, anyone equipped with a notebook, tape measure, pencil, and the willingness to puzzle through a book of tree identification can readily develop a robust and valuable set of observations. This idea is not new. For over 150 years, leading conservationists and ecological thinkers beginning with Henry David Thoreau have argued that there is much to be learned through simple, long-term measurements of forest growth and change. Yet there are still remarkably few examples of private landowners, land trusts, timber companies, or conservation organizations that base their understanding and management practices on a regular system of observations and measurements. Because the vast majority of forestland in New England is privately owned, most of these lands remain unmonitored, and management plans are often drawn up from casual rather than systematic observation. For more background information on the project, please see the Wildlands & Woodlands Stewardship Science manual. This data package contains vegetation and environmental data on 64 20x20m plots set up in four areas across New England by staff and summer field crews fro
Hemlock Understory Vegetation Plots at Harvard Forest since 2002
Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) forests in New England are changing rapidly with the invasion of the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA, Adelges tsugae), a non-native insect pest that kills hemlock trees. As the adelgid invades hemlock stands at Harvard Forest, we are monitoring how forest structure and function changes. We surveyed community vegetation structure and composition prior to adelgid infestation, and are repeating this survey as infestation progresses. These measurements will allow us to link the long-term history of these hemlock stands to other current studies of hemlock response to adelgid infestation.
Influence of Little Ice Age on New England Vegetation from 2000 BP to Present
This multi-proxy study uses paleoecological, paleolimnological, and historical approaches to reconstruct climate, vegetation, and cultural dynamics over the past 1500 years at sites arrayed across the climatic and forest gradients of New England and to place these results in a regional framework through analysis of pollen records from the North American Pollen Database. High resolution records were obtained using pollen to interpret vegetation history; chironomids, stable isotopes, geochemistry, and diatoms, supplemented by historical reconstructions, to interpret climate history; charcoal and land-use data to document the human impacts; and Pb-210 and C-14 for chronological control. Results will provide: (1) an objective characterization of the Little Ice Age and climate history in New England, (2) comparison of pre- and post-European forest dynamics in relationship to independent environmental and land-use histories, (3) a reexamination of historical vegetation dynamics in light of prior climate an vegetation change, and (4) widespread availability of data and results through publications, symposium presentation, and the Harvard Forest Archives and web pages.
Ecosystem and Vegetation Response to Hemlock Logging in Southern New England 1999-2005
This study compares the magnitude and trajectory of vegetation and ecosystem function dynamics associated with the direct impact of hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae; HWA) infestation versus the indirect consequences of HWA-induced damage in the form of salvage and pre-emptive logging of hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriere) forests. The study was conducted within an area extending from southern Connecticut up to and including the Connecticut River lowlands west to the Berkshire Plateauin central Massachusetts, USA. Overstory and understory vegetation and ecosystem function parameters such as decomposition and nitrogen cycling were examined in logged and unlogged portions of 10 hemlock stands varying in HWA damage intensity. Intensive hemlock logging generated more rapid and pronounced microenvironment and vegetation changes than chronic HWA damage. Black birch (Betula lenta L.) seedling densities and percent cover of brambles (Rubus L. spp.), sedges (Carex L. spp.) and hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula Michx.) were significantly higher in recent harvests versus HWA-damaged and undamaged sites. High black birch sapling densities (greater than 7000 ha –1) were common in the older harvests but not in adjacent, HWA-damaged portions of these sites. Undamaged sites had 20% more forest floor mass than HWA-damaged sites and double the mass of older cuts. Mass loss rates of cellulose paper suggest that conditions were more favorable for decomposition in the damaged and older logged sites. Recently cut sites had significantly larger inorganic N pools than undamaged forests, although total net nitrogen (N) mineralization rates were not significantly different among treatments. Nitrification rates of 0.2 kg ha-1 day-1 measured in the oldest cuts were three times greater than in HWA-damaged sites and over 200 times greater than in undamaged hemlock sites. However, resin bag capture in the older cuts was similar to amounts captured in undamaged and damaged fore
Seasonal non-destructive vegetation measurements at 15 net primary production (NPP) study sites at Jornada Basin LTER, 1989-ongoing
This data package contains non-destructive quadrat measurements collected for the long-term Net Primary Production (NPP) study at the Jornada Basin LTER. Data here include measurements of horizontal cover and vertical height of plants observed at permanent NPP quadrats at 15 study sites. Sites were selected to represent the 5 major ecosystem types in the Chihuahuan Desert (upland grasslands, playa grasslands, mesquite-dominated shrublands, creosotebush-dominated shrublands, tarbush-dominated shrublands). For each ecosystem type, three sites were selected to represent the range in variability in production and plant diversity; thus the locations are not replicates. All sites are excluded from domestic grazing. Eleven sites are in non-grazed pastures, and at the other four sites 1 hectare areas around the observational plots were fenced in 1988. At all sites a grid of 49 (48 at one playa location) 1m x 1m replicate quadrats was laid out when sampling began in 1989. Grids consist of 49 quadrats arranged in a square 7 x 7 pattern, with quadrats 10 m apart (P-COLL has 48 quadrats in a 3 x 16 pattern). Standing vegetation in quadrats is sampled three times a year: in winter (February - March), before shrubs begin spring growth; in spring (May), when shrubs and spring annuals have reached peak biomass; in fall (late summer; October), when summer annuals have reached peak biomass but before killing frosts. Additional observations of plant count and phenological stage are also made. This dataset is subsequently used to determine quadrat biomass and net primary production. Details and linked data packages are described in the methods element. This is an ongoing dataset with new quadrat measurements collected in the spring, fall and winter of each year. Attention: 1) For most species, these data are not appropriate for estimates of percentage cover because of the way the data are collected. See Note 1 in the methods element for further details.
Mercury in soil, vegetation, and organisms across Niwot Ridge, Saddle Catchment, and Green Lakes Valley, 2020 - 2023.
This dataset includes soil, vegetation, water, atmospheric deposition, litterfall, incubation, and organism data from the Niwot Ridge, Saddle Catchment, and Green Lakes Valley collected during 2020 and 2021 to investigate the storage, transformation, and mobilization of mercury in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. During Summer 2020, we collected soil cores (10cm x 3cm) across vegetation plant functional groups in wet meadows, moist meadows, dry meadows, krummholz, subalpine forest, shrub areas, as well as at the inlet and outlet of the Green Lakes in Green Lakes Valley. At each of these sites, we collected leaves from forbs, graminoids, and shrubs, as well as litter (and moss if present). For organisms, we sampled pika hairs from nine different pika trapped on the West Knoll, in addition to caddisfly pupae found in wet meadows in the Saddle Catchment. We analyzed hairs from weasel specimens at the CU Boulder Natural History Museum that were trapped either on, or near, Niwot Ridge. Finally, we analyzed dust samples collected by Dr. Ruth Heindel in 2018 and 2019 on Niwot Ridge. We analyzed soil samples for organic matter; pH; water content; percent carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur; stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotopes; total mercury; and methylmercury. We analyzed vegetation samples for percent carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur; stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotopes; total mercury; and methylmercury. We analyzed organism and dust samples for total mercury and methylmercury. During Spring 2021, we collected composite snow cores from 4 sites in the Saddle region and 3 sites in the subalpine forest. We measured snow depth and density to calculate snow water equivalent and then analyzed these samples for sulfate, nitrate, chloride, dissolved organic carbon, dissolved organic nitrogen, total mercury, and methylmercury concentrations. During Summer 2021, we collected soil cores (10cm x 3cm) every other week from June through September from a solifluction lobe, alpine wet
CVPIA Predation Contact Point Study - 2022: The impact of submerged aquatic vegetation removal on fish predation in a tidal river channel
Proliferation of non-native submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) has the potential to cause widespread ecosystem changes, and has been attributed to declines in native fish populations around the world. One pathway for these declines is non-native SAV may render ecosystems more hospitable to fish predator species by creating habitat structure, by altering lower trophic food webs, or by affecting predator-prey interactions. It is presumed that non-native vegetation removal will generally favor native fish, however, fish community responses to SAV removals are not well understood. Using a field-based Before-After-Control-Impact study design, we measured the impact of manual SAV removals on short-term changes in predator abundance, predation risk on juvenile Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ; a native fish of management concern), and the aerobic scope of predator and prey in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. We found that, while SAV removals decreased abundances of the most common SAV-associated predator, largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides ), they resulted in higher predation risk of tethered prey, likely due to the removal of refuge habitat and the immigration of an open-water predator, striped bass ( Morone saxatilis ). SAV removals also buffered against a seasonal decline in environmental oxygen supply, increasing the aerobic scope of juvenile Chinook salmon and largemouth bass; whether such gains for prey would outweigh the persistent aerobic advantage of predators is an open question. While limited in spatial and temporal scope, this study has put into question any short-term benefits of small-scale SAV removal efforts for native fish populations, especially in areas where open-water predator species are abundant.
University of Oregon Great Basin Vegetation Cover Study, Southeastern Oregon, 2023.
This data package contains qualitative and quantitative environmental and vegetation survey data used to investigate connections between cattle grazing intensity and vegetation cover in the Great Basin region of Eastern Oregon. The experimental design utilized a piosphere approach to select plots of different grazing intensity in pastures stratified by recent burn history. Surveys were completed in 340 plots around 43 water sources in the summer of 2023. Surveys consisted of recording site characteristics (e.g. slope, aspect, human impacts) as well as measuring plant species cover, cattle and other ungulate dung counts, biocrust development, and soil stability and texture. Plants were generally identified to species where possible, allowing for comparisons between species as well as identification of trends among functional groups (shrubs, annual grasses, perennial grasses, annual forbs, perennial forbs, trees).
Towers Forestry Plot, Long-term Vegetation Monitoring in a 1-ha old-growth Rainforest, La Selva Research Station, OTS, Sarapiquí, Heredia, Costa Rica, 2010–2020
The Towers Plot is a 1-hectare permanent vegetation plot established in 2010 under the canopy towers at La Selva Research Station, Sarapiquí, Heredia, Costa Rica. The plot was created by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS) to monitor long-term changes in forest structure, composition, and dynamics in an old-growth tropical rainforest. All woody stems with a diameter at breast height (DBH) of 10 cm or greater—including trees, palms, and lianas—were tagged, mapped, and measured following standardized procedures. Censuses were conducted between 2010 and 2020 to document growth, mortality, and recruitment. The dataset includes taxonomic identifications, stem diameter measurements, spatial coordinates within the plot, and metadata describing field methods and species composition. The plot was established beneath three canopy towers that had been previously constructed through the NSF-funded Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) project, NSF 0722741, which provided key infrastructure for canopy and environmental research at La Selva. This proximity created a valuable opportunity to integrate vegetation monitoring with existing environmental instrumentation. Johana Hurtado, coordinator of the Tropical Ecology, Assessment and Monitoring (TEAM) project at La Selva, collaborated with OTS staff in the establishment of the plot, ensuring methodological consistency with other tropical forest monitoring sites. This dataset provides a comprehensive record of woody plant diversity and forest structure in a lowland old-growth Neotropical rainforest. It supports research on forest dynamics, carbon storage, and ecosystem change. The overall monitoring project is ongoing; this data package contains observations from 2010 through 2020.
H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program Vegetation Community Composition, Biomass, and Nutrient Content across Ohio, USA (2021-2022)
This data package includes vegetation community composition, percent cover, biomass, and nutrient concentration data from wetland projects across Ohio, USA, monitored by the H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program. Monitoring began in July 2021 and is ongoing, with annual updates planned. While data collection varies by site, most wetlands are surveyed to characterize vegetation and estimate nutrient stocks through community composition assessments and biomass sampling. Sampling points are randomly generated within and up to 5 meters outside the approximated wetland boundary. Surveys are conducted at points where wetland species (FAC–OBL) are present using a 1×1 meter quadrat to record species composition and percent cover. At approximately half of these locations, a 0.25×0.25 meter quadrat is placed outside the northeast corner to collect vegetation samples for nutrient analysis. In these smaller quadrats, community composition and percent cover are recorded prior to sampling aboveground biomass and, at approximately one third of those sites, belowground biomass. Datasets collected by the H2Ohio Wetland Monitoring Program containing surface water and soil nutrient concentration from samples collected at Ohio wetlands during the 2021–2022 sampling period can be found in an accompanying data package (edi.2087) at https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/297bd6d93b4fcc8416e4225834db380e.
Woody vegetation composition and structure at long-term monitoring plots on the Stevenson-Hamilton Research Supersite, Kruger National Park, South Africa (2012)
This dataset contains measurements of woody vegetation composition and structural attributes collected in 2012 from long-term ecological monitoring plots located on the Stevenson-Hamilton Research Supersite in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The study region is characterized by granitic soils, broad-leaved savanna vegetation, and a long history of fire, herbivory, and climate-driven ecological dynamics. Vegetation surveys were conducted in sixteen 0.25-ha sampling plots to quantify woody species composition, stem density, and size structure. Additional measurements of vegetation structure were collected, including grass biomass, canopy cover, canopy height, and canopy diversity, providing a broader assessment of both woody and herbaceous layers. These data establish an important baseline for monitoring ecological change, evaluating woody vegetation dynamics under variable fire and herbivore regimes, and supporting ongoing research on savanna ecosystem functioning within the Kruger National Park.
Riparian Woody Vegetation Composition and Structure in Long-Term Monitoring Plots Along the Sabie River, Kruger National Park (2011-2012)
This dataset contains measurements of woody vegetation composition and structural attributes collected in 2009 and 2010 from 15 long-term riparian monitoring plots located along the Sabie River in the southern region of the Kruger National Park, South Africa. The Sabie River is the park’s most perennial river system and supports diverse riparian plant communities influenced by hydrological variability, flooding dynamics, sediment deposition, herbivory, and climate-driven disturbance. Within each monitoring plot, field teams recorded woody species identity, stem density, plant height, and stem diameter. Additional structural and condition indicators were collected, including canopy breakage, evidence of bark stripping, resprouting status, and whether individuals were toppled or alive at the time of sampling. These structural attributes provide detailed assessments of disturbance impacts and vegetation condition within riparian zones. Data collection followed the same standardized protocols as the Southern Granites long-term vegetation monitoring program, allowing for cross-site comparisons between upland savanna and riparian systems. This dataset provides a baseline for evaluating long-term ecological change in riparian woody plant communities and supports ongoing research on the ecological functioning and resilience of river corridors in Kruger National Park.
Vegetation species abundance via point frame from Arctic LTER dry heath tundra, Toolik Field Station, Alaska, 2017
Vegetation (species) abundances were measured from LTER heath tundra herbivore exclosures using the point frame method. This file contains the number of pin hits per species for each subplot.
Bonanza Creek LTER: Point Bar Vegetation Survey of Bonanza Creek LTER Research Plots (2007-Present)
Beginning in 2007 ocular vegetation estimates were replaced by the point bar system. The point bar is meant to be a more objective way of carrying out annual vegetation surveys. In particular because you are placing the point bar in the same location every time a site is visited, a better understanding of vegetation change over time is possible. This method replaces the old system of estimating percent cover visually (<a href="https://www.lter.uaf.edu/data/data-detail/id/174"> Vegetation Plots of the Bonanza Creek LTER Control Plots: Species Percent Cover (1975 - 2009) </a>), which is often subject to personal bias and small shifts in species composition are often overlooked. Data from both methods were collected during the 2007, 2008, and 2009 field seasons, and regression analysis shows unique and statistically significant relationships between the two methods depending on growth form. At each site, growth forms were evaluated separately, and at each site there is a specific regression model for each growth form. In this way a user can correlate the two methods and data collected before 2007 can be compared to data collected after the new protocol was established.
Phoenix, Arizona (USA) residential yard management and vegetation change over time: 2008-2019
This project sampled residential front yards in four Phoenix, AZ neighborhoods to address questions about how residential yard vegetation varies among neighborhoods and changes over time and in response to resident attitudes. Neighborhoods were located on an approximate north-to-south transect in the city of Phoenix and represented different dominant landscape types (xeric or mesic) and different socioeconomic conditions. The project originated in summer 2008, when approximately 100 parcels were selected in each of the four neighborhoods for front yard vegetation sampling. All yards which could be relocated and accessed in the summer of 2018 were resampled, and current residents were surveyed to understand their yard management motivations, attitudes, and changes made. Yards of 100 survey respondents were resampled a third time in 2019. Yard sampling primarily focused on yard woody vegetation identification, but also included ground cover, yard type of neighboring yards, and features such as fences, lighting, and social infrastructure. Social and yard survey data can be linked with unique identifiers provided in the datasets.
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) derived from 2019 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) data for the central Arizona region
This project calculates two vegetation indices—Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) remotely sensed imagery. The intent is to make remotely sensed variables and visualizations accessible to stakeholders and researchers studying the Phoenix metropolitan area. NDVI and SAVI are calculated from the 2019 NAIP imagery (1m resolution). This dataset extends the 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2017 NDVI and SAVI products derived from NAIP imagery (also 1m resolution). All images are cropped to the CAP study area boundary.
Soil-Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) derived from 2019 National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) data for the central Arizona region
This project calculates two vegetation indices—Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (SAVI) from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) remotely sensed imagery. The intent is to make remotely sensed variables and visualizations accessible to stakeholders and researchers studying the Phoenix metropolitan area. NDVI and SAVI are calculated from the 2019 NAIP imagery (1m resolution). This dataset extends the 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2017 NDVI and SAVI products derived from NAIP imagery (also 1m resolution). All images are cropped to the CAP study area boundary.
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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.