Find research datasets worth reusing

openMay 2015View details →

Lotic Intersite Nitrogen eXperiment II (LINX II): a cross-site study of the effects of anthropogenic land use change on nitrate uptake and retention in 72 streams across 8 different biomes (2003 – 2006).

The LINX II (Lotic Intersite Nitrogen eXperiment) project was designed to quantify the rates and mechanisms of nitrate retention in streams using stable isotope tracer additions. The study encompassed 72 stream reaches spread across 8 North American biomes. Within each biome, 9 streams were selected in three watershed land-use categories: 3 reference, 3 agricultural, and 3 urbanized. The core of the study was a 24-hour release of 15N- labeled nitrate. Prior to the isotope addition, physical, chemical and biological characteristics of the stream were measured. The measurements included, but were not limited to, dissolved nutrient concentrations, dissolved conservative tracer additions (to quantify hydraulic and hyporheic retention, velocity and discharge), standing stocks of primary uptake biota (including suspended and benthic particulate materials) as well as channel dimensions, photosynthetically active radiation, and water temperature. During the isotope release, whole stream rates of ecosystem metabolism were quantified (including quantification of re-aeration coefficients using tracer gas additions), and concentrations of 15N-labeled NO3, NH4, N2 and N2O were measured. Immediately following the isotope addition, 15N uptake by aquatic organisms was quantified by sampling biomass components on the stream bed. The data generated from these 72 stream reaches were used to develop a stream nitrogen retention model for each biome, which was expanded to entire drainage networks to predict nitrogen fluxes. The LINX II study demonstrated how biotic uptake of nitrate and denitrification increased with increasing nitrate concentrations. However, the efficiency of total uptake and denitrification actually declined with increasing nitrate concentrations (such as those seen on agricultural or urbanized streams), yielding higher rates of dissolved nitrogen exports downstream. The datasets presented here consist of the primary data collected by the LINX II study participants.

openCC (other)Jul 2021View details →

A Land-use/Land Cover Classification of Baltimore City in 1927

Land-use and land cover classifications are typically created using automated methods to analyze modern, spatially explicit color aerial imagery. However, creating classifications from black and white historical aerial imagery presents a number of challenges that require a combination of more traditional, manual techniques and approaches. A georectified mosaic of 93 aerial images was digitized in ArcGIS to create a land-use/land cover classification. The analyzed area covered 585 km2 (226 mi2) including all of Baltimore City, and an area immediately adjacent to the city known at the time as the Metropolitan District of Baltimore County. A combination of 8 land-use and land cover classes were used: Agriculture, Barren, Built (Other), Forest, Grass/Shrubland, Industrial, Residential, and Water. This geospatial data set captures a moment of dynamic expansion in the city, just prior to the Great Depression and can be used to examine relationships between property ownership and forest patch dynamics across time. These insights may help inform future environmental planning, conservation, management, and stewardship goals for Baltimore City forest patches, and other cities throughout the region.

Simulated bioenergy crop yield on agricultural land in a 10-county region of western North Carolina.

We used a mechanistic plant growth model, ALMANAC (Kiniry 1996), to simulate the growth of bioenergy crops including switchgrass, miscanthus, and hybrid poplar. We selected simulation points by overlaying SSURGO soil data polygons with a 1-km resolution observed climate dataset (Thornton et al. 2012). The centroid of each unique soil polygon and climate cell combination was used as a simulation point, resulting in over 69,000 simulation points. Crop growth was simulated at each point for 10 (grasses) or 12 (poplar) years and replicated 10 times. We limited our simulation to area currently identified as agriculture, pasture, grass- or shrubland in the 2012 National Cropdata Layer.

The effects of agricultural land-use history on non-native plant invasion in Bent Creek Experimental Forest in 2006

The researchers considered the effects of agricultural land-use legacies on the distribution of non-native invasive plants a century after abandonment in a watershed in western North Carolina, USA. The study was conducted at the Bent Creek Experimental Forest (BCEF) 15 km southwest of Asheville, North Carolina, USA, in the Pisgah National Forest. Forest sites that were previously in cultivation and abandoned ca. 1905 were compared with nearby reference sites that were never cultivated. The most common invasive plants were Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb., Microstegium vimineum Trin., and Lonicera japonica Thunb. (Kuhman, Pearson, and Turner 2011). Disentangling the cause–effect relationships between land-use history, the biotic community, and the abiotic template presents a challenge, but understanding the role of land-use legacies may provide important insights regarding the mechanisms underlying the establishment and spread of invasive plants in forest ecosystems (Kuhman, Pearson, and Turner 2011). A total of 86 plots were established at Bent Creek Experimental Forest during the summer of 2006. Specifically, the study was conducted between June and August 2006. Half of these were established in historic agricultural plots and half in reference plots that were not formerly used for agriculture (pasture or rowcrops) based on the 1941 Forest Service Report by William Nesbitt and the appended land-use history map (History of early settlement and land use on the Bent Creek Experimental Forest Buncombe County, NC. 1941). Historic agriculture and reference plots were paired based on similarities in topography and bedrock geology (typically in relatively close proximity to one another). Within sites, two plots were established, one adjacent to the road and one 50 m away from the road (labeled as "A" and "B", respectively, in the "Plot #").

Does land-use history facilitate non-native plant invasion? A field experiment with Celastrus orbiculatus in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest in the southern Appalachians from 2008 to 2009

Although historic land use is often implicated in non-native plant invasion of forests, little is known about how land-use legacies might actually facilitate invasion. The researchers conducted a 2-year field seeding experiment in western North Carolina, USA, to compare germination and first-year seedling survival of Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb. in stands that had been cultivated and abandoned a century earlier and were dominated by tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.), and in paired stands that had never been cultivated and were dominated by oaks (Quercus spp.). Experiments were conducted at five sites with paired tulip poplar and oak stands by varying litter mass (none, low, or high) and litter type (tulip poplar or oak).

Patch occupancy of stream fauna across a land cover gradient in the southern Appalachians, USA

Field sampling of four functionally important focal stream consumers within the Little Tennessee River Basin took place in thirty-seven stream reaches between May - July 2009. Sampled reaches all drained an area less than 17 km2, and land cover varied among these reaches. This data was used to model patch occupancy to examine factors that best predicted the prevalence of the four groups.

Year 2001, 15 minute measurements of stage, water temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and pH in a small headwater stream draining a moderate sized, mixed land use (mainly forest) watershed, Fish Brook, Middleton, MA.

During 2001, continuous measurements, every 15 minutes, were made of stage, water temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and pH in a small headwater stream, Fish Brook, Boxford, MA, draining a moderate sized, mixed land use watershed. Measurements are for part of the ice free season (June – December). Discharge could not be determined due to inadequate rating curve. Several day gaps occur periodically due to removal for recalibration.

Year 2002, 15 minute measurements of stage, water temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and pH in a small headwater stream draining a moderate sized, mixed land use (mainly forest) watershed, Fish Brook, Middleton, MA.

During 2002, continuous measurements, every 15 minutes, were made of stage, water temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and pH in a small headwater stream, Fish Brook, Boxford, MA, draining a moderate sized, mixed land use watershed. Measurements are for part of the ice free season (June – December). Discharge could not be determined due to inadequate rating curve and due to beaver activity. Several day gaps occur periodically due to removal for recalibration.

Land Use, Anderson Level I - Ipswich Watershed - 1999 - Idrisi Raster File

This layer shows land use for the Ipswich Study area, based upon MassGIS classification and grouped in accordance with the Anderson: Level I convention. It is intended to be used in connection with other Ipswich Study Area maps.

Primary Use of Open Space and Protected Land - Ipswich Watershed - Idrisi Raster File.

This datalayer is part of a group of layers used for research in the Ipswich River Watershed. This datalayer shows the primary use of land that is defined as protected by MassGIS. (http://state.ma.us/mgis/). This layer has information derived from the Protected and Recreational Open Space town coverages provided by MassGIS. To provide information about the use of open space.

Compilation of Land Use Data in 21 and 37 Category Classifications - Ipswich and Parker River Watersheds - 1971, 1985, 1991, and 1999 - Vector Shapefile.

The MassGIS Land Use datalayer has 37 land use classifications interpreted from 1:25,000 aerial photography. This layer contains data for 21 and 37 category classifications for the years of 1971, 1985, 1991, and 1999. Coverage is complete for all towns that fall partially or completely within the Ipswich River and/or Parker River watersheds. Data compiled for 1971, 1985, 1991, and 1999.

Land Use, Anderson Level I, 7 Categories - Ipswich and Parker River Watersheds - 1971 - Idrisi Raster File.

This datalayer is part of a group of layers used for research in the Ipswich River Watershed. This layer was created in July 2006 for the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA. This layer shows the land use, 7 categories, for the towns in the Ipswich River Watershed and the Parker River Watershed for 1971. This datalayer has complete information.

Land Use, Anderson Level I, 7 Categories - Ipswich and Parker River Watersheds - 1985 - Idrisi Raster File.

Land Use, Anderson Level I, 7 Categories - Ipswich and Parker River Watersheds - 1991 - Idrisi Raster File.

Land Use, Anderson Level I, 7 Categories - Ipswich and Parker River Watersheds - 1999 - Idrisi Raster File.

Land Use, 21 Categories - Ipswich and Parker River Watersheds - 1971 - Idrisi Raster File.

This datalayer is part of a group of layers used for research in the Ipswich River Watershed. This layer was created in July 2006 for Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA. This layer shows the land use, 21 categories, for the towns in the Ipswich River Watershed and the Parker River Watershed for 1971. This datalayer has complete information.

Land Use, 21 Categories - Ipswich and Parker River Watersheds - 1985 - Idrisi Raster File.

This datalayer is part of a group of layers used for research in the Ipswich River Watershed. This layer was created in July 2006 for the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) in Woods Hole, MA. This layer shows the land use, 21 categories, for the towns in the Ipswich River Watershed and the Parker River Watershed for 1985. This datalayer has complete information.