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openCC0Jun 2025View details →

Harmonized National Land Cover Dataset Values for HydroBASINS Basins

Water quality is largely reflective of processes occurring on the surrounding landscape. While national landcover data are widely available via remotely sensed products, they are usually not aggregated in a manner that is expeditiously merged with basin-level data. To facilitate national-scale analyses of basin-level landcover with co-located water quality data, we present aggregated land cover data for the Contiguous United States. Data are aggregated using the HydroBASINS basin shapefiles. HYBAS_ID is retained to enable merging with HydroBASINS parent datasets.

openCC0Jun 2025View details →

Harmonized National Atmospheric Deposition Products for HydroBASINS basins

Water quality is largely reflective of processes occurring on the surrounding landscape. While terrestrial inputs often strongly influence water quality, atmospheric deposition can be a significant source of allochthonous constituents to aquatic ecosystems. In the Contiguous United States, the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) has been collecting in situ atmospheric deposition of several key ions for decades. However, merging these data with co-located aquatic data is challenging. To facilitate national-scale analyses of basin-level atmospheric deposition of sulfate, ammonium, nitrate, and hydrogen with co-located water quality data, we present aggregated atmospheric deposition data for the Contiguous United States. Data are aggregated using the HydroBASINS basin shapefiles. HYBAS_ID is retained to enable merging with HydroBASINS parent datasets.

openCC (other)Dec 2022View details →

Multi-locus DNA metabarcoding of western spotted skunk diet in the McKenzie River Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest from 2017-2019

There are increasing concerns about the declining population trends of small mammalian carnivores around the world. Their conservation and management is often challenging due to limited knowledge about their ecology and natural history. To address one of these deficiencies for western spotted skunks (Spilogale gracilis), we investigated their diet in the Oregon Cascades of the Pacific Northwest during 2017 –2019. We collected 130 spotted skunk scats opportunistically and with detection dog teams and identified prey items using DNA metabarcoding and mechanical sorting. Western spotted skunk diet consisted of invertebrates such as wasps, millipedes, and gastropods, vertebrates such as small mammals, amphibians, and birds, and plants such as Gaultheria, Rubus, and Vaccinium. Diet also consisted of items such as black-tailed deer that were likely scavenged. Comparison in diet by season revealed that spotted skunks consumed more insects during the dry season (June –August), particularly wasps (75% of scats in the dry season), and marginally more mammals during the wet season(September –May). We observed similar diet in areas with no record of human disturbance and areas with a history of logging at most spatial scales, but scats collected in areas with older forest within a skunk’s home range (1 km buffer) were more likely to contain insects. Western spotted skunks provide food web linkages between aquatic, terrestrial, and arboreal systems and serve functional roles of seed dispersal and scavenging. Due to their diverse diet and prey-switching, western spotted skunks may dampen the effects of irruptions of prey, such as wasps during dry springs and summers. By studying the natural history of western spotted skunks in the Pacific Northwest forests while they are still abundant, we provide key information necessary to achieve the conservation goal of keeping this common species common.

openCC (other)Aug 2025View details →

Overnight Shark River Surveys from Shark River Slough, Everglades National Park (FCE), South Florida from October 2001 to March 2002

Estuarine mixing interfaces have been a focus of wetland ecologists for the last three decades and are of growing concern today. Particularly critical in Everglades restoration, water quality and the dynamics of nutrients and dissolved materials across seasons in the natural system are being defined. We measured diurnal and seasonal (wet and dry) variation in microbial, dissolved and total nutrients and total organic carbon along a riverine transect and for a diurnal cycle in October of 2001 and March of 2002. For the diurnal sampling we anchored a houseboat mid Shark River 100m up river of the mesohaline Florida Coastal Everglades Shark River LTER site and sampled the water for chemical, microbial, and physical parameters. At slack high and low tides we sampled 10 miles offshore then at three sites up the Shark River. TOC (mM) and salinity (ppt) were highly correlated (r2 .97) along the river transect across seasons and TOC derived from terrestrial input. Bacterial production ranged from 1.88 to 10.99 mg C l-1 d-1 and was greatest in the dry season and at the most freshwater sampling points. Combined examination of our 49 sampled parameters both from the diurnal sampling and river transect sampling showed that our position for sampling in the river was critical and that the mid river-estuarine productivity maxima occurred within Shark River in both the wet and dry season. These data suggest this oligotrophic estuarine-river system is highly sensitive to watershed and river fringe nutrient inputs and remineralization vectors within the river.

Water Quality Data (Grab Samples) from the Taylor Slough, just outside Everglades National Park (FCE), for August 1998 to November 2006

Water quality samples are being collected using ISCO autosamplers at all wetland sites (that is, all sites except TS/Ph-9, 10, and 11). The autosamplers contain 24 1L bottles. Water is sampled by programming the autosamplers to take composite samples once every 3 days. These samples are a composite of four 250mL subsamples drawn every 18 hours (a sampling scheme that captures a dawn, noon, dusk, and midnight sample in every three day composite). The samples are collected every 3-4 weeks and analyzed for total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), and salinity. When sites are visited to collect these samples, we also collect a grab sample that is immediately put on ice. A portion of these grab samples is filtered through a Whatman GF/F filter immediately upon return to the lab, and the filtered samples are analyzed for inorganic nutrients such as NO2-, NO3-, NH4+, SRP, and DOC. The unfiltered fraction of these grab samples is analyzed for TP, TN, and TOC. We use these montly grab samples to generate relationships between TP and SRP, and between TN and NO2- + NO3- + NH4+. Dissolved nutrients are measured using standard rapid flow analyzer (RFA) techniques. TP is analyzed with a modified Solorzano and Sharp (1980) technique. TN is measured with an Antec TN analyzer, TOC and DOC are quantified on a Shimadzu TOC Analyzer, and salinity is measured with a YSI conductivity meter. In addition to the regular water quality monitoring, we use the rain level actuators at all freshwater sites to trigger water sampling after rain events exceed a given threshold of duration and/or intensity. As currently programmed, when the threshold of = 2.5 cm of rain per hour is passed, the autosampler at that site collects a 1L sample every 15 minutes after the threshold has been reached and remains (previous to 2003- the autosampler was programmed to collect 500mL of water every 30 minutes while the threshold was being met). Rain event samples are collected, retrieved, and analyzed like out c

Soil Physical Data from the Shark River Slough, Everglades National Park (FCE), from November 2000 to January 2007

Soil pH, Eh and temperature readings are taken at SRS1b, SRS1c, SRS1d, SRS2 and SRS3. These measurements are taken only when the marsh is wet. Measurements are taken using an Orion model 250A meter, and the probes attached to the meter are the Orion Thermo pH probe and the Orion Eh probe. All readings are recorded in field notebooks, and then transferred into Microsoft Excel. The Eh reading is taken when the Eh probe is attached to the meter and the word "Ready" appears on the meter screen. The pH and temperature reading are taken when the pH probe is attached to the meter and the word "Ready" appears on the meter screen.

Soil Physical Data from the Taylor Slough, just outside Everglades National Park (FCE), from October 1998 to October 2006

Soil pH, Eh and temperature readings are taken at TS/Ph4 and TS/Ph5. These measurements are taken only when the marsh is wet. Measurements are taken using an Orion model 250A meter, and the probes attached to the meter are the Orion Thermo pH probe and the Orion Eh probe. All readings are recorded in field notebooks, and then transferred into Microsoft Excel. The Eh reading is taken when the Eh probe is attached to the meter and the word "Ready" appears on the meter screen. The pH and temperature reading are taken when the pH probe is attached to the meter and the word "Ready" appears on the meter screen.

Soil Physical Data from the Taylor Slough, within Everglades National Park (FCE), from September 1999 to November 2006

Soil pH, Eh and temperature readings are taken at TS/Ph1b,TS/Ph2,TS/Ph3 and TS/Ph6b. These measurements are taken only when the marsh is wet. Measurements are taken using an Orion model 250A meter, and the probes attached to the meter are the Orion Thermo pH probe and the Orion Eh probe. All readings are recorded in field notebooks, and then transferred into Microsoft Excel. The Eh reading is taken when the Eh probe is attached to the meter and the word "Ready" appears on the meter screen. The pH and temperature reading are taken when the pH probe is attached to the meter and the word "Ready" appears on the meter screen.

Soil Characteristic and Nutrient Data from the Taylor Slough, within Everglades National Park (FCE), from March 2002 to April 2004

Three random soil cores are collected once a year from TS/Ph 1b, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6b. The collection of these soil cores is in the dry season (Dec.-May). The top 10cm of soil is collected using a soil core. The soil is then analyzed to obtain its bulk density, organic matter content, TC, TN, and TP.

Soil Characteristics and Nutrient Data from the Shark River Slough, within Everglades National Park (FCE), from March 2003 to March 2004

Three random soil cores are collected once a year from SRS1b, SRS2, and SRS3. The collection of these soil cores is in the dry season (Dec.-May). The top 10cm of soil is collected using a soil core. The soil is then analyzed to obtain its bulk density, organic matter content, TC, TN, and TP.

openCC0Dec 2023View details →

Ants in an Induced Drought Experiment at the Caxiuana National Forest in Brazil 2011-2012

Environmental change scenarios caused by low precipitation forecast species loss in tropical regions. We used one year of data from a rainwater exclusion experiment in primary Amazonian rainforest to test whether induced water stress, and covarying changes in humidity, soil respiration, and tree species richness, size, and total biomass and its diversity affected species richness and composition (relative abundance) of ground-dwelling ants. Induced drought reduced ant richness, whereas increased humidity and variability in biomass increased it. Species composition differed between control and rainfall-excluded plots. Occurrence of many ant species was strongly reduced, but some generalist groups of ants were favored by induced drought. The expected loss of ant species and changes in ant species composition in tropical forests likely will lead to cascading effects on ecosystem processes and services they mediate.

openCC0Dec 2023View details →

Ant Resource Detection Distance at the Caxiuana National Forest in Brazil 2017-2018

Environmental change scenarios of low precipitation forecast species loss in tropical regions. These losses can affect generalist species that provide important ecosystem services, such as controlling the rate at which nutrients become available for uptake by other organisms in tropical forests. Here, we use a long-term rainwater exclusion experiment in primary Amazonian rainforest to test whether induced water stress affects the detection distance of food resources (baits) in a generalist ant guild (number of colonies, richness, and composition) that remove resources on the ground. We found that (i) overall the distance of resource removal by generalist ants did not change with drought; (ii) however, comparing ant species that occurred in drought-induced and control environments, workers walked shorter distances in the drought habitat; (iii) the number of resources detected by ant colonies in the drought-induced habitat decreased by 50%. Although generalist ants are considered resilient to habitat disturbance, the effect of reduced rainfall can negatively affect the services mediated by them. The rate of removal and consumption of resources in tropical forests may be related to abundance of generalist ants; losses in both nest density and walking distances may cause cascading effects on ecosystem processes and the services they mediate.

zenodo56/100

National contributions to climate change due to historical emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide

A complete description of the dataset is given by <a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-023-02041-1">Jones et al. (2023)</a>. Key information is provided below. Background A dataset describing the global warming response to national emissions CO2, CH4 and N2O from fossil and land use sources during 1851-2021. National CO2 emissions data are collated from the Global Carbon Project (Andrew and Peters, 2024; Friedlingstein et al., 2024).  National CH4 and N2O emissions data are collated from PRIMAP-hist (HISTTP) (Gütschow et al., 2024). We construct a time series of cumulative CO2-equivalent emissions for each country, gas, and emissions source (fossil or land use). Emissions of CH4 and N2O emissions are related to cumulative CO2-equivalent emissions using the Global Warming Potential (GWP*) approach, with best-estimates of the coefficients taken from the IPCC AR6 (Forster et al., 2021). Warming in response to cumulative CO2-equivalent emissions is estimated using the transient climate response to cumulative carbon emissions (TCRE) approach, with best-estimate value of TCRE taken from the IPCC AR6 (Forster et al., 2021, Canadell et al., 2021). 'Warming' is specifically the change in global mean surface temperature (GMST). The data files provide emissions, cumulative emissions and the GMST response by country, gas (CO2, CH4, N2O or 3-GHG total) and source (fossil emissions, land use emissions or the total). Data records: overview The data records include three comma separated values (.csv) files as described below. All files are in ‘long’ format with one value provided in the Data column for each combination of the categorical variables Year, Country Name, Country ISO3 code, Gas, and Component columns. Component specifies fossil emissions, LULUCF emissions or total emissions of the gas. Gas specifies CO2, CH4, N2O or the three-gas total (labelled 3-GHG). Country ISO3 codes are specifically the unique ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 codes of each country. Data records: specifics Data are provided relative to 2 reference years (denoted ref_year below): 1850 and 1991. 1850 is a mutual first year of data spanning all input datasets. 1991 is relevant because the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was operationalised in 1992. EMISSIONS_ANNUAL_{ref_year-20}-2023.csv: Data includes annual emissions of CO2 (Pg CO2 year-1), CH4 (Tg CH4 year-1) and N2O (Tg N2O year-1) during the period ref_year-20 to 2023. The Data column provides values for every combination of the categorical variables. Data are provided from ref_year-20 because these data are required to calculate GWP* for CH4. EMISSIONS_CUMULATIVE_CO2e100_{ref_year+1}-2023.csv: Data includes the cumulative CO2 equivalent emissions in units Pg CO2-e100 during the period ref_year+1 to 2023 (i.e. since the reference year). The Data column provides values for every combination of the categorical variables.  GMST_response_{ref_year+1}-2023.csv: Data includes the change in global mean surface temperature (GMST) due to emissions of the three gases in units °C during the period ref_year+1 to 2023 (i.e. since the reference year). The Data column provides values for every combination of the categorical variables.  Accompanying Code Code is available at: <a href="https://github.com/jonesmattw/National_Warming_Contributions">https://github.com/jonesmattw/National_Warming_Contributions</a> . The code requires Input.zip to run (see README at the GitHub link). Further info: Country Groupings We also provide estimates of the contributions of various country groupings as defined by the UNFCCC: <ul> <li>Annex I countries (number of countries, n = 42)</li> <li>Annex II countries (n = 23)</li> <li>economies in transition (EITs; n = 15)</li> <li>the least developed countries (LDCs; n = 47)</li> <li>the like-minded developing countries (LMDC; n = 24).</li> </ul> And other country groupings: <ul> <li>the organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD; n = 38)</li> <li>the European Union (EU27 post-Brexit)</li> <li>the Brazil, South Africa, India and China (BASIC) group.</li> </ul> See COUNTRY_GROUPINGS.xlsx for the lists of countries in each group.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2022View details →

openCC (other)Dec 2021View details →

Soil Organic Matter Mechanisms of Stabilization (SOMMOS) - enhanced soil characterization data from 40 National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) sites

Soil organic matter (SOM) is a critical linkage among many ecosystem services that sustain our society and life on Earth. It is the primary energy source for microbes and the principal storehouse of water necessary for plant growth. SOM also stores nutrients for plants and sorbs pollutants that otherwise could contaminate food and water supplies. Soils also help regulate climate by storing carbon that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere and contribute to climate change. The SOMMOS project investigated processes in the soil that protect SOM from being decomposed by microbes, processes that increase its sensitivity to environmental changes, and how changes in climate and land management influence the amount and stability of SOM. The project, which was a collaboration between scientists from the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), University of Colorado, University of Michigan, Oregon State University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and the USDA-Forest Service, took advantage of soil samples collected across NEON, a major NSF investment in environmental monitoring that covers the entire United States. This continental-scale soil sample set was analyzed for a wide array of physical and chemical properties, well beyond those typically measured on such a large-scale sample set, including radiocarbon, extractable metals, organic matter chemistry by pyrolysis-GCMS, liquid extract fluorescence spectroscopy, and more. In addition to this dataset, archived samples are available from the project for sharing with interested researchers.

openCC (other)May 2025View details →

Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) nesting colony and environmental data in Biscayne National Park, Florida, USA (2009-2024)

Double-crested Cormorant (DCCO) nesting data were collected from colonies in Biscayne National Park (BISC) by the South Florida/Caribbean Inventory and Monitoring Network as part of the Colonial Nesting Birds vital sign monitoring program. Nesting data collected from 2010 to 2023 are included in this dataset. Salinity, chlorophyll, and ammonia data were acquired from sites monitored in the Surface Water Quality Monitoring Program managed by the Miami-Dade County Division of Environmental Management’s Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER-DERM). Seagrass data were acquired from sites monitored by RER-DERM as a part of the Biscayne Bay Benthic Habitat Monitoring Program. Mangrove fish and epifauna data were acquired from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Integrated Biscayne Bay Ecological Assessment and Monitoring Project (IBBEAM). Environmental data (salinity, chlorophyll, ammonia, seagrass, mangrove fish, and epifauna) were manipulated in order to examine the relationship between DCCO nesting trends and the BISC ecosystem. This data package is completed. Code included is pertinent to the methods described in "Assessment of ecosystem health in Biscayne National Park, Florida according to Double-crested Cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) nesting trends" by Taylor et al. 2025, currently submitted to and under review by Ecological Indicators.

Summertime methane and carbon dioxide emission rates and associated variables from a national-scale survey of 146 reservoirs in the United States, 2016-2023

Reservoirs are globally important sources of greenhouse gases, but the magnitude of their emissions is highly uncertain. Here we present data for 146 reservoirs from two surveys of reservoir methane and carbon dioxide emissions, one at the regional scale in the midwestern United States and one at the national scale in the conterminous United States, plus data from one reservoir in Washington and another in Puerto Rico. At all reservoirs, ebullitive and diffusive emissions and basic physiochemistry were measured at 15-70 locations during one 22 to 64-hour period during the summers of 2016-2023, with four reservoirs revisited a second time. Concomitant water chemistry measurements were also made at an index site. The dataset is comprised of two geospatial files and seven .csv files containing greenhouse gas emissions, water chemistry, morphology, and other relevant data. These data comprise the largest multi-reservoir emissions dataset ever assembled using consistent measurement methods.

openCC (other)Jul 2025View details →

Long-term record of lake and stream biogeochemistry from the Loch Vale Watershed, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA: 1981-2024

The Loch Vale Watershed (LVWS) Project is a long-term research and monitoring program that addresses watershed-scale ecosystem processes, particularly as they respond to atmospheric deposition and climate variability. The LVWS is a 7-km2 high-altitude basin located within Rocky Mountain National Park in the Colorado Front Range (Colorado, United States of America). This dataset includes year-round measurements of physical water parameters, nutrients, major ions, trace metals, silica, and chlorophyll collected from lakes and streams within the LVWS basin. Related data entities: Scanned field notebooks from the Loch Vale Watershed Project from 1981-2023 are available via this published data release: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/6723cba2d34e4f57573e8e45. Quality assurance reports from the Loch Vale Watershed Project are available for specific time periods and can be found at the following locations: 1983-1987: included in this data release under "Other Entities", file name LWVS_QAreport_1983to1987_Denning 1988: included in this data release under "Other Entities", file name LWVS_QAreport_1988_Denning 1989-1990: included in this data release under "Other Entities", file name LWVS_QAreport_1989to1990_Edwards 1995-1998: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr99111 1999-2002: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20041306 2003-2009: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20111137 2010-2019: https://doi.org/10.3133/tm1D9 The most recent methods manual is included in full in this data release under "Other Entities", file name "LVWS Methods Manual". Please refer to this manual for the detailed methods.

openCC (other)Jul 2025View details →

Northern red oak regeneration in burned and unburned stands in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, USA, 2023-2024

This project aimed to determine whether prescribed burning of managed forest stands improves the regeneration of Quercus rubra near its northern range limit in New Hampshire. We measured oak seedling density and growth rates in three pairs of managed stands in which one had received a prescribed burn since 2017. We also measured the density of competing seedlings and shrubs, leaf area index above seedling height, soil nutrients, mycorrhizal colonization, foliar carbon/nitrogen ratio, and stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon. We found greater oak seedling density and faster oak seedling growth rates in burned stands relative to unburned stands. A subset of these measurements were also collected in additional burned and unburned study stands in the region. A companion mesocosm experiment showed faster growth in oak seedlings grown in soil from burned vs. unburned stands. Together these studies show that the benefits of fire to oak regeneration are mediated both via greater light availability as well as effects mediated via soil.

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.