Rainfall Manipulation Study Vegetation Data from the Chihuahuan Desert Grassland and Creosote Shrubland at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico (2003-2011)

This dataset was originally published on the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Data Portal, https://portal.lternet.edu, and potentially via other repositories or portals as described. The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) of the source data package is doi:10.6073/pasta/361fbce9ce7d4d9530e34b4a8ee3c02e, and may be accessed at http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/361fbce9ce7d4d9530e34b4a8ee3c02e. Metadata and files included in this record mirror as closely as possible the source data and documentation, with the provenance metadata and quality report generated by the LTER portal reproduced here as '*-provenance.xml' and *-report.html' files, respectively.The overall goal of the rainfall manipulation project is to understand the coupled ecological and hydrological responses of a grassland, shrubland and a mixed grass-shrub vegetation community to extended periods of increased or decreased rainfall. Rainfall manipulation plots have been established in each of these three vegetation communities in the Five Points area of Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. In each vegetation community, three control plots, three drought treatment plots, and three water addition plots have been installed, each approximately 10 x 15 m in size. In each plot, vertical profiles of soil moisture probes have been installed under each cover type (canopy and interspace in grassland and shrubland; grass canopy, shrub canopy and interspace at the ecotone (mixed grass-shrub) site). The probes measure differences in infiltration and soil water content and potential associations with these different cover types. In addition, TDR probes have been installed diagonally in each cover type to integrate the water content of the top 15 cm of soil. Each plot contains 18, 1m2 quads made up of 6, 1m2 quads along each of the 3 transects located across each plot. Each spring and fall, the following parameters are measured in every quad: live plant cover, height, and abundance by species; dead plant cover; soil cover; litter cover; and rock cover. Data collection began in the drought and control plots in the spring of 2002. Data collection began in the water addition plots in the spring of 2004.In the grassland and shrubland communities, all nine currently established plots are located together. The three drought plots were located under a single large roof with a 0.5 m path separating each plot (drought treatments ended in 2006). The control plots and water addition plots are similarly grouped, but without the shelter structure. In the ecotone community, the plots are in three groups; each group is comprised of one drought plot, one water addition plot, and one control plot. Control plots received no experimental treatment, while the sliding roofs over the drought plots were used to divert precipitation, producing a long-term drought. The roofs covering the drought plots were lowered when there was no precipitation so that the amount of sunlight received by the drought plots was minimally affected. Water addition was intended to impose a complementary increase in water supply on the water addition plots.