Plant composition, shrub biomass, and soil biogeochemistry from an experimental drought treatment on the Colorado Plateau

These data were compiled for a study that investigated the effects of drought seasonality and plant community composition in a dryland ecosystem. In 2015 U.S. Geological Survey ecologists recorded vegetation and soil moisture data in 36 experimental plots which manipulated precipitation in two plant community types. The experiment consisted of three precipitation treatments: control (ambient precipitation), cool-season drought (-66% ambient precipitation November-April), and warm-season drought (-66% ambient precipitation May-October), applied in two plant communities (perennial grasses with or without a large shrub, Ephedra viridis) over a three-year period. These data were collected from 2015 to 2022 near Canyonlands...

Categories: Data; Tags: Achnatherum hymenoides, Botany, C3 photosynthesis, C4 photosynthesis, Canyonlands National Park, All tags... Climatology, Colorado Plateau, Ecology, Ephedra viridis, Geography, Indian ricegrass, Information Sciences, Islands of Fertility, James' galleta, Needles District, Pleuraphis jamesii, Soil Sciences, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), USGS:6553a618d34ee4b6e05c3e2b, Utah, ambient precipitation, biogeochemical cycling, biogeochemical data, biogeochemistry, biomass, biota, carbon, carbon concentrations, control treatments, cool-season drought treatments, data release, drought seasonality, droughts, dryland ecosystems, ecosystems, experimental plots, experimental seasonal drought, field inventory and monitoring, field measurements, field sampling, geoscientificInformation, interspace cover estimates, mormon tea, nitrogen, nitrogen concentrations, percent cover estimates, perennial grasses, phosphorus, phosphorus concentrations, photosynthesis, plant community composition, plants (organisms), precipitation (atmospheric), precipitation treatments, shrubland ecosystems, soil cores, soil moisture, soil sciences, soil volumetric water content, southeastern Utah, vegetation, warm-season drought treatments, Fewer tags

Colorado Plateau REA Conservation Elements - Terrestrial Ecosystems: Colorado Plateau Blackbrush-Mormon-tea Shrubland

This map shows the current and historic distribution of this ecosystem, in the context of change agents and disturbance types, as well as current and near-term status and long term potential for change. This map includes current distribution from LANDFIRE EVT and NatureServe Landcover, and historic distribution from LANDFIRE BpS.

Categories: Data; Types: ArcGIS REST Map Service, Map Service; Tags: Colorado Plateau, Mormon tea, blackbrush, conservation elements, distribution, All tags... rapid ecoregional assessment, rapid ecoregional assessment, terrestrial ecosystems, Fewer tags

Dispersal syndromes in North American Ephedra

Ephedra (Gymnosperma, Gnetales, Ephedraceae) includes 13 species in the arid American Southwest that have three morphological types of propagules. We performed field and laboratory experiments on five species (E. torreyana, E. antisyphilitica, E. viridis, E. funerea, and E. nevadensis) that represent the three morphological types (dispersal syndromes) and two intermediate forms. Ephedra torreyana has large, winged cone bracts and small seeds that are largely ignored by animals and that are dispersed by the wind. Ephedra antisyphilitica has succulent cone bracts that are eaten by birds that disperse the seeds in their feces. Ephedra viridis has large, conspicuous seeds that are attractive to some rodents, which gather...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation, Journal Citation; Tags: International Journal of Plant Sciences, Mormon tea, frugivory, scatter hoarding, seed dispersal