Data Set Citation

When using this data, please cite the data package
Lauenroth W , NCEAS 9620: Adler: Coexistence in a changing environment: Evaluating the role of climatic variability in semiarid plant communities , Adler P , and National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis.
Mapped plant community time series, Hays, KS, 1932-1972
adler.3.19 (https://knb.ecoinformatics.org/knb/metacat/adler.3.19/knb)

General Information
Title:Mapped plant community time series, Hays, KS, 1932-1972
Identifier:adler.3
Abstract:
This historical dataset consists of a series of permanent 1-m^2 quadrats located in mixed-grass prairie in western Kansas, USA. The key aspect of the data is that at the end of each growing season, all individual plants in each quadrat were identified and their basal cover was mapped. The combination of a long time-series with full spatial detail allows analyses of demographic processes and intra- and interspecific interactions among individual plants. The quadrats were distributed across gradients in soil type that produce distinct plants communities (see Albertson papers below) . Deep soils on the level uplands support a shortgrass community. Shallow limestone soils on hillbrows and slopes support a community dominated by little bluestem. A distinct ecotone separates the shortgrass and little bluestem areas. Most of the quadrats are located inside livestock exclosures. This distribution contains the following data and data formats: 1) Image files (*.tif) of the original, scanned maps; 2) GIS files of the digitized maps in Arc Export (*.e00) format; 3) GIS files of the digitized maps in shapefile format; 4) A tabular version of the entire dataset (see "Records of all individual plants" below; this is a table with no spatial information except an x,y coordinate for each individual plant record); 5) A species list, containing information on plant functional types; 6) Quadrat information, such as community type and location in the study site; 7) An inventory of the years each quadrat was sampled; 8) Monthly precipitation; 9) Monthly temperatures. References: Albertson, F. W. and Weaver, J. E. 1944. Nature and degree of recovery of grassland from the Great Drought of 1933 to 1940. Ecol. Monogr. 14, 393-479. Albertson, F. W. and Tomanek, G. W. 1965. Vegetation changes during a 30-year period in grassland communities near Hays, Kansas. Ecology 46, 714-720.
Keywords:
  • grassland
  • plant community
  • demography
  • Geographic Information System
  • competition
  • climate

Data Table, Image, and Other Data Details:
Metadata download Ecological Metadata Language (EML) File
Data Table:Records of all individual plants, Hays, KS ( View Metadata | Download File download)
Data Table:Quadrat information ( View Metadata | Download File download)
Data Table:Species list ( View Metadata | Download File download)
Data Table:Shapefiles for all quadrats ( View Metadata | Download File download)
Data Table:Arc Export files for all quadrats ( View Metadata | Download File download)
Data Table:Images of original maps ( View Metadata | Download File download)
Data Table:Monthly temperatures ( View Metadata | Download File download)
Data Table:Monthly precipitation ( View Metadata | Download File download)
Data Table:Quadrat Sampling Schedule ( View Metadata | Download File download)

Involved Parties

Data Set Creators
Individual:Dr. William Lauenroth
Address:
Dept. Forest, Range and Watershed Stewardship,
Colorado State University,
Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA
Email Address:
billl@cnr.colostate.edu
Organization:NCEAS 9620: Adler: Coexistence in a changing environment: Evaluating the role of climatic variability in semiarid plant communities
Individual:Dr. Peter Adler
Address:
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis,
735 State St. Suite 300,
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Email Address:
adler@nceas.ucsb.edu
Organization:National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis

Data Set Contacts
Individual:Dr. Peter Adler
Address:
National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis,
735 State St. Suite 300,
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Email Address:
adler@nceas.ucsb.edu

Data Set Characteristics

Geographic Region:
Geographic Description:College Pasture at Hays, Kansas, USA
Bounding Coordinates:
West:  -99.3  degrees
East:  99.3  degrees
North:  38.8  degrees
South:  -38.8  degrees
Time Period:
Begin:
1932-01-01
End:
1972-01-01

Sampling, Processing and Quality Control Methods

Step by Step Procedures
Step 1:  
Description:

Field data collection

The data were collected using pantographs (Hill 1920), a mechanical device used to make scale drawings.

Hill, R. R. 1920. Charting quadrats with a pantograph. Ecology 1, 270-273.
Step 2:  
Description:

Digitizing of original maps

The original paper maps were first scanned, and stored as .tif image files. These images were then used to hand digitize the data into a GIS as Arc coverages.
Step 3:  
Description:

Error checks and quality control

Peter Adler made the following changes to the original (digitized) GIS dataset (stored as Arc coverages) in November 2005:

1) Quadrats with short records or non-native vegetation removed: e1qa's, e2q1's, e3q2a's and e3qa-1.

2) Each remaining coverage cleaned up using Arc Clean command.

3) Bad rotations fixed using rotate_cover.aml: e1q1-369: 180 degrees; e1q2-365: 180 degrees; e1q2-562: 90 degrees clockwise (CW); e1q2-667: 90 degrees clockwise (CW); e1q2-864: 90 degrees clockwise (CW); e1q2-865: 90 degrees clockwise (CW); e1q3-169: 180 ; e1q3-270: 180; e1q3-271: 180; e1q3-339: 90 CCW; e1q3-350: 90 CCW; e1q3-372: 180; e1q3a-138: 90 CCW; e1q3a-161: 90 CCW; e1q3a-164 through 68, 70 and 71: 180; e1q3a-172: 90 CW; e1q3a-255 through 58 and 61 and 62: 180; e1q5-161: 90 CW; e1q5-238: 90 CCW; e1q5-338: 90 CCW; e2q2-339, 48, 68: 90 CW; e2q2-441: 90 CCW; e2q3-140: 90 CW; e2q3-143: 90 CCW; e2q3a-164: 90 CW; e2qo-141: 90 CW; e2qo-365: 180; e2qo-872: 90 CW;

4) Other miscellaneous corrections based on visual inspection of the coverages: e1q3a-348: ID 22 changed from bare ground to Bouteloua curtipendula; e1q4a-139: switched B. curtipendula to S. scoparium and vice versa; e2q2-472: all B. curtipendula renamed A. gerardii; e2qo-872: rename large unlabelled as Bare ground.

5) x,y coordinates added using Arc addxy command.

6) Plant names corrected for synonyms based on Flora of the Great Plains (Great Plains Flora Association, 1986). Some questionable, infrequent taxa lumped into "spp." categories.

7) The corrected coverages exported to tabular, *.e00, and shapefile formats.
Step 4:  
Description:

Disclaimer

The corrections described here are just a minimal quality control. Before spatial analysis, users should visually inspect each quadrat in each year. I have found data collected in 1969 and 1970 to be suspect in many cases, and have excluded some of these quadrats and years from my analyses. In addition, in data collected before 1937, some forb species appear to have been mapped for canopy, not basal, cover. For most of my analyses, I excluded all data before 1937.

Close inspection may also reveal that large bunchgrasses occassionally appear mislabeled. Users can contact me for a list of the corrections that I have made for the quadrats I have worked with intensively. Because this kind of correction is ultimately subjective, I have chosen to distribute the data in a form closer to its original state, allowing each investigator to make these decisions for her/himself.

Data Set Usage Rights

The data is freely available for use in research.
Access Control:
Auth System:knb
Order:denyFirst
Metadata download Ecological Metadata Language (EML) File