DOI:
Data set ID:
Canopy coverage of all vascular plant species were estimated in 20 circular 10 sq m plots for each of the topographic positions within each included watershed at Konza Prairie.
Canopy coverage of all vascular plant species were estimated in 20 circular 10 sq m plots for each of the topographic positions within each included watershed at Konza Prairie.
The experiment is a randomized complete block design with four whole plot hetereogeneity treatments replicated within each of four blocks (n=16 whole plots). The whole plot treatments were created using different combinations of soil depth and nutrient manipulations. The control plots contained no depth or nutrient manipulations. The 'maximum hetereogeneity' plots contained three 2 m x 8 m vertical strips assigned to ambient, enriched and reduced N treatments and four 2 m x 6 m horizontal strips assigned to deep and shallow soil to result in six treatment combinations.
Rainfall Manipulation Plots facility (RaMPs) is a unique experimental infrastructure that allows us to manipulate precipitation events and temperature, and assess population community, and ecosystem responses in native grassland. This facility allows us to manipulate the amount and timing of individual precipitation events in replicated field plots at the Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site.
The distribution, structure and function of mesic savanna grasslands are strongly driven by fire regimes, grazing by large herbivores, and their interactions. This research addresses a general question about our understanding of savanna grasslands globally: Is our knowledge of fire and grazing sufficiently general to enable us to make accurate predictions of how these ecosystems will respond to changes in these drivers over time? Some evidence suggests that fire and grazing influence savanna grassland structure and function differently in South Africa (SA) compared to North America (NA).
The distribution, structure and function of mesic savanna grasslands are strongly driven by fire regimes, grazing by large herbivores, and their interactions. This research addresses a general question about our understanding of savanna grasslands globally: Is our knowledge of fire and grazing sufficiently general to enable us to make accurate predictions of how these ecosystems will respond to changes in these drivers over time? Some evidence suggests that fire and grazing influence savanna grassland structure and function differently in South Africa (SA) compared to North America (NA).