Dates of records of occurrence for all bird species reported on Konza Prairie.
Dates by species of documented records of breeding - either nests or dependent, fledged young - with contents of nest, nest placement information and location on Konza Prairie recorded by grid square.
Konza Prairie Terrestrial Arthropods Species List. This species list has been modified since 1977, last modified by Ellen Welti and Anthony Joern in 2014.
Long-term monitoring of bird presence is performed on Konza Prairie. The purpose was to determine bird species phenology of occurrence on entire Konza Prairie. Data on the presence, including documented nesting, of all bird species is recorded weekly in five-year periods e.g. 1980-1984, 1985-1989, 1990-1994.
Frequent burning is a common land practice in many grasslands worldwide, and this land use strategy has large impacts on a wide variety of ecosystem functions and services. Fire in tallgrass prairie, in the absence of grazing, alters plant community composition, decreases richness, and increases plant production. Proposed mechanisms for the changes in community composition and function are that fire decreases N availability (through volatilization) and removes litter (thereby increasing light availability and decreasing soil moisture).
These data show the locations of research conducted at the below ground plots near Konza Headquarters. Record type 1 (GIS350) describes the 64 belowground plots receiving a variety of nutrient, burn, and mowing treatments. Data for BMS01, BMS02, and BNS01 are collected on these plots. Record type 6 (GIS355) describes the locations of the Micro-Rhizotrons. Two spatial datasets lie on the belowground plots, but are classified separately. These are the Lysimeters on belowground plots (GIS455) and Aboveground biomass on belowground plots (GIS505) datasets.
These data show the sampling locations for the consumer datasets at Konza Prairie. GIS400 defines the starting points for sweep samples of grasshoppers across Konza Prairie. These data may be used in conjunction with the sweep sample datasets (CGR02). GIS401 defines the starting points for sweep samples of grasshoppers across Konza Prairie, focusing on grazing impact. These data may be used in conjunction with the sweep sample datasets (CGR02Z). GIS405 defines the trap locations for small mammal sampling across Konza Prairie. These data may be used in conjunction with CSM0X.
These data show locations of samples and research areas at Konza that do not fit under our standard classifications. GIS 600 contains the locations of the Hulbert plots on Konza Prairie. GIS605 contains locations for rainfall shelters, ramps, experimental streams, restoration plots, the weather station, grasshopper cages, the climate extremes project. Currently no associated LTER datasets exist for these locations. GIS 610 provides a record of the historic Konza gridded location system. Older datasets may reference these locations with a column letter and row number.
These data show the components of the irrigation system near Konza Prairie HQ. Record types 1, 2, 3 and 4 demarcate the locations of the study plots heads (GIS550), transect lines (GIS551), irrigation lines (GIS552), and irrigation line joints (GIS553). Record types 4 and 5 describe the location of the storage piles (GIS554) and the irrigation reservoir (GIS555). This data may be used in conjunction with the Irrigation Transect Studies (WATXX) data.
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.
This data set contains a list of Konza Prairie plant species numeric codes, full plant species names, and some general information about plant growth and life form, and photosynthetic pathway as well. Konza plant species data sets (PVC01, PVC02, WAT012, etc.) use those numeric codes and abbreviations for all of the plant species recorded.
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).
These data show locations for some experiments at Konza Prairie including: Chronic Addition of Nitrogen Gradient Experiment (ChANGE), Ghost Fire, Shrub Rainfall Manipulation Plots (ShRaMPs), sampling locations for ingrowth cores collected as part of the ShRaMPs experiment, Climate Extremes Experiment, Drought-Net, the Experimental Streams Experiment, the Nutrient Network Experiment, Phosphorous Plots experiment, the Vert-Invert experiment, and restoration areas.
Anthropogenic actions have significantly increased biological nitrogen (N) availability on a global scale. In tallgrass prairies, this phenomenon is exacerbated by land management changes, such as fire suppression. Historically, tallgrass prairie fire removed N through volatilization, but fire suppression has contributed to increased soil N availability as well as woody encroachment. Because soil microbes respond to N availability and plant growth, these changes may alter microbial composition and important microbially-mediated functions.
Woody plants are increasing prevalence and dominance in many rangelands around the world. The reason for their increase is various but two common drivers that have changed are an increase in CO2 concentrations and alteration to precipitation dynamics. We asked what the physiological growth dynamics of four juvenile woody plant species (Cornus drummondii, Rhus glabra, Gleditsia triacanthos and Juniperus osteosperma) when grown in elevated CO2 and chronically water stressed.
Climate variability and periodic droughts have complex effects on carbon (C) fluxes, with uncertain implications for ecosystem C balance under a changing climate. Responses to climate change can be modulated by persistent effects of climate history on plant communities, soil microbial activity, and nutrient cycling (i.e., legacies). To assess how legacies of past precipitation regimes influence tallgrass prairie C cycling under new precipitation regimes, we modified a long-term irrigation experiment that simulated a wetter climate for >25 years.
