Title | Spatial heterogeneity in Chihuahuan Desert vegetation: implications for sampling methods in semi-arid ecosystems |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2001 |
Authors | Huenneke L., Clason D, Muldavin E. |
Journal | Journal of Arid Environments |
Volume | 47 |
Pagination | 257-270 |
Date Published | 2001 |
Accession Number | JRN00345 |
Call Number | 00749 |
Keywords | article, articles, Bouteloua, net primary production, ecosystem, plant production, journal, journals, Larrea, net primary production, net primary production, plants, net primary production, Prosopis, net primary production, spatial heterogeneity, technique, aboveground NPP |
Abstract | Patchiness of above-ground vegetation, such as that in semi-arid grasslands and shrublands, can pose problems in sampling plant cover, biomass and productivity. We present a method of measuring above-ground plant biomass and production that can be applied consistently among vegetation types and that generates seasonal, spatially-explicit results. Results from 15 sites within the Jornada Basin (Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA) confirm considerable patchiness and non-normal distributions of plant biomass, even in grasslands. However, tests of adequacy of sample size and of sample error associated with the regression-based estimates of biomass confirmed that the estimates of above-ground net primary productivity are sufficiently precise to be useful in comparisons of both shrub-dominated and grassland sites. |
URL | files/bibliography/JRN00345.pdf |
DOI | 10.1006/jare.2000.0678 |
Reprint Edition | In File (02/23/2001) |