,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/83462. Aboveground plant nitrogen dynamics monitoring consists of two separate data sets. a) Long-term peak-crop nitrogen concentrations have been sampled since 1983 annually from sites sampled for ANPP estimates across the CPER. Plots are clipped for ANPP in August each year and include moderately grazed sites in sections 24 and 25, ungrazed treatments at ESA and owl creek, coarse textured soils in owl creek, fine textured soils in section 25, as well as three catena topopositions in section 24. These datasets have been designed for monitoring and so it is advised to consider calcuating average based at the transect level. B) Seasonal dynamics of life-form (dominant grass, forb, shrub species) nitrogen concentrations were obtained from random grab samples of aboveground plant tissue are taken monthly from May-Aug. and in Oct., Dec., Feb., and April from 1983 – 2007 at sites where ANPP has been collected since 1983 (ESA, ridge, mid-slope and swale in section 24). The objectives are to assess annual/seasonal weather and site productivity/management with quantity and quality of forage and/or litter production. Combined, these two data sets also provide an estimate of nitrogen yield. These data can be linked with secondary producer data sets such as annual cattle weight gains, grasshopper abundance, small mammal monitoring, etc., to assess how forage/plant tissue quantity and quality drive population dynamics.,,

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The objective of this research is to evaluate the long-term response of shortgrass ecosystems to additional water and nitrogen inputs. An experiment was conducted during the IBP project (1970-1975) in which water and nitrogen were applied (Lauenroth et al. 1978, Dodd and Lauenroth 1979, Milchunas and Lauenroth 1995). While we gained an enormous increment in our knowledge about shortgrass ecosystems from this experiment it raised as many questions as it answered. One of the problems was that the treatments were very high levels of nitrogen (100-150kg/ha N) and water (600 mm/growing season) additions. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/85629.,,

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The objective of this research is to evaluate the long-term response of shortgrass ecosystems to additional water and nitrogen inputs. An experiment was conducted during the IBP project (1970-1975) in which water and nitrogen were applied (Lauenroth et al. 1978, Dodd and Lauenroth 1979, Milchunas and Lauenroth 1995). While we gained an enormous increment in our knowledge about shortgrass ecosystems from this experiment it raised as many questions as it answered. One of the problems was that the treatments were very high levels of nitrogen (100-150kg/ha N) and water (600 mm/growing season) additions. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/85629.,,

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. The objective of this research is to evaluate the long-term response of shortgrass ecosystems to additional water and nitrogen inputs. An experiment was conducted during the IBP project (1970-1975) in which water and nitrogen were applied (Lauenroth et al. 1978, Dodd and Lauenroth 1979, Milchunas and Lauenroth 1995). While we gained an enormous increment in our knowledge about shortgrass ecosystems from this experiment it raised as many questions as it answered. One of the problems was that the treatments were very high levels of nitrogen (100-150kg/ha N) and water (600 mm/growing season) additions. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/85629.,,

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Water, nitrogen, and water-plus-nitrogen at levels beyond the range normally experience by shortgrass steppe communities were applied from 1971 through 1975, plant densities were sampled through 1977, and then sampling resumed in 1982, with sampling frequencies changing from annually to every other year. The initial sampling from 1970 to 1974 showed that the water and water plus nitrogen treatments had the strongest effect on plant community structure, both treatments increased biomass, and exotic weed species were noted on the water plus nitrogen treatment. Later sampling from 1982 to 1991 showed a ten-fold increase in exotic weed species on the water plus nitrogen plots as compared to the controls (Milchunas and Lauenroth 1995), a community change that has persisted on this site due to a chronic elevation of soil nitrogen caused by a plant tissue/soil organic matter feedback mechanism (Vinton and Burke 1995). In 1998, Six new treatments were superimposed on the historic study site. The six new treatments were: control, sugar, lignin, sawdust, lignin and sugar, and sawdust and sugar.In 2010, plots will be sampled every 5 years. Our objective in this study is to examine how plant communities change through time and explore implications of these changes for monitoring potentially stressed ecosystems. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/83317.,,

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Water, nitrogen, and water-plus-nitrogen at levels beyond the range normally experience by shortgrass steppe communities were applied from 1971 through 1975, plant densities were sampled through 1977, and then sampling resumed in 1982, with sampling frequencies changing from annually to every other year. The initial sampling from 1970 to 1974 showed that the water and water plus nitrogen treatments had the strongest effect on plant community structure, both treatments increased biomass, and exotic weed species were noted on the water plus nitrogen treatment. Later sampling from 1982 to 1991 showed a ten-fold increase in exotic weed species on the water plus nitrogen plots as compared to the controls (Milchunas and Lauenroth 1995), a community change that has persisted on this site due to a chronic elevation of soil nitrogen caused by a plant tissue/soil organic matter feedback mechanism (Vinton and Burke 1995). In 1998, Six new treatments were superimposed on the historic study site. The six new treatments were: control, sugar, lignin, sawdust, lignin and sugar, and sawdust and sugar.In 2010, plots will be sampled every 5 years. Our objective in this study is to examine how plant communities change through time and explore implications of these changes for monitoring potentially stressed ecosystems. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/83317.,,

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Water, nitrogen, and water-plus-nitrogen at levels beyond the range normally experience by shortgrass steppe communities were applied from 1971 through 1975, plant densities were sampled through 1977, and then sampling resumed in 1982, with sampling frequencies changing from annually to every other year. The initial sampling from 1970 to 1974 showed that the water and water plus nitrogen treatments had the strongest effect on plant community structure, both treatments increased biomass, and exotic weed species were noted on the water plus nitrogen treatment. Later sampling from 1982 to 1991 showed a ten-fold increase in exotic weed species on the water plus nitrogen plots as compared to the controls (Milchunas and Lauenroth 1995), a community change that has persisted on this site due to a chronic elevation of soil nitrogen caused by a plant tissue/soil organic matter feedback mechanism (Vinton and Burke 1995). In 1998, Six new treatments were superimposed on the historic study site. The six new treatments were: control, sugar, lignin, sawdust, lignin and sugar, and sawdust and sugar.In 2010, plots will be sampled every 5 years. Our objective in this study is to examine how plant communities change through time and explore implications of these changes for monitoring potentially stressed ecosystems. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/83317.,,

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Our objective in this study was to evaluate effects of land use on in situ net N mineralization in shortgrass steppe by comparing native and abandoned fields and cultivated fields, and by comparing soil under and between plants within native and abandoned fields. We also compared mineralization patterns between in situ and laboratory incubations to evaluate the role of environmental restrictions in determining N supply across management treatments and microsites. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/82140,,

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. When the CPER was established in 1939, researchers constructed a .5-1 ha grazing exclosure in each of the pastures. These areas have remained protected from grazing for the past 70 years. The remaining areas have been grazed for the past 20+ years. This collection of pastures and exclosures provided an extraordinary opportunity to reinitiate grazing and protection, and evaluate the balance between degradation and aggradation. We proposed to rearrange fences and expose areas to grazing that have been protected for 50 years, and protect areas from grazing that had been grazed for 50 years. The combinations of grazing conditions were: 1. Long-term protection 2. Long-term grazing (moderate) 3. 50 years of protection followed by grazing 4. 50 years of grazing followed by protection Net primary production, nitrogen dynamics, cattle utilization, and community dynamics of vegetation were measured. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/85596.,,

,This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/85633.,,