,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. 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. 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. 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. 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 effect of plant community structure on nutrient cycling is fundamental to our understanding of ecosystem function. We examined the importance of plant species and plant cover (i.e. plant covered microsites vs bare soil) on nutrient cycling in shortgrass steppe of northeastern Colorado. We tested the effects of both plant species and cover on soils in an area of undisturbed shortgrass steppe and an area that had undergone nitrogen and water additions from 1971 to 1974, resulting in significant shifts in plant species composition.,,

,This data package was produced initially by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Then, was continued by the Rangeland Resources and Systems Research Unit of the USDA Agricultural Research Service. Data collection was conducted on the Central Plains Experimental Range in Nunn, Colorado.,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 about many of the long-term studies initiated on the CPER 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. The effect of plant community structure on nutrient cycling is fundamental to our understanding of ecosystem function. We examined the importance of plant species and plant cover (i.e. plant covered microsites vs bare soil) on nutrient cycling in shortgrass steppe of northeastern Colorado. We tested the effects of both plant species and cover on soils in an area of undisturbed shortgrass steppe and an area that had undergone nitrogen and water additions from 1971 to 1974, resulting in significant shifts in plant species composition. 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. No Abstract Available,,

,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.,,