• Energy Research

These CLIM-MET stations are meteorological/geological stations that is designed to function in remote areas for long periods of time without human intervention. These stations measure meteorological and wind-erosion parameters under varying climatic and land-use conditions to detect and describe ongoing landscape changes. These data represent multiple years of local detailed landscape and environmental change observations. These data were collected at several discrete locations within southeastern California and in Mojave National Preserve, California, from 31 July 2016 to 23 March 2022. These data were collected by U.S. Geological Survey researchers utilizing site visits and automated data collection data loggers. These data can be used to inform studies of local and regional landscape change as well as to provide input into regional climatic models.

AbstractBiological soil crusts (biocrusts) are an integral part of the soil system in arid regions worldwide, stabilizing soil surfaces, aiding vascular plant establishment, and are significant sources of ecosystem nitrogen and carbon. Hydration and temperature primarily control ecosystem CO2 flux in these systems. Using constructed mesocosms for incubations under controlled laboratory conditions, we examined the effect of temperature (5–35 °C) and water content (WC, 20–100%) on CO2 exchange in light (cyanobacterially dominated) and dark (cyanobacteria/lichen and moss dominated) biocrusts of the cool Colorado Plateau Desert in Utah and the hot Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico. In light crusts from both Utah and New Mexico, net photosynthesis was highest at temperatures >30 °C. Net photosynthesis in light crusts from Utah was relatively insensitive to changes in soil moisture. In contrast, light crusts from New Mexico tended to exhibit higher rates of net photosynthesis at higher soil moisture. Dark crusts originating from both sites exhibited the greatest net photosynthesis at intermediate soil water content (40–60%). Declines in net photosynthesis were observed in dark crusts with crusts from Utah showing declines at temperatures >25 °C and those originating from New Mexico showing declines at temperatures >35 °C. Maximum net photosynthesis in all crust types from all locations were strongly influenced by offsets in the optimal temperature and water content for gross photosynthesis compared with dark respiration. Gross photosynthesis tended to be maximized at some intermediate value of temperature and water content and dark respiration tended to increase linearly. The results of this study suggest biocrusts are capable of CO2 exchange under a wide range of conditions. However, significant changes in the magnitude of this exchange should be expected for the temperature and precipitation changes suggested by current climate models.

These data were compiled for a study that investigated the effects of drought seasonality and plant community composition in a dryland ecosystem. In 2015 U.S. Geological Survey ecologists recorded vegetation and soil moisture data in 36 experimental plots which manipulated precipitation in two plant community types. The experiment consisted of three precipitation treatments: control (ambient precipitation), cool-season drought (-66% ambient precipitation November-April), and warm-season drought (-66% ambient precipitation May-October), applied in two plant communities (perennial grasses with or without a large shrub, Ephedra viridis) over a three-year period. These data were collected from 2015 to 2022 near Canyonlands National Park, UT. These data represent precipitation, soil moisture, percent cover estimates, soil biogeochemistry data (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus concentrations) and biomass from experimental treatments. The datasets includes data on when treatments were imposed, ambient precipitation, soil moisture measured at two depths, plant cover and plant biomass measured in the spring and fall from 2015-2019. Additionally, soil cores were collected in the fall 2018 and spring 2019 to measure biogeochemical cycling concentrations for available carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and microbial biomass. Standing grass biomass and Ephedra viridis biomass are done through allometric relationships based on a combination of point-frame green hits, leaf lengths, and leaf numbers, combined with double sampling. The biomass data provide an estimate of how treatments are impacting overall grass and shrub species productivity. These data can be used to compare the effects of drought seasonality on shrub and grass communities and biogeochemistry dynamics.

These CLIM-MET stations are meteorological/geological stations that is designed to function in remote areas for long periods of time without human intervention. These stations measure meteorological and wind-erosion parameters under varying climatic and land-use conditions to detect and describe ongoing landscape changes. These data represent multiple years of local detailed landscape and environmental change observations. These data were collected in and close to Canyonlands National Park, Utah from 1 August 2016 to 31 December 2022. These data were collected by U.S. Geological Survey researchers utilizing site visits and automated data collection data loggers. These data can be used to inform studies of local and regional landscape change as well as to provide input into regional climatic models.