Rabbit feces counts on 1m x 1m plots from the long-term Small Mammal Exclosure Study (SMES) at Jornada Basin LTER, 1995-2015

<p>This data package contains rabbit feces count data from plots with various levels of herbivore exclusion on Jornada Experimental Range (JER) and Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center (CDRRC) lands. Study sites were established in 1995; one in black grama grassland and the other in creosotebush shrubland to compare the impact of herbivores on ecosystem processes between these vegetation types. Parallel studies were established at the Sevilleta LTER site (New Mexico, USA) and Mapimi Biosphere Reserve (Durango, Mexico). Each study site is 1 km by 0.5 km in area. Four replicate experimental blocks were randomly located at the grassland study site to measure vegetation responses using exclusion treatments including a) all mammalian herbivores, including cattle, lagomorphs, and rodents, b) lagomorphs and cattle only, c) cattle only, and d) control accessible to all herbivores. Because grazing cattle are excluded from the entire creosote site, only three replicate experimental blocks were randomly located there including a) all mammalian herbivores, including lagomorphs, and rodents, b) lagomorphs only, and c) control accessible to all herbivores. Thirty-six sampling points were positioned at 5.8-meter intervals on a systematically located 6 by 6 point grid within each plot. A permanent one-meter by one-meter vegetation measurement quadrat is located at each of the 36 points. Each year in spring and fall from 1995-2005, the total number of rabbit feces were counted within each quadrat. After 2005, sampling frequency channged to every 5 years and data collected record only presence or absence of feces. This study is ongoing. </p><div><br>Resources in this dataset:</div><br><ul><li><p>Resource Title: Website Pointer to html file.</p> <p>File Name: Web Page, url: <a href="https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?scope=knb-lter-jrn&identifier=210086005">https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?scope=knb-lter-jrn&identifier=210086005</a> </p><p>Webpage with information and links to data files for download</p></li></ul><p></p>

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