A DATA SET is a series of observations collected by the same methodology. Each data set should have documentation sufficient for someone unfamiliar with the research to replicate the study. Data sets may be broken into subsets (data files) that are discrete in space and time, in that order. The documentation for a data set should include all spatial and temporal subdivisions of the data.

(Data, Abstract, Methods, Variables)

NOTES:

• Add rows to tables or lines to paragraphs as you need them for entering your data.
• Contact emelendez@lternet.edu if you have any question.
• See online Guidelines (http://luq.lternet.edu/datamng/imdocs/division.html) to help you fill this form

PERSON(S) COMPLETING THIS FORM: E-MAIL ADDRESS:

DATA SET IDENTIFIER: Revegetation of landslides, vegetation 0.1m (Small landslide plots at the Luquillo Experimental Forest)

PROJECT TITLE: Landslide Revegetation

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Landslide are among the most severe rainforest disturbances (Garwood et al. 1979, Hubbell & Foster 1986, Sousa 1984, Waide & Lugo 1992, Walker et al. in press), generating extreme abiotic spatial gradients (Fernández & Myster 1995) and exposing soil and parent material (Guariguata 1990). Landslides contain patches of vegetation surrounded by a matrix of soil or bare substrate (Dalling 1994, Myster & Fernández 1995). In addition, they often undergo recurrent localized disturbance either by resliding or by treefall at the edge of the landslide (Hartshorn 1980), thereby adding new plant preopagules, soil or organic material after the initial slippage. These landslide feature, coupled with interactions between patches of similar soil or vetetation (including seed dispersal, shading, litter deposition and vegetative reproduction), strongly suggets that landslide are a patch-dynamic system (Hupp 1983, Pickett & White 1985).

Changes in the composition and abundance of species within these patches over space and time can be considered successional pathways (Austin 1977, Myster & Pickett 1990). Analysis of the pathways can indicate (i) spatial and temporal variation in initial species richness and rate of species turnover (Myster & Pickett 1994), (ii) important species that define pathways and may suggest key regeneration strategies, (iii) community convergence or divergence, and (iv) the effects of past history and land-use (Myster &Pickett 1990, 1994).

Here we use permanent plot data sampled from 16 landslide to documents temporal successional pathways in landslide patches (without the use of a chronosequence, cf. Guariguata 1990) and address the following questions: (1) What are the successional pathways of landslide and what species define them? How much pathway variation of individual plots is there within these landslides? (2) How similar are pathways among landslide? Is there any evidence that, with time, landslides either converge to a common vegetative enpoint or slow in the rate of successional change?

LTER CORE AREAS: (Annotate all that apply)

Disturbance Patterns

Primary Productivity

LEF LTER 1 RESEARCH TOPIC: (Annotate all that apply)

Gap Revegetation

We define a data file as a component of a data set. A data set can have only one data file or more. Basically, different data files have different data structures or format.
DATA SET FILES (SUBSETS):

Data File No.	Data File Identifier	On-Line Filename	Starting Date	Periodicity of sample	End Period
1	Espiritu Santo 1 landslide Small plot (ongoing)	(1) lssmes1.txt	June 3, 1988	twice a year	August, 4, 2006
2	Espiritu Santo 2 landslide Small plot (ongoing)	(2) lssmes2.txt	October 25, 1988	twice a year	August 6, 2006
3	Rio Blanco 2 landslide Small plot	(3) lssmrb2.txt	January 1, 1989	twice a year	August 9, 1989

RESEARCH LOCATION: three landslides at the Luquillo Experimental Forest; ES-1 is by El Verde Field Station; ES-2 is located where the Espiritu Santo River crosses Route 186.

INVESTIGATORS:

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS E-MAIL address

Lawrence Walker	walker@lternet.edu
D. Jean Lodge (until 1995)	DJLodge@coqui.net

OTHER RESEARCHERS E-MAIL address

Randall Myster	RMyster@ucok.edu
Fred Landau

CONTACT PERSONS E-MAIL address Phone Number (Include area code)

L. Walker

walker@lternet.edu

(702)895-3196

 
SOURCE OF FUNDING (SPONSOR): NSF-LTER

DATA SET ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study is to document the recovery of vegetation on new landslides in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, in particular seedlings <1m tall.

DATA SET METHODS: All woody vegetation greater than 0.1 m and <1m tall are tagged and surveyed approximately every 6 months (4 months in the first year). Once plants reach 1m they are counted in the large plot data. Diameters are at soil level. Intensive landslides are ES-1, ES2 (monitored 2 times a year). Extensive landslides (N=13) are monitored once a year.

REFERENCES:

CROSS-REFERENCES (other data sets related to this one):LTERDBAS# 18 (Revegetation of landslides, vegetation 1.0 m), LTERDBAS # 36 (Landslide revegetation canopy measurements and cover estimates), Landslide Project Species List.

SAMPLE LOCATION : N/A

STORAGE SITES (of data files): ITES, Data Manager's File DM-001 , Drawer #2

INVESTIGATOR'S ASSIGNED KEYWORDS: landslide, succession, LTER, revegetation, Cecropia, Phytolacca

LEF LTER OFFICIAL KEYWORDS (See table): LANDSLIDE PLOTS, DISTURBANCE, SUCCESSION, HIGHER PLANTS, PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL

PUBLICATIONS:
Myster, R.W. and L.R. Walker. 1997. Plant successional pathways on Puerto Rican landslides. Journal of Tropical Ecology 13:165-173.

Walker, L.R. and L.E. Neris*. 1993. Posthurricane seed rain dynamics in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 25:408-418.

Walker, L.R., (1)D.J. Zarin, N. Fetcher, (1)R.W. Myster, and (1)A.H. Johnson. 1996. Ecosystem development and plant succession on landslides in the Caribbean. Biotropica 28:566-576.

DISSEMINATION: UNRESTRICTED

REASONS TO RESTRICT DATA IN THIS DATA SET BEYOND ITS TWO YEAR POLICY PERIOD*:

*WILL HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY LTER PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: J. ZIMMERMAN, A. LUGO , D.J. LODGE

FILING
___ "File" copy only : Data Management will only file an electronic copy of the data file and its documentation
X "Enter" data on-line : Data Management will be in charge of entering the data on computer files (Contact Eda C. Meléndez)

SITES DESCRIPTIONS: Each of the extensive and intensive landslides has plots 2 X 5 m distributed along transect lines at 10 m intervals from the upper lip of the slide. The intensive slides (ES-1, ES-2, and RB-2 [until 1989], have a 2 X 1 m seedling subplot along the lower edge of the plot)

Geographical positional system (GPS) Coordinates for each location:

location	latitude	longitude
Espiritu Santo 1 landslide plot
Espiritu Santo 2 landslide plot
Rio Blanco 2 landslide plot

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears)	1,2,3	1,2,3	1,2,3 (until 1995); 1,2 (after 1995)	1,2,3	1,2,3
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file)	Transect	Plot	Tag number	Height	Diameter
NAME OF VARIABLE	Transect	Plot	Tag Number	Height	Diameter
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	Lines at 10 m intervals from the upper lip of the slide	2 X 5 m areas distributed along transect lines	Tag identifying plant (since 1995, only in ES1 & ES2)	Height of woody vegetation greater than 0.1 m and less than 1m tall	Basal diameter at soil level of woody vegetation greater than 0.1 m and less than 1m tall measured with colipers
UNIT				centimeter	centimeter
PRECISION					0.01
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES	1-6	1-40	1,...
DATA TYPE	integer	integer	integer	decimal	decimal
MISSING DATA CODES	none	none

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

Observations (*) In original data file. Text files contain no headings. Since 1995, data structure changed; plants 10cm and <10cm where counted and these measurements incorporated into the data set.  

COMPUTATIONAL METHODS:

Variable Name	Formula

FOR DATA MANAGER USE ONLY

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: June 6, 2008
DATE OF LAST ENTRY : 07/17/03 and 12/16/03
STAGE OF DATA SET MANAGEMENT (dates):
RECEIVED ENTERED: May 12, 1990
FILED ON-LINE REVIEWED BY RESEARCHER:May 15, 1997
FILING MEDIA:
NAME OF DOCUMENTATION FILE: LTERDB15.HTM
NAME OF ON - LINE CATALOG: LTERDBAS
RECORD # : 15
DOCUMENT TYPE: data set (magnetic media)
PRIORITY TO BE ENTERED: second

Rev. date of this form: 15 July 2001