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 paraghaphs as you need them for entering your data.
• Contact emelendez@lternet.edu, if you have any question.

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

DATA SET IDENTIFIER: Vegetation profile and canopy height of Tabonuco, Colorado and Cloud Forests

PROJECT TITLE: Canopy Structure

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: There are two main goals in this project. One one-time goal was to measure the dimensions of gaps present at El Verde research area, and the other continuing goal is to record changes in three dimensional canopy structure in three one- hectare sized plots, one each in tabonuco, colorado, and cloud forests.

The survey of gaps at El Verde covered about 35 ha, including the 9 ha grid.We defined a treefall gap at El Verde as a hole in the forest canopy extending down to an average height of about 3 m or less above ground. The edge of a gap was delineated by the vertical projection of the edge of the canopy foliage. We measured the dimensions of all gaps present in the 35-ha study site in August 1989, one month before Hurricane Hugo. For each gap we measured L, the longest axis of the gap (distance between edges), and W, the longest axis perpendicular to L, and then approximated gap area as that of an ellipse: Area = p LW/4 (Runkle 1992). Only openings ³ 20 m2; were counted as gaps.  

The presence or absence of vegetation in height intervals above ground at points in the plots is recorded approximately every two years. We can then construct a three dimensional map of canopy surface and two- dimensional diagrams of vegetation cover along the vertical profile. The study began in 1989, before Hurricane Hugo, and continues, showing the changes caused by hurricane damage and recovery.

LTER CORE AREAS: (Annotate all that apply)

Primary Productivity

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

Disturbance regime

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): Note: Last survey for this dataset performed in year 2000

Data File No.	Data File Identifier	On-Line Filename	Starting Date	Periodicity of sample	End Period
1 Cloud Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of cloud after Hurricane Hugo 1	CLOUD-A1.txt	11/01/89	once	11/01/89
2 Cloud Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of cloud after Hurricane Hugo 2	CLOUD-A2.txt	04/01/91	once	04/01/91
3 Cloud Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of cloud after Hurricane Hugo 3	CLOUD-A3.txt	01/01/93	once	01/01/93
4 Cloud Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of cloud after Hurricane Hugo 4	CLOUD-A4.txt	10/01/94	once	10/01/94
5 Cloud Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of cloud from before Hurricane Hugo	CLOUD-B.txt	08/01/89	once	08/01/89
6 Colorado Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of colorado after Hurricane Hugo 1	COLOR-A1.txt	01/01/90	once	01/01/90
7 Colorado Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of colorado  after Hurricane Hugo 2	COLOR-A2.txt	05/01/91	once	05/01/91
8 Colorado Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of colorado  after Hurricane Hugo 3	COLOR-A3.txt	01/01/93	once	01/01/93
9 Colorado Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of colorado  after Hurricane Hugo 4	COLOR-A4.txt	10/01/94	once	10/01/94
10 Colorado Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of colorado  after Hurricane Hugo 5	COLOR-A5.txt	05/01/98	once	05/01/98
11 Colorado Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of colorado from before Hurricane Hugo	COLOR-B.txt	06/01/89	once	06/01/89
12 Tabonuco Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of tabonuco  after Hurricane Hugo 1	TABON-A1.txt	10/01/89	once	10/01/89
13 Tabonuco Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of tabonuco  after Hurricane Hugo 2	TABON-A2.txt	05/01/91	once	05/01/91
14 Tabonuco Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of tabonuco  after Hurricane Hugo 3	TABON-A3.txt	01/01/93	once	01/01/93
15 Tabonuco Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of tabonuco  after Hurricane Hugo 4	TABON-A4.txt	10/01/94	once	10/01/94
16 Tabonuco Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of tabonuco  after Hurricane Hugo 5	TABON-A5.txt	01/01/97	once	01/01/97
17 Tabonuco Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of tabonuco  after Hurricane Hugo 6	TABON-A6.txt	01/07/98	once	01/07/98
18 Tabonuco Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of tabonuco  after Hurricane Hugo 7	TABON-A7.txt	02/01/00	once	02/01/00
19 Tabonuco Forest	Vegetation profile and canopy height of tabonuco from before Hurricane Hugo	TABON-B.txt	05/01/89	once	05/01/89

RESEARCH LOCATION: Tabonuco forest: in the southwest corner of  the 9 ha grid at El Verde; Colorado forest: a couple of hundred meters from theshelter nearest the eastern end of the Tradewinds Trail; Cloud forest: near the trail leading to the plane reck on the Pico del Oeste.

INVESTIGATORS:

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS E-MAIL address

Nick Brokaw

Nbrokaw@lternet.edu

OTHER RESEARCHERS E-MAIL address

none

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

Nick Brokaw

Nbrokaw@lternet.edu

(787) 764-0000

SOURCE OF FUNDING (SPONSOR): NSF

DATA SET ABSTRACT: The overall height and the presence of vegetation in different height intervals above ground is recorded above points on a 5 x 5 m grid in three hectare-sized plots in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. One plots each is in tabonuco forest (350 m elevation), colorado forest (650 m) and cloud forest (1000 m). The first records were made shortly before Hurricane Hugo, in 1989. Post hurricane measurements have been made five time to six time in each plot, the most recent been in 1998 for all plots. The results show the damage to forest structure wreaked bye Hurricane Hugo, steady recovery of forest structure after Hugo, minor damage by Hurricane Hortense in 1996, and resumption of recovery after Hortense. Maximum canopy height and the vertical distribution of vegetation in the forests are returning to pre-hurricane Hugo values.

DATA SET METHODS: Vegetation height profile and canopy heights are being constructed from data taken on 5 x 5 m grid systems in the tabonuco forest (in the southwest corner of  the 9 ha grid at El Verde), colorado forest (a couple of hundred meters from theshelter nearest the eastern end of the Tradewinds Trail), and in cloud forest (near the trail leading to the plane reck on the Pico del Oeste). The tabonuco grid is 1.08 ha, with 475 grid points; the others are one ha. each, with 451 grid points each. The presence or absence of vegetation (leaves or wood) within height intervals along vertical line above each point in the grid is recorded. Vegetation "hits" on the line are recorded with a pole held vertically and marked at 0.5 m intervals to 3.0 m. The height of the vegetation above 3.0 m is estimated, and checked with an "optical tapemeasure".

The maximum canopy height above each point is also recorded.

REFERENCES:
Karr, J.R. Structure of avian communities in selected Panama and Illinois habitats. Ecological Monographs 41:201-233.

CROSS-REFERENCES (other data sets related to this one): none

SAMPLE LOCATION: N/A

STORAGE SITES (of data files): stored with N. Brokaw and also LUQ-LTER Data Manager's File DM-001 , Drawer #1

INVESTIGATOR'S ASSIGNED KEYWORDS: canopy height, colorado forest, tabonuco forest, cloud forest.

LEF LTER OFFICIAL KEYWORDS (See table): CLOUD FOREST, COLORADO, TABONUCO, DISTURBANCE, HIGHER PLANTS, PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL

PUBLICATIONS:
Brokaw, N.V.L. and J.S. Grear. 1991. Forest structure before and after Hurricane Hugo at three elevations in the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico. Biotropica 23:386-392.

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: 1 hectare plots, each gridded at 10 x 10 m at the Colorado Forest, Tabonuco and Cloud Forest, Luquillo Experimental Forest

Geographical positional system (GPS) Coordinates for each location:

location	latitude	longitude

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears)	1-19	1-19	1-19	1-19
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file)	Site	Point	Start Date	0
NAME OF VARIABLE	Site of measurement	Point of measurement	starting date of Census	Presence or absence of vegetation within the 0 to 0.5m height interval
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	type of forest where the observation is performed. There is no missing data.	Point in the grid where the observation is performed. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.	Start date when the site was first visited. For completeness, 1 was assigned to all dates as the first day of the month when the measurement actually started. There is no missing data.	Presence or absence of vegetation, represented by the lower limit of the height classes where it was observed. A '1' at this interval indicates the vegetation was touching the measuring pole at the 0 line or higher within the 0 to 0.5 m interval. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.
UNIT
PRECISION
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES	CLOUD, COLORADO, TABONUCO	2.1 - 5.1		1 = presence of vegetation in interval
DATA TYPE	alphabetic	decimal	datetime	alphanumeric
MISSING DATA CODES

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears)	1-19	1-19	1-19	1-19
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file)	0.5	1	1.5	2.0
NAME OF VARIABLE	Presence or absence of vegetation within the 0.5 to 1m height interval	Presence or absence of vegetation within the 1 to 1.5m height interval	Presence or absence of vegetation within the 1.5 to 2.0m height interval	Presence or absence of vegetation within the 2.0 to 2.5m height interval
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	Presence or absence of vegetation, represented by the lower limit of the height classes where it was observed. A '1' at this interval indicates the vegetation was touching the measuring pole at the 0.5 line or higher within the 0.5 to 1m interval. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.	Presence or absence of vegetation, represented by the lower limit of the height classes where it was observed. A '1' at this interval indicates the vegetation was touching the measuring pole at the 1 line or higher within the 1 to 1.5 m interval. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.	Presence or absence of vegetation, represented by the lower limit of the height classes where it was observed. A '1' at this interval indicates the vegetation was touching the measuring pole at the 1.5 line or higher within the 1.5 to 2.0 m interval. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.	Presence or absence of vegetation, represented by the lower limit of the height classes where it was observed. A '1' at this interval indicates the vegetation was touching the measuring pole at the 2.0 line or higher within the 2.0 to 2.5 m interval. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.
UNIT
PRECISION
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES	1 = presence of vegetation in interval	1 = presence of vegetation in interval	1 = presence of vegetation in interval	1 = presence of vegetation in interval
DATA TYPE	alphanumeric	alphanumeric	alphanumeric	alphanumeric
MISSING DATA CODES

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):25,MAXHT,MACROMAXHT

FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears)	1-19	1-19	1-19	1-19
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file)	10	12	15	20
NAME OF VARIABLE	Presence or absence of vegetation within the 10 to 12m height interval	Presence or absence of vegetation within the 12 to 15m height interval	Presence or absence of vegetation within the 15 to 20m height interval	Presence or absence of vegetation within the 20 to 25m height interval
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	Presence or absence of vegetation, represented by the lower limit of the height classes where it was observed. A '1' at this interval indicates the vegetation was touching the measuring pole at the 10 line or higher within the 10 to 12m interval. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.	Presence or absence of vegetation, represented by the lower limit of the height classes where it was observed. A '1' at this interval indicates the vegetation was touching the measuring pole at the 12 line or higher within the 12 to 15m interval. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.	Presence or absence of vegetation, represented by the lower limit of the height classes where it was observed. A '1' at this interval indicates the vegetation was touching the measuring pole at the 15 line or higher within the 15 to 20m interval. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.	Presence or absence of vegetation, represented by the lower limit of the height classes where it was observed. A '1' at this interval indicates the vegetation was touching the measuring pole at the 20 line or higher within the 20 to 25m interval. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.
UNIT
PRECISION
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES	1 = presence of vegetation in interval	1 = presence of vegetation in interval	1 = presence of vegetation in interval	1 = presence of vegetation in interval
DATA TYPE	alphanumeric	alphanumeric	alphanumeric	alphanumeric
MISSING DATA CODES

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears)	1-19	1-19	1-19
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file)	25	MAXHT	MACROMAXHT
NAME OF VARIABLE	Presence or absence of vegetation from the 25m height limit or higher	maximum tree height	midpoint of the highest class recorded
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	Presence or absence of vegetation, represented by the lower limit of the height classes where it was observed. A '1' at this interval indicates the vegetation was touching the measuring pole at the 25 line or higher. There is no record where the grid point was not visited.	Maximum tree height. No record where the grid point was not visited.	Midpoint of the highest class recorded. No record where the grid point was not visited.
UNIT		meter	meter
PRECISION
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES	1 = presence of vegetation in interval
DATA TYPE	alphanumeric	decimal	decimal
MISSING DATA CODES

COMPUTATIONAL METHODS:

Variable Name	Formula

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: June 18, 2008
DATE OF LAST ENTRY: Aug 1989
STAGE OF DATA SET MANAGEMENT (dates):
RECEIVED ENTERED: Nov 2000 Jan 2001
FILED ON-LINE REVIEWED BY RESEARCHER
FILING MEDIA:
NAME OF DOCUMENTATION FILE: lterdb21.htm
NAME OF ON - LINE CATALOG : LTERDBAS
RECORD #: 21
DOCUMENT TYPE: magnetic media
PRIORITY TO BE ENTERED: N/A

Rev. date of this form: 8 June 2000