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.

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

DATA SET IDENTIFIER: Bisley daily rainfall (Bisley weekly environmental data)

PROJECT TITLE: Meteorology and Hydrology at Bisley

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Several meteorological parameters are being measured at Bisley since 1993. Correlations between elevation and stream-runoff and rainfall, elevation and air and soil temperature, and between trhoughfall and vegetation types have been found. These relationships are used inhydrologic and nutrient budgets as well as in environmental models .

Rainfall and Stream-runoff

Long-term rainfall and discharge data from the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) were analysed to develop relationships between rainfall, stream-runoff, and elevation. These relationships were then used with a Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine spatially-averaged, mean annual hydrologic budgets for watersheds and forest types within the study area. Model estimates indicate that a total of 3864 mm/yy (444 hm3) of rainfall falls on the forest in an average year. The Tabonuco, Colorado, Palm and Dwarf Forest types receive an estimated annual rainfall of 3537, 4191, 4167, and 4849 mm/yy, respectively. Of the average annual rainfall input, 65% (2526 mm/yr) is converted to runoff and the remainding 35% (1338 mm.yr) is lost from the system by evapotranspiration and other abstractions. In comparison to other tropical forests, the LEF as a whole has more evapotranspiration than many tropical montane forests but less evapotranspiration than many lowland tropical forests.

Throughfall

Changes in the quantity and quality of precipitation as it passes through vegetative cover are important components of both hydrologic and nutrient budgets.

Throughfall over any period depends on the balance between precipitation, evaporation and canopy storage (Horton, 1919; Leonard, 1967; Rutter et al., 1972). If the watershed is divided into different vegetation types based on similarity in throughfall and steamflow, the total throughfall over the watershed can be expressed as:

(1) Pg = Sum( T n A n )+ Sum (Sm Dm)

Where Pg = total throughfall reaching the ground, Tn = canopy throughfall from vegetation type n, An = area of vegetation type n, Sm = stemflow from stem type m and Dm = number of stems in type m.

Using eqn. (1) to estimate total watershed throughfall becomes a problem of determining the minimum number of vegetation types necessary to describe the system at the required level of accuracy. In one of our studies, measured throughfall was compared with actual canopy and stem conditions to estimate the percentages of throughfall for different time periods was calculated by weighting the average throughfall and stemflow measured in representative areas of each vegetation type by the total area of that vegetation group.

Measurements reported here were made in two of the Bisley Research Watershed of the U.S. Forest Service. These adjacent watersheds drain 13.0 ha of highly dissected mountainous terrain that range in elevation from 265 to 455 m. Both watersheds are covered by Tabonuco type forests and were selectively logged at various times between 1860 and 1940 (Scatena, 1988).
The dominant tree in the watersheds in the Tabonuco ( Dacryodes excelsa ) which often comprises as much as 35% of the canopy ( Wadsworth, 1970). Structurally the forest has three dominant layers, a discontinuous emergent strata, a continuous upper stratum at 20 m, and an understory layer. Leaves are mesophyllous and often covered with epiphytic growth.

Air and Soil Temperature

The relationship between mean air temperature and elevation is a required parameter for some environmental models such as Zelig. Mean air and soil temperature measurements of 10 sites located along a windward elevation gradient from 153 to 1011 meters were used to develop relationships between mean air and soil temperature of and elevation. The regressions performed showed a linear relationship between both air and soil mean temperature and elevation. The equations:

(2) Mean Air Temperature (in C) = 26.4 -(0.00558 * elevation in meters) and

(3) Mean Soil Temperature (in C) = 25.6 - (0.00543 * elevation in meters)

best fit these relationships. The equation that best fits the mean soil temperature - elevation relationship includes all the stations. In contrast, the best equation for the mean air temperature - elevation relationship excluded both station located at Sabana.

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

Environmental Monitoring

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	Five Stations Data	FourStations89-91.txt	December 26, 1989	daily	January 8, 1991

RESEARCH LOCATION: Five Stations Data: Sabana, Bisley gate, Catalina, Bisley Watersheds 1 & 2, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS E-MAIL address

Fred Scatena

fscatena@lternet.edu

OTHER RESEARCHERS E-MAIL address

A. Colon

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

Fred Scatena

fscatena@lternet.edu

(787) 766-5335

SOURCE OF FUNDING (SPONSOR): USFS, LTER-Assisted

DATA SET ABSTRACT: Data set includes all available daily, weekly, and monthly rainfall from several climate stations in the northeast section of the Luquillo Experimental Forest. These stations are surround the Bisley Experimental watersheds and the Sabana Field Station are are operated by the USFS and the USGS. Weekly canopy throughfall is also collected weekly from the Bisley experimental watersheds.

DATA SET METHODS: Hourly and daily totals are collected from recording climate stations on the upper Bisley Climate tower by the USGS, the lower Bisley climate tower and the roof of the Sabana Field station laboratory building by the USFS, and at the Sabana river discharge station by the USGS. Daily rainfall totals are collected manually nearly every week day morning at the Bisley gate, Catalina work center, as well as at the Sabana Field station and the lower Bisley climate tower using Rainwise rain gages. Weekly bulk samples are collected every Tuesday AM on the lower Bisley tower along with weekly throughfall in the Bisley Experimental watersheds. Daily totals are only included in data set from recording stations. Weekly (i.e. Tuesday to Tuesday) and monthly totals are calculated from the sum of the totalizing stations.

REFERENCES:
Scatena F.N. 1990. Watershed scale rainfall interception on two forested watersheds in the Luquillo mountains of Puerto Rico. J. Hydrology 113, 89-102.

CROSS-REFERENCES (other data sets related to this one): LTERDBAS 26: Rainfall and throughfall at Bisley tower; LTERDBAS29: Bisley daily rainfall (Bisley weekly environmental data); LTERDBAS 90: Bisley Tower I Meteorological data (Bisley Tower); LTERDBAS148: Bisley rainfall and throughfall, and chemistry of rainfall and throughfall;
Also see: Regression relationships of air temperature and elevation along an elevation gradient in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF), Puerto Rico

SAMPLE LOCATION: N/A

STORAGE SITES (of data files): IITF, USDA Forest Service, San Juan, P.R.; ITES, University of Puerto Rico, Data Management Cabinet DM001 Drawer #2

INVESTIGATOR'S ASSIGNED KEYWORDS: meteorology, rainfall, precipitation, datalogger, bisley, LEF

LEF LTER OFFICIAL KEYWORDS (See table): BISLEY TOWERS, TABONUCO, CLIMATE, PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL

PUBLICATIONS:
Scatena F.N. 1990. Watershed scale rainfall interception on two forested watersheds in the Luquillo mountains of Puerto Rico. J. Hydrology 113, 89-102.

Schellekens J, Scatena F.N., Bruijnzeel L.A., Wickel W.J., 1999. An application of the Gash and Rutter models of rainfall interception in a tropical maritime forest of the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Journal of Hydrology.

Garcia A.R., Warner G.S., Scatena F.N., Civico D.L., 1996. Rainfall and elevation relationships in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico. Caribbean Journal of Science Vol. 32, No.4, 413-424.

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
___ "Enter" data on-line : Data Management will be in charge of entering the data on computer files (Contact Eda C. Meléndez)

SITES DESCRIPTIONS: The Bisley experimental watershed is a series of three adjacent sub-basins in the northeast section of the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) and located at aprox. 8 km from the Atlantic Ocean. The three Bisley watersheds are within the Río Mameyes rainage system, which drains to the north coast of Puerto Rico. The sub-basins are characterized by a highly dissected, mountainous terrain and have areas of 6.7, 6.3 and 35.0 ha.

Geographical positional system (GPS) Coordinates for each location:

location	latitude	longitude

VARIABLES (ATTRIBUTES):

FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears)	1	1	1	1	1
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file)	Date	SABANA	BISLEY	GATE	CATALINA
NAME OF VARIABLE	Recording date	Sabana Field Station Precipitation	Bisley Station Precipitation	Bisley gateStation Precipitation	Catalina work center Station Precipitation
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	Month day, and year in which the data was recorded by the datalogger (in MM/DD/YYYY)	Daily rainfall collecterd at the Sabana field station, total mm over collection period. Adjusted for trap efficiency of collectors	Daily rainfall collecterd at the Bisley station, total mm over collection period. Adjusted for trap efficiency of collectors	Daily rainfall at the Bisley gateStation, total mm over collection period. Adjusted for trap efficiency of collectors	Daily rainfall at the Catalina work center, total mm over collection period. Adjusted for trap efficiency of collectors
UNIT	datetime
PRECISION		±.01	±.01	±.01	±.01
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES
DATA TYPE	datetime	decimal	decimal	decimal	decimal
MISSING DATA CODES	none	Missing days estimated from regressions of other stations	Missing days estimated from regressions of other stations	Missing days estimated from regressions of other stations	Missing days estimated from regressions of other stations

COMPUTATIONAL METHODS:

Variable Name	Formula

FOR DATA MANAGER USE ONLY

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: March 27, 2008
DATE OF LAST ENTRY: 2000
STAGE OF DATA SET MANAGEMENT (dates):
RECEIVED ENTERED: 1995
FILED ON-LINE REVIEWED BY RESEARCHER
FILING MEDIA:
NAME OF DOCUMENTATION FILE: lterdb29.htm
NAME OF ON - LINE CATALOG: LTERDBAS
RECORD #: 29
DOCUMENT TYPE: magnetic media only
PRIORITY TO BE ENTERED: N/A

Rev. date of this form: 15 July 2001