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

DATA SET IDENTIFIER: Above ground biomass in landslides

PROJECT TITLE: Landslide Revegetation Project

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)

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	Above Ground Biomass (6 species data)	AboveGroundBiomass.txt	April 27, 1990	Once only	April 27, 1990

RESEARCH LOCATION: El Verde landslide (ES-1)

INVESTIGATORS:

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS E-MAIL address

L. Walker

walker@lternet.edu

OTHER RESEARCHERS E-MAIL address

D.J. Lodge

DJLodge@coqui.net

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

L. Walker

walker@lternet.edu

(702)895-3196

SOURCE OF FUNDING (SPONSOR): LTER/NSF

DATA SET ABSTRACT: To establish the dry mass of several species that grow on landslides. To make regressions of biomass against height and basal diameter. This way one can estimate biomass on permanent plots where one cannot harvest the plants.

DATA SET METHODS: I time lowest of seedlings and saplings of 6 common Landslide pioneers for biomass regressions by 1) Choose or 2 plants per species per height class near or around the landslide (ES-1), 2) Measure dbh and height, 3) Cut stem at ground level, 4) Sort into bags by leaves and stems, 5) Dry at 70 °C for 3 days, and 6) Calculate regressions of dry mass versus height and versus dbh.

REFERENCES:

CROSS-REFERENCES (other data sets related to this one):LTERDBAS#7: Soil Characteristics of Landslide; LTERDBAS#15: Revegetation of landslides, vegetation 0.1m (Small landslide plots at the Luquillo Experimental Forest); LTERDBAS#18: Revegetation of landslides, vegetation > 1.0m (Large landslide plots at the Luquillo Experimental Forest); LTERDBAS#36: Landslide Revegetation Canopy Measurements & Cover Estimates; LTERDBAS#52: Above ground biomass in landslides; LTERDBAS#154: Soil factors predict initial plant colonization on Puerto Rican landslides; Landslide Project Species List

SAMPLE LOCATION: ES-1 Landslide by El Verde field station

STORAGE SITES (of data files):

INVESTIGATOR'S ASSIGNED KEYWORDS: Cecropia peltata, Phytolacca rivinoides, Heterotrichum cymosum, Solanum torvum, Piper treleaseanum, Piper hispidium, biomass, landslides, Luquillo Experimental Forest

LEF LTER OFFICIAL KEYWORDS (See table): EL VERDE, TABONUCO, LANDSLIDE , PLANTS, PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL

PUBLICATIONS:
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: N. BROKAW, A. LUGO

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:

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	SPECIE	CLASS_(CM)	LEAF_(WTG)	STEM_(WTG)
NAME OF VARIABLE	Date of observation	Species Code	Height Class	Weight of dry leaves	Weight of dry stems
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	Date of observation (MM/DD/YYYY)	LEF Code for species studies	Range of heights in cm in which the the height of the plant falls into. Precision of determination of height is ±.01.	Weight in g of leaves harvested after dried for 3 days at 70 °C.	Weight of stems harvested after dried for 3 days at 70 °C
UNIT				gram	gram
PRECISION				.01	.01
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES		CECPEL = Cecropia peltata , PHYRIV = Phytolacca rivinoides , HETCYM = Heterotrichum cymosum, SOLTOR = Solanum torvum, PIPTRE = Piper treleaseanum, PIPHIS = Piper hispidium	0 = {0 - 5cm}, 5 = {5 - 10cm}, 10 = {10 - 50cm}, 50 = {50 - 100cm}, 100 = {1 - 2m}, 200 = {2 - 5m}, 500 = (>5m}
DATA TYPE	datetime	alphabetic	integer	decimal	decimal
MISSING DATA CODES

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)	TOTAL_(WTG)	DIAM_(CM)	HTCM	REGRLINE	REGRLINE2
NAME OF VARIABLE	Total dry mass of plant tissue	Basal Diameter	Height	Height versus Total Weight	Basal Diameter versus Total Weight
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE	Calculated total weight of leaves and stems of the single plant	Basal diameter measured before cutting stem	Height measured before cutting stem	Height versus Total Dry Mass linear regression of particular plant =  Height * X coefficient / Constant	Basal Diameter versus Total Dry Mass linear regression of particular plant =  Basal Diameter * X coefficient / Constant
UNIT	gram	centimeter	centimeter
PRECISION	.01	.01	.01	.01	.01
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES
DATA TYPE	decimal	decimal	decimal	decimal	decimal
MISSING DATA CODES

COMPUTATIONAL METHODS:

Variable Name	Formula
REGRLINE	Height * X coefficient / Constant (linear regression)
REGRLINE2	Basal Diameter * X coefficient / Constant (linear regression)

Rev. date of this form: 8 June 2000