LUQ LTER DATA SETS DOCUMENTATION FORM
ON-LINE VERSION
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:
PERSON(S) COMPLETING THIS FORM: E-MAIL ADDRESS:
|
Jess Zimmerman |
|
|
Eda C. Melendez-Colom |
DATA SET IDENTIFIER: Phenologies for the Tabonuco
Forest trees and shrubs
PROJECT TITLE: Phenology
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Flowering phenology was added to LUQ site monitoring program after the occurrence of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which provided an immediate test of the monitoring prgram developed under the initial proposal. Seasonal rhythms of flowering and fruiting are an important component of the community dynamics of tropical forest and can be a critical determinant of the dynamics of consumer populations.
LTER CORE AREAS: (Annotate all that apply)
| Populations Dynamics |
| Primary Productivity |
|
Organic Mattter Acumulation |
LEF LTER 1 RESEARCH TOPIC: (Annotate all that apply)
| Environmental Monitoring |
|
Biodiversity |
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 | Phenology for the Tabonuco Forest at El Verde Field Station along trails in the Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot (LFDP) of data collected from .50 m2 baskets | Lfdp2-ElVerdePhenology.txt | August 24, 2006 | weekly | December 26, 2007 |
| 2 | Phenology for the Tabonuco Forest at El Verde Field Station along trails in the Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot (LFDP) of data collected from .16 m2 baskets. | April 1, 1992 | weekly | August 9, 2007 | |
| 3 | Phenology for the Tabonuco Forest in the Bisley Experimental Watersheds | Lfdp1-BisleyPhenology.txt | July 7, 1992 | weekly | June 28, 1994 |
RESEARCH LOCATION: Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot (LFDP) at El Verde and Bisley Watersheds, Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) in Puerto Rico
INVESTIGATORS:
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS E-MAIL address
|
Jess Zimmerman |
OTHER RESEARCHERS E-MAIL address
|
María Aponte |
CONTACT PERSONS E-MAIL address Phone Number (Include area code)
|
Jess Zimmerman |
(787)764-0000 Ext.2864 |
SOURCE OF FUNDING (SPONSOR): NSF
DATA SET ABSTRACT: These data are being used to, among other things, (1) determine the seasonality of flowering and fruiting in tabonuco forest and test hypotheses concerning the causation of seasonality (or lack thereof), (2) test the effect of annual variation in rainfall and other climatic variables on seed and fruit production of individual species, and (3) compare the relative dispersal of species on the Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot by applying information on the spatial distribution of canopy trees to the data on seed and fruit fall. These data also serve as background information on the flowering and fruiting of individual species.
DATA SET METHODS: Seasonal rhythms of flowering and fruiting are an important component of the community dynamics of tropical forest and can be a critical determinant of the dynamics of consumer populations. We sampled the weekly production of flowers and fruits between July 1, 1992 and June 29, 1994 at two sites in the Luquillo Experimental Forest. At El Verde Field Station we placed baskets (numbered 1-120) along trails in the Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot and in the Bisley Experimental Watersheds (baskets numbered 121-180) at the sites used to measure litterfall. Each reproductive part was counted and identified to species (in the data set using a six letter code -- see species list for full species names) and type (identified using a number code 1 - 6; see Table 1).
Data collection was terminated at Bisley at the end of the period, but sampling continues, on a biweekly basis, at El Verde. The LFDP and Bisley samples have been published on the LUQ LTER website separately.
We recently increased the size of the traps used to monitor phenology from 0.16 m2 to 0.5 m2 to have our methods conform to those used in similar projects in central Panama, Amazonian Ecuador, and Malaysia. To calibrate the two sized traps, between August 24, 2006 and August 9, 2007 flower and seed/fruit fall was monitored in the two sets of traps placed alongside one another. On August 9, 2007 the small traps were eliminated and data were collected using the large traps thereafter. The data was separated into two files for publication in the LUQ LTER web site, one for the small traps and another for the large ones.
Table 1. Interpretation of codes used in phenology data
set.
| Code | Item |
|---|---|
| 1 | flower |
| 2 | aborted fruit |
| 3 | immature fruit |
| 4 | mature fruit |
| 5 | seed |
| 6 | pedicel of fruit |
| blank | empty basket |
REFERENCES:
CROSS-REFERENCES (other data sets related to this one):
SAMPLE LOCATION: N/A
STORAGE SITES: Data Manager's File Cabinet DM-002, Drawer #1
INVESTIGATOR'S ASSIGNED KEYWORDS: phenology, tropical forest,Luquillo, Puerto Rico, Caribbean, trees, shrubs, seasonality, flowers, fruits, seeds, dispersal
LEF LTER OFFICIAL KEYWORDS (See table): BISLEY WATERSHEDS, LFDP (EV Big Grid), TABONUCO, LITTER FALL, HIGHER PLANTS, PEER REVIEWED JOURNAL
PUBLICATIONS:
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
SITES DESCRIPTIONS: Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot site: North of El Verde Field Station past the Sonadora River. The outwest corner of the grid is 54394.1 N and 217503.6 E in the Puerto Rican Planar coordinate system.
Bisley Watersheds: A series of adjacent drainages in the northeast section of the Luquillo Mountains, situated in the northeastern corner of Puerto Rico
Geographical positional system (GPS) Coordinates for each location:
|
location |
latitude |
longitude |
| Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot (LFDP) | 18° 19' 26" N | 65° 49' 3" W |
| Bisley Watersheds |
18° 18' N |
65° 50' W |
|
FILE NAME OR #ABOVE (all in which the variable appears) |
all | all | all | all | all |
|
ABBREVIATION (as it appears on the data file) |
DATE | BASKET | SPECIES | CODE | NUMBER |
|
NAME OF VARIABLE |
Date of collection of baskets | Collection basket | Species code | Code | Count of flowering and fruiting |
|
DEFINITION OF VARIABLE |
Date of collection of baskets every two weeks (mm/dd/yyyy) |
Code number of collection basket | Six letter code (First 3 from Genus and last 3 from the specie) | Type of flowering and fruiting | Count of each type of flowering and fruiting |
|
UNIT |
NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
|
PRECISION |
NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
|
RANGE OR LIST OF VALUES |
1-120 = El Verde area baskets >120 = Bisley area baskets |
0 = empty basket |
|||
|
DATA TYPE |
Date | Integer | Alphabetic | Integer | Integer |
|
MISSING DATA CODES |
None | None | Blank or "unkown" | None (if blank means empty basket) | Blank |
FOR DATA MANAGER USE ONLY
DATE OF LAST REVIEW: October
20, 2004
DATE OF LAST ENTRY: 16 April 2003
STAGE OF DATA SET MANAGEMENT (dates):
RECEIVED 15 Feb 1997
ENTERED: FILED 18 March 1997
ON-LINE 18 March 1997, Mar 1, 2001
REVIEWED BY RESEARCHER 18 March 1997
FILING MEDIA:
NAME OF DOCUMENTATION FILE: lterdb88.fm*
NAME OF DATA FILE: phen____.db
NAME OF ON - LINE CATALOG : LTERDBAS
RECORD #: 88
DOCUMENT TYPE:
PRIORITY TO BE ENTERED: N/A