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ARS Home » Plains Area » Las Cruces, New Mexico » Range Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #388633
Research Project: Science and Technologies for the Sustainable Management of Western Rangeland Systems

Location: Range Management Research

Title: Long-term permanent quadrat sampling project at the Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico

Author
item Christensen, Erica
item MAXWELL, CONNIE - New Mexico State University
item Slaughter, Amalia - Amy

Submitted to: Ecological Society of America Bulletin
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/5/2021
Publication Date: 1/3/2022
Citation: Christensen, E.M., Maxwell, C., Slaughter, A.L. 2022. Long-term permanent quadrat sampling project at the Jornada Experimental Range, New Mexico. Ecological Society of America Bulletin. 03(1):e01940. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1940.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1940

Interpretive Summary: This submission to the photo gallery section of the ESA Bulletin shows a pair of photos of permanent quadrat sampling on the Jornada Experimental Range. A photo from 1933 is paired with a photo from 2016, showing technicians collecting data using a pantograph in the same location.

Technical Abstract: The permanent chart quadrat project at the Jornada Experimental Range was established in 1915. Chart quadrat sampling is done using a pantograph, wherein technicians use a stylus attached to an arm to trace the perimeter of plants within the quadrat, and a pencil at the other end of the arm maps the information onto the data sheet. The Jornada quadrat monitoring effort collected yearly data from 1915-1979, and resumed at 5-year intervals beginning in 1995. Quadrat data have been used to understand patterns and mechanisms of long-term vegetation change, plant demography, species interactions, and community transitions.