This data package was produced by researchers working on the Shortgrass Steppe Long Term Ecological Research (SGS-LTER) Project, administered at Colorado State University. Long-term datasets and background information (proposals, reports, photographs, etc.) on the SGS-LTER project are contained in a comprehensive project collection within the Digital Collections of Colorado (http://digitool.library.colostate.edu/R/?func=collections&collection_id=3429). The data table and associated metadata document, which is generated in Ecological Metadata Language, may be available through other repositories serving the ecological research community and represent components of the larger SGS-LTER project collection. Additional information and referenced materials can be found: http://hdl.handle.net/10217/82454. At the end of the Open Top Chamber study, surface soil was removed from each of the 9 plots, and placed in flats in a greenhouse; mist irrigated frequently, and germinated seedlings were identified by species, to get an idea of the available seed bank after 5 years. There was a great amount of variability; overall there was an increase in seeds in the chambered plots. This research was conducted at the Central Plains Experimental Range, near Nunn, CO; lat.40degrees 40 minutes N; long. 104 degrees 45 minutes W in the shortgrass steppe region of NE Colorado, USA and as a collaboration between SGS-LTER and USDA-ARS researchers. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Website Pointer to html file. File Name: Web Page, url: https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?scope=knb-lter-sgs&identifier=162 Webpage with information and links to data files for download