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Vegetation, rainfall simulation, and overland flow experiments before and after tree removal in woodland-encroached sagebrush steppe: the SageSTEP hydrology study

Metadata Updated: August 2, 2024

Simulated rainfall and overland-flow experiments are useful for enhancing understanding of surface hydrologic and erosion processes, quantifying runoff and erosion rates, and developing and testing predictive quantitative models. This extensive dataset (1021 experimental plots) consists of rainfall simulation (1300 plot runs, 0.5 m2 to 13 m2 scales) and overland flow (838 plot runs, ~9 m2 scale) experimental plot data coupled with associated measures of vegetation, ground cover, and surface soil properties across point to hillslope scales. The data were collected at three woodland-encroached sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) rangelands in the Great Basin, USA, under undisturbed/untreated conditions and 1 yr to 9 yr following fire and/or mechanical tree-removal treatments. The methodology employed and resulting experimental data contribute to quantifying and understanding scale-dependent surface hydrologic and erosion processes for Great Basin woodlands and sagebrush rangelands before and after tree removal and for sparsely vegetated sites elsewhere. The dataset is a valuable source for developing and testing hydrology and erosion models for applications to diverse vegetation and ground cover conditions. Lastly, the series of repeated measures in the dataset for some sites over time provides a valuable dataset for exploring long-term landscape vegetation and hydrologic and erosion responses to various land management practices and disturbances. The resulting collective dataset of 1021 experimental plots contains vegetation, ground cover, soils, hydrology, and erosion data collected across multiple spatial scales, diverse cover and surface conditions, three study sites, and five different study years. The collective dataset contains 57 plots at the hillslope scale (site characterization plots), 528 small-rainfall plots, 146 large-rainfall plots, and 290 overland-flow plots. The hydrology and erosion experiments yielded time series datasets for small-rainfall plot, large-rainfall plot, and overland-flow plot simulations. Some time series hydrographs and sedigraphs from rainfall and overland flow simulations were excluded due to various equipment failures. The final time series datasets consist of 1020 small-rainfall, 280 large-rainfall, and 838 overland-flow plot run hydrographs and sedigraphs, not excluding plots without runoff. Restricting the data to plots that generated runoff results in 749 small-rainfall, 251 large-rainfall, and 719 overland-flow plot simulation hydrographs and sedigraphs. Overall, the hydrology and erosion time series dataset amounts to 2138 hydrographs/sedigraphs including plots with zero runoff and 1719 hydrographs/sedigraphs for plots that generated runoff. Field experiments and data management were conducted as part of the Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP, (www.sagestep.org) funded by the US Joint Fire Science Program, US Department of Interior (USDI) Bureau of Land Management, and US National Interagency Fire Center. This dataset is contribution number 134 of the Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project. See README file for information regarding experimental design and methods.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: us-pd

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date April 10, 2024
Metadata Updated Date August 2, 2024

Metadata Source

Harvested from USDA JSON

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date April 10, 2024
Metadata Updated Date August 2, 2024
Publisher Agricultural Research Service
Maintainer
Identifier 10.15482/USDA.ADC/1504518
Data Last Modified 2024-07-09
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 005:18
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 60b324d1-fef6-4a7a-9837-78649f3d20e0
Harvest Source Id d3fafa34-0cb9-48f1-ab1d-5b5fdc783806
Harvest Source Title USDA JSON
License https://www.usa.gov/publicdomain/label/1.0/
Old Spatial {"type": "MultiPoint", "coordinates": -116.7775, 42.447222, -115.114167, 39.454722, -112.473333, 40.211667}
Program Code 005:040
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 451b29de3a846b6ff6100b214b17c75ae9aa9d5813764ab1320f7180f81e217f
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "MultiPoint", "coordinates": -116.7775, 42.447222, -115.114167, 39.454722, -112.473333, 40.211667}

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