EDI Staging Environment
Termites are important detritivores in Chihuahuan Desert ecosystems and appear to have key roles in plant litter decomposition and nutrient cycling and in altering soil structure and hydrologic processes. These data were collected in conjunction with a study using exclosures to test the effects of rodents on vegetation and abiotic factors, established at each of the Sevilleta, Jornada and Mapimi research locations. At the Jornada, the effects of cattle were also measured using an additional exclosure. Three replicate experimental blocks of plots are randomly located at each study site to measure vegetation responses to the exclusion of rodents, and lagomorphs, and cattle. Due to their role in processing of plant matter, data on grasshoppers and termites was also collected at the Jornada. Each study site is 1 km by 0.5 km in area. A grid of 36 sampling points are positioned at 5.8-meter intervals on a systematically located 6 by 6 point grid within each plot. A permanent one-meter by one-meter vegetation measurement quadrat is located at each of the 36 points. A tape measure was used to measure the length, diameter, and height, for each occurrence of a termite casing in units of one centimeter. This study is complete.
EDI is a collaboration between the University of New Mexico and the University of Wisconsin – Madison, Center for Limnology:
