The Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) has established a network of
long-term permanent biogeochemical study plots. These plots will
provide long-term data on vegetation, soil and hydrologic processes in
the key ecosystem types within the urban ecosystem. The current
network of study plots includes eight forest plots, chosen to
represent the range of forest conditions in the area, and four grass
plots. These plots are complemented by a network of 200 less intensive
study plots located across the Baltimore metropolitan area.
Plots are currently instrumented with lysimeters (drainage and
tension) to sample soil solution chemistry, time domain reflectometry
probes to measure soil moisture, dataloggers to measure and record
soil temperature and trace gas flux chambers to measure the flux of
carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane from soil to the atmosphere.
Measurements of in situ nitrogen mineralization, nitrification and
denitrification were made at approximately monthly intervals from Fall
1998 - Fall 2000. Detailed vegetation characterization (all layers)
was done in summer 1998.
Data from these plots has been published in Groffman et al. (2006,
2009) and Groffman and Pouyat (2009).
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