Not logged in
PANGAEA.
Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science

Johnson, David R; Lara, Mark J; Shaver, Gauis R; Batzli, Go; Shaw, J D; Tweedie, Craig E (2010): (Table 1) Species richness and diversity of tundra plants in herbivore exclosure and control plots near Barrow, Alaska [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.811753, Supplement to: Johnson, DR et al. (2011): Exclusion of brown lemmings reduces vascular plant cover and biomass in Arctic coastal tundra: resampling of a 50 + year herbivore exclosure experiment near Barrow, Alaska. Environmental Research Letters, 6(4), 045507, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/6/4/045507

Always quote citation above when using data! You can download the citation in several formats below.

RIS CitationBibTeX CitationShow MapGoogle Earth

Abstract:
To determine the role lemmings play in structuring plant communities and their contribution to the 'greening of the Arctic', we measured plant cover and biomass in 50 + year old lemming exclosures and control plots in the coastal tundra near Barrow, Alaska. The response of plant functional types to herbivore exclusion varied among land cover types. In general, the abundance of lichens and bryophytes increased with the exclusion of lemmings, whereas graminoids decreased, although the magnitude of these responses varied among land cover types. These results suggest that sustained lemming activity promotes a higher biomass of vascular plant functional types than would be expected without their presence and highlights the importance of considering herbivory when interpreting patterns of greening in the Arctic. In light of the rapid environmental change ongoing in the Arctic and the potential regional to global implications of this change, further exploration regarding the long-term influence of arvicoline rodents on ecosystem function (e.g. carbon and energy balance) should be considered a research priority.
Coverage:
Latitude: 71.300000 * Longitude: -156.667000
Date/Time Start: 2010-07-31T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2010-07-31T00:00:00
Minimum Elevation: 7.0 m * Maximum Elevation: 7.0 m
Event(s):
Barrow_plain * Latitude: 71.300000 * Longitude: -156.667000 * Elevation: 7.0 m * Location: Barrow, Alaska, USA * Method/Device: Biological sample (BIOS)
Comment:
N = 4 for all land cover types. ANOVA results revealed that richness differed among land cover types (F2, 18 = 26.2, p < 0.0001), but exclosures and controls did not differ significantly (F1, 18 = 8.2, p = 0.5). The ANOVA results for the Shannon-Wiener Index revealed a significant treatment*land cover type interaction (F2, 18 = 4.6, p = 0.02). Data extracted in the frame of a joint ICSTI/PANGAEA IPY effort, see http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.150150
Parameter(s):
#NameShort NameUnitPrincipal InvestigatorMethod/DeviceComment
1EnvironmentEnvironmentJohnson, David Rland cover type
2DATE/TIMEDate/TimeGeocode
3Experimental treatmentExp treatJohnson, David R
4Species richnessSJohnson, David R
5Standard errorStd e±Johnson, David RS
6Shannon Diversity IndexH'Johnson, David RShannon-Wiener
7Standard errorStd e±Johnson, David RH(S)
Size:
36 data points

Download Data

Download dataset as tab-delimited text — use the following character encoding:

View dataset as HTML