Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database: User's Guide
Contents
1. Approximately 40 km south of Tucson AZ the 21 500 ha Santa Rita Experimen tal Range SRER is near the northwestern edge of the Desert Grassland vegetation McClaran 1995 that is common in the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico fig 1 The elevation ranges from 900 to 1 300 m on the western bajadas skirting the Santa Rita Mountains that crest at approximately 2 600 m Average annual precipitation 250 to 500 mm per year on the SRER increases with eleva tion and approximately 50 to 60 percent occurs during the hot summer months of July through September The mean annual temperature is approximately 16 C with freezing temperatures occurring 20 to 40 nights in the winter and summer daytime temperatures regularly exceeding 35 C Established in 1903 the SRER is the oldest continuously operating range experi ment station in the world Box and Traylor 1990 Chapline and others 1944 Griffiths 1904 Initially the U S Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry and the University of Arizona were the primary organizations performing research In 1915 the U S Department of Agriculture Forest Service Medina 1996 assumed the administration and lead research responsibility This 73 year era of Federal leadership ended in 1988 when Federal legislation transferred the SRER to the State of Arizona to become part of the land base administered by the Arizona State Land Department Arizona Senate Bill 1249 38th Legislature provid2. or both When the treatments were continued they enabled a reassessment of the initial findings following a longer period of application Whether continued or not the compilation of these databases facilitates reanalysis using statistical and spatial analysis methods that were un available or unconventional 20 to 30 years ago Such reexaminations are critical to contemporary management because they can validate reject or revise long held assumptions that were based on the initial findings These databases are available in digital formats so that they can be easily updated and integrated into computer based analytical graphical and word processing soft ware They are made accessible on the World Wide Web at http ag arizona edu SRER for the scientific community land managers and planners and the lay public It is our intention to regularly update these databases as new information is col lected The ability to provide nearly indiscriminate access to this information via the World Wide Web was our greatest motivation to complete this project because it helps fulfill the promise and potential of publicly funded research Database Management Access and Acknowledgment Policies The objectives of the Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database are to provide broad access to the long term ecological data available from this research facility and to establish protocols for managing additions to the digital database Rigorous error checking
3. The citations are given in alphabetical order Four appendices list soils vertebrates and plants species known from the SRER and annotated historical maps Updates to the precipitation database will be made approximately every 3 to 6 months and updates to the Continuing remeasurement of selected transects used in Forest Service Studies FSRM 1706 09 FSRM 1706 12 FSRM 1706 15 and FSRM 1706 25 data set are planned for 2003 2006 and 2009 following remeasurement of transects in those winter seasons Updates to the Repeat Photography collection are planned for 2010 about 10 years after the most recent set of photographs Efforts will be made 1 to add more historical data sets to the database and to stimulate the remeasurement of some of the permanent plots associated with those studies 2 to update the annotated bibliography with publications since 1989 and 3 to create a catalog of ongoing research projects All additions and revisions of data sets will be noted in the Update Log on the Web site We are indebted to the many individuals involved in the original and continued collection of these data sets especially S Clark Martin who conceived this digital database and initiated many of the data sets Karen Borstad was instrumental in the design of many data sets Barbara Gibson assisted with conversion of the Study Plans to digital text Carl Edminster guided the project and helped with funding from the USDA Forest Service Rocky
4. between permanently placed rebar stakes in the ground at either end of the transect Basal intercept for perennial grasses and canopy intercept for shrubs and trees were measured to the nearest 0 01 foot Estimates of perennial plant density were made in a 100 foot by 1 foot belt transect where the 100 foot dimension was provided by the permanent line intercept transect location and the 1 foot width was on the right side of the transect as viewed from the 0 foot marker Estimates of grass biomass production for each species were made at the end of each summer growing season using a double sampling method Biomass was esti mated to the nearest gram on six 9 6 foot by 1 foot plots along each of the 100 foot transects Clipped 9 6 square foot plots used for the double sampling estimates for each grass species were not located on the permanent transect Based on the transect locations marked on aerial photographs estimates of these locations were placed on mylar overlays of USGS 7 5 1 24000 topographic quad maps of the SRER and then digitized from the overlays The UTM coordinates represent the digitized points reprojected to the NAD83 datum using the GRS1980 spheroid The results of the study are described in one publication Cover and density mea surements are continued on 132 of the study transects in the Continuing remeasurement of selected transects made since 1991 see below Continuing remeasurement of selected transects used in
5. since their initial measurement in 1972 Estimates of cover by species were made along 100 foot transects by stretching a graduated tape between permanently placed rebar stakes in the ground at either end of the transect Basal intercept for perennial grasses and canopy intercept for shrubs and trees are expressed in units of 0 1 foot After 1984 cover was measured in units of 0 1 foot but earlier measurements were in units of 0 01 foot This data base reports cover measurements to the nearest 0 1 foot for consistency Estimates of perennial plant density were made in a 100 foot by 1 foot belt transect where the 100 foot dimension was provided by the permanent line intercept transect location and the 1 foot width was on the right side of the transect as viewed from the 0 foot marker The UTM coordinates for the study transects were recorded with a Global Posi tioning receiver in 2000 by Mitchel McClaran when the transects were visited for remeasurement Therefore these UTM coordinates are more accurate than the lo cations estimated from aerial photographs in the other databases These coordi nates are projected in the NAD83 datum using the GRS1980 spheroid The grazing history for each pasture from 1983 to 2000 includes the number of animal unit months and the timing of use for each pasture Earlier grazing records are given in the study plans for the previous Forest Service Studies FSRM 1706 09 FSRM 1706 12 FSRM 1706 15 and FSRM 1706 2
6. 5 see above Five publications using this extended remeasurement data set are included in the database Spatial Data Map Coverages 10 This database provides the information necessary to reproduce 22 maps of the spatial distribution of four types of data human structures and boundaries topog raphy and elevation soil and ecological sites and permanent transect locations These coverages are available as ARCINFO export files e00 In that format they can be used in a geographic information system to create simple maps of the spatial distributions or to perform more sophisticated analyses of the spatial relationships among these attributes such as the distribution of the permanent study plots in relation to soils The coverages are projected in the NAD83 datum using the GRS1980 spheroid There is a metadata file see metadata ASCII text files for each coverage that in cludes 1 date of file construction 2 characteristics of the projection 3 data type 4 description of content 5 file format 6 file size 7 history of file development and sources of data and 8 attribute definitions and values descriptions in file rows and columns To download the ARCINFO export files using Netscape Web browser right click the e00 file link then left click Save Link As In the Save As dialog box select the location in which to save the file The name of the e00 file will display as the File name and the Save as type will
7. Forest Service Studies FSRM 1706 09 FSRM 1706 12 FSRM 1706 15 and FSRM 1706 25 This database includes 1 the description of measurement protocols ASCII text file 2 citations for publications that resulted from these data ASCII text file USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 9 McClaran and others Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide 3 cover measurements of vegetation by species or species group made on the study transects between 1953 and 2000 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 4 density measures of vegetation by species or species group made on study transects between 1972 and 2000 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 5 UTM coordinates for the study transects ASCII text file and 6 grazing history of pastures from 1983 through 2000 ASCII text file This database includes all measures of cover and density made on these study transects since they were established during Forest Service Studies FSRM 1706 09 FSRM 1706 12 FSRM 1706 15 and FSRM 1706 25 see above Mitchel McClaran and his graduate students and assistants completed the measurements in 1991 1994 1997 and 2000 For many study transects this database includes 19 remeasurements of perennial plant cover made more than 40 years since the study plot establishment in the 1950s and nine remeasurements of perennial plant den sity over the nearly 30 years
8. Mountain Research Station Michael Cusanovich former Vice President for Research University of Arizona provided funding to begin this project The Jornada Long Term Ecological Research program assisted with digitizing the repeat photography data set Charles Hutchinson Rob ert MacArthur and Eric Pfirman provided the initial nurturing needed to move this project from an idea to reality USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide McClaran and others References Anable M E McClaran M P Ruyle G B 1992 Spread of introduced Lehmann lovegrass Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees In Southern Arizona USA Biological Conservation 61 3 181 188 Angell D L McClaran M P 2001 Long term influences of livestock management and a non native grass on grass dynamics in the Desert Grassland Journal of Arid Environments 49 507 520 Box T W Traylor I R Jr 1990 Grasses on the Plains the first range management experiment stations Journal of the West 29 4 75 81 Breckenfeld D J Robinett D 1997 Soil and range resource inventory of the Santa Rita Experimental Range Pima County Arizona Tucson AZ U S Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Service Center 137 p Chapline W R Campbell R S Price R Stewart G 1944 The history of western range research Agricul tural History 18 3 127 143 Griffiths D 1904 Range investigatio
9. Two databases provide essential ancillary data about plant species names and spatial coverages maps of elevation soils plot locations and other attributes The final database is a digital version of a previously published annotated bibliography of SRER publications between 1903 and 1988 The information in these databases is available in five formats ASCII text Excel spreadsheet xls ARCINFO e00 tagged image tif and graphical interchange gif that can be easily used in analytic word processing graphic and geographic information system software Keywords long term ecological data precipitation repeat photography spatial data The Authors Mitchel P McClaran is Professor of Range Manage AZ 85721 Telephone 520 670 5834 e mail ment School of Renewable Natural Resources 325 Deborah_Angell nps gov Biological Sciences East University of Arizona Tucson AZ 85721 Telephone 520 621 1673 e mail mcclaran u arizona edu Craig Wissler is Assistant Professor of Renewable Natural Resources School of Renewable Natural Re sources 325 Biological Sciences East University of Deborah L Angell is Ecological Data Manager Arizona Tucson AZ 85721 Telephone 520 621 Sonoran Desert Network National Park Service 125 9588 e mail craig srnr arizona edu Biological Sciences East University of Arizona Tucson You may order additional copies of this publication by sending your mailing information in label form thro
10. a Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide McClaran and others addition there is a translation of the species codes used in those databases and a synonymy table to assist in understanding scientific name changes The ancillary database of spatial coverages provides the raw data to generate a geographic information system GIS for the SRER The spatial coverages include 1 SRER boundaries headquarters roads rain gauges pasture fences and live stock water locations 2 boundaries of the relevant U S Geological Survey USGS topographic maps and digital elevation models 3 1996 Soil and Ecological Site Surveys by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and 4 permanent transect locations included in the individual studies and the long term vegetation measure ment databases These coverages enable users to examine spatial patterns in the long term vegetation and precipitation records as well as the ability to produce maps of these attributes The digital version of Medina s 1996 annotated bibliography is included because it allows the user to remotely access this collection of citations in the same virtual environment that includes databases containing some of the original data refer enced in those publications Accessing the Databases Database Catalog Precipitation All the digital databases can be accessed on the World Wide Web at http ag arizona edu SRER The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences U
11. ae Santa Rita Experimental wwnnen Range Digital Database Research Station 3 s Guid General Technical createed User s Guide September 2002 Mitchel P McClaran Deborah L Angell Craig Wissler Abstract McClaran Mitchel P Angell Deborah L Wissler Craig 2002 Santa Rita Experimental Range digital database user s guide Gen Tech Rep RMRS GTR 100 Ogden UT U S Department of Agriculture Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station 13 p Long term measurements and repeat photograph collections have been collected in a systematic manner on the approximately 21 000 ha Santa Rita Experimental Range SRER since its establishment in 1903 This research facility located in the Desert Grassland vegetation of southern Arizona was administered by the U S Department of Agriculture until 1988 when it was transferred to the State of Arizona to be administered by the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences To facilitate the preservation of the long term data collected on the SRER and to increase access to the data we developed a digital archive that is accessible on the World Wide Web at http ag arizona edu SRER The digital archive contains 10 databases seven of which provide the longest records of ongoing measurements of precipitation vegetation response to grazing and mesquite clearing experiments and widespread photographic evidence of landscape changes available for the SRER
12. al grasses in all pastures Within each pasture the locations of the 12 plots were nested within the distances from water soil types and mesquite treatments all mesquite were removed from half of each plot to produce a split split split plot experimental design On each plot two parallel 100 foot transects were permanently established one in the mesquite cleared area and the other 150 feet away in the mesquite untreated area On each of the transects plant cover was measured as the intercept by species along a graduated tape in increments of 0 01 foot Perennial and annual grass bio mass was measured at the end of the summer growing season by clipping drying and weighing to nearest gram all grass plants in two 8 foot by 24 foot plots placed along each 100 foot transect Based on the transect locations marked on aerial photographs estimates of these locations were placed on mylar overlays of USGS 7 5 1 24000 topographic quad maps of the SRER and then digitized from the overlays The UTM coordinates represent the digitized points reprojected to the NAD83 datum using the GRS1980 spheroid During the course of the study five plot locations were changed USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide McClaran and others The results of the study are described in four publications Cover and production measurements were continued on 60 of these study transe
13. all mammal dynamics are continuing In addition the number of short term investigations of plant and animal ecology var ies from 30 to 40 per year Increasingly the value of the SRER will expand from a purely research orienta tion to include the provision of a relatively large and unfragmented wild area on the fringe of the rapidly expanding Tucson metropolitan area The values from this juxtaposition include recreational opportunities for humans and habitat for sensi tive and endangered species The SRER currently provides habitat for the Feder ally designated endangered Pima pineapple cactus Corypantha scheeri robustispina Schott in Engelm L D Benson and it is likely that the endangered lesser long nosed bat Leptonycteris curasoae yerbabuenae and southwestern willow flycatcher Empidonax traillii extimus can be found on the SRER at some times in the year The coordination of research activities recreation and endangered species habi tat will be a recurring challenge in the future Probably a greater challenge will come from the future increase in residential development on land surrounding the SRER Special care will need to be applied to the design and density of those devel opments and their supporting transportation corridors in order to limit their im pact on the ability to perform research activities and protect endangered species habitat The vegetation is dominated by Desert Grassland species but at lower elevations speci
14. ar period The study used 145 permanently established transects with 10 transects in each of 10 pastures Pastures 1 2N 2S 3 5N 5S 8 12B 21 and 22 20 transects in Pasture 6B and 25 transects in Pasture 6A Remarkably 115 of these study plots were used in previous studies and the continued measurement of vegetation at tributes extended the long term record another 12 years in most cases from the 1950s to the mid 1980s Sixty plots that were measured between 1957 and 1971 in Pastures 2N 3 5N 5S 6B and 12B were continued from Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 09 A comparison of vegetation responses to grazing yearlong in the growing season and in the dormant season on low value semidesert grass shrub ranges in southern Arizona Twenty plots that were measured between 1953 and 1971 in Pastures 1 and 8 were continued from Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 12 A comparison of vegetation and grazing capacities on mesquite free and mes quite infested semidesert ranges in southern Arizona Thirty five plots that were measured from 1959 to 1966 in Pastures 6A and 6B were continued from Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 15 A demonstration to determine the feasibility of achiev ing rotation deferred grazing within a single pasture by controlling access to wa ter The remaining 30 study plots were first measured in 1972 for this study Estimates of cover by species were made along 100 foot transects by stretching a graduated tape
15. as The unique coverages are a transect locations for Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 09 b transect locations for Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 12 c transect locations for Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 15 d transect locations for Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 25 and e transect locations for continuing remeasure ment of transects Repeat Photography Collection This database includes repeat photography images for 117 locations on the SRER accompanying text written by the photographers that describes the vegetation and other attributes of the scene and UTM coordinates of the photo station locations The Web address is http ag arizona edu SRER photos Access to photographs and text for a photo station location can be made through the photo station number or from a hyperlinked map of photo station locations on the SRER Mitchel McClaran recorded the UTM coordinates with a Global Positioning receiver between 1998 and 2000 when repeat photography was performed The coordinates are projected in the NAD83 datum using the GRS1980 spheroid The images can be downloaded as tagged image format files tif or copied as images in the graphical interchange format file gif The images are accompanied by a Photo Archive number that identifies the loca tion direction year and month of the photograph For example the Photo Archive number 45 1 1948 06 identifies the image as being made at photo station 45 or PS 45 looking in the directi
16. be All Files Click Save To download the metadata right click the metadata file link then left click Save Link As The name of the metadata file will display as the File name and the Save as type will be Plain Text txt Click Save To download the ARCINFO export files using Microsoft Internet Explorer Web browser left click the e00 file link then left click Save this file to disk Click OK In USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide McClaran and others the Save As dialog box select the location in which to save the file The name of the e00 file will display as the File name and E00 File will display as the Save As type Click Save To download the metadata right click the metadata file link then left click Save Target As The name of the metadata file will display as the File name and the Save as type will be Text Document Click Save Note that these instructions have been tested using Netscape version 4 77 and Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5 50 The coverages pertaining to human structures and boundaries will represent the location of human made structures and political boundaries The unique coverages are a the SRER boundaries b headquarters buildings c roads d rain gauges e pasture fences f water tanks dirt g metal water tanks rims h water wells and i electric transmission lines Covera
17. cts in Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 25 Benefits of rest March October two years out of three see below Fifty eight of those study plots are included in the Continuing remeasurement of selected transects made between 1991 and 2000 see below Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 12 A comparison of vegetation and grazing capacities on mesquite free and mesquite infested semidesert ranges in southern Arizona This database includes 1 the Study Plan ASCII text file 2 citations for publi cations that resulted from these data ASCII text file 3 cover measurements of vegetation by species or species group made on the study transects between 1957 and 1966 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 4 cover measurements of vegetation by species or species group made on the study transects between 1953 and 1956 and in 1970 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 5 biomass production of vegetation by species or species group made on the study plots between 1957 and 1966 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 6 biomass production of vegetation by species or species group made on study plots between 1954 and 1956 and between 1967 and 1971 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes and 7 UTM coordi nates for the study transects ASCII text file S Clark Martin designed this study to determine the vegetation response to large scale
18. d certainly hundreds more have been published since 1988 One goal in developing the digital archive of these databases was to increase their accessibility and their currency We selected a portion of the databases to initiate the digital archive because we did not have the funding to create a digital version of them all To date we have created 10 digital databases Seven of these provide the longest record of ongoing measurements of precipitation vegetation re sponse to grazing and mesquite clearing experiments and widespread photographic evidence of landscape changes available for the SRER Two of the databases pro vide essential ancillary data about plant species names and spatial coverages maps of elevation soils plot locations and other attributes The final database is a digi tal version of Medina s 1996 annotated bibliography of the SRER publications be tween 1903 and 1988 The precipitation database includes 1 monthly measurements at a total of 75 rain gauges on the SRER starting as early as 1922 2 the location of gauges using UTM Universal Transverse Mercator coordinates and 3 the history of name changes and record of longevity for the gauges Five databases include measurements of vegetation cover biomass and or den sity by species for locations used in four experiments established by S Clark Mar tin Three of those experiments began in the 1950s and proceeded for approximately 10 years with annual measurement
19. d on Recycled Paper RMRS ROCKY MOUNTAIN RESEARCH STATION The Rocky Mountain Research Station develops scientific informa tion and technology to improve management protection and use of the forests and rangelands Research is designed to meet the needs of National Forest managers Federal and State agencies public and private organizations academic institutions industry and individuals Studies accelerate solutions to problems involving ecosystems range forests water recreation fire resource inventory land recla mation community sustainability forest engineering technology multiple use economics wildlife and fish habitat and forest insects and diseases Studies are conducted cooperatively and applications may be found worldwide Research Locations Flagstaff Arizona Reno Nevada Fort Collins Colorado Albuquerque New Mexico Boise Idaho Rapid City South Dakota Moscow Idaho Logan Utah Bozeman Montana Ogden Utah Missoula Montana Provo Utah Lincoln Nebraska Laramie Wyoming Station Headquarters 240 West Prospect Road Fort Collins CO 80526 The U S Department of Agriculture USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race color national origin sex religion age disability political beliefs sexual orientation or marital or family status Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communica
20. echnical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide McClaran and others S Clark Martin designed this study to evaluate the response of vegetation to a three pasture grazing rotation design where no grazing occurred during two of three summer growing seasons It expanded the scale of the earlier seasonal grazing re search developed in Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 09 A comparison of vegeta tion responses to grazing yearlong in the growing season and in the dormant sea son on low value semidesert grass shrub ranges in southern Arizona described above This larger scale study included 12 pastures compared to only six pastures in the earlier study This three pasture grazing design became widely applied by land management agencies in Arizona and was referred to as the Santa Rita Graz ing System The 12 pastures used in the study were arranged in three sets of four pastures each where three of the pastures were included in the seasonal rotation and the fourth was grazed yearlong see Study Plan ASCII text file The yearlong pastures served as the comparison for the grazing rotation treatment Two grazing seasons were defined in the rotated pastures a summer season from March through Octo ber and a winter season from November through February The grazing sequence for a pasture was winter rest gt summer graze gt winter rest gt summer rest gt winter graze gt summer rest over a 3 ye
21. ed that the area would be used by the University of Arizona for ecological and rangeland re search purposes until such time as the legislature determines the research use can be terminated on all or part of the lands Since that time the Land Depart ment has overseen its immediate administration by the University of Arizona Col lege of Agriculture and Life Sciences ARIZONA Phoenix Santa Rita Experimental Range USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide McClaran and others Digital Databases Early research focused on establishing livestock management practices that could be sustained by the wild vegetation The initial investigations to determine the productive potential of the area required the removal of livestock from 1903 to 1915 to allow recovery from the damage caused by uncontrolled grazing Griffiths 1904 Over time the topics of research broadened to include wildlife soils watershed management vegetation management entomology and basic ecology performed by faculty government scientists and graduate students from around the United States and the world Medina 1996 Currently cattle grazing approximately 600 animals per year occurs on over 90 percent of the SRER and investigations of stocking rate and season of use by cattle are ongoing Long term investigations of vegetation change soil erosion and termite and sm
22. el data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 5 biomass production of vegetation by species or species group made on study transects between 1967 and 1969 and in 1971 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 6 UTM coordinates for the study transects ASCII text file 7 the soil type and distance to livestock water for study transects ASCII text file and 8 the history of name and location changes for some study transects ASCII text file S Clark Martin designed this study to compare plant cover and biomass produc tion among three livestock grazing treatments three distances from livestock wa ter developments two mesquite removal treatments and two soil types see Study Plan ASCII text file The grazing treatments were yearlong dormant season No vember through May and growing season June through October The distances from water were 0 25 0 625 and 1 0 mile from water which provided a surrogate for grazing intensity Complete removal and no removal were the mesquite treat ments Coarse sandy loam with low concentration of clay and loamy soil with higher concentrations of clay were the two soil types The 72 permanently established study plots were equally divided among six pas tures 12 per pasture in Pastures 2N 3 5N 5S 6B and 12B There were two replicates pastures devoted to each grazing treatment The stocking rate of live stock was set to maintain a 40 percent use of perenni
23. er availability can influence livestock use patterns The application of these experimental treatments continued from 1959 through 1966 Estimates of cover by species were made along 100 foot transects by stretching a graduated tape between permanently placed rebar stakes in the ground at either end of the transect Basal intercept for perennial grasses and canopy intercept for shrubs and trees were measured to the nearest 0 01 foot Estimates of grass biomass production for each species were made at the end of each summer growing season using a double sampling method Biomass was esti mated to the nearest gram on six 9 6 foot by 1 foot plots along each of the 100 foot transects Clipped 9 6 square foot plots used for the double sampling estimates for each grass species were not located on the permanent transects Based on the transect locations marked on aerial photographs estimates of these locations were placed on mylar overlays of USGS 7 5 1 24000 topographic quad maps of the SRER and then digitized from the overlays The UTM coordinates represent the digitized points reprojected to the NAD83 datum using the GRS1980 spheroid The results of the study are described in one publication Cover and production measurements were continued on 35 of these study transects in Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 25 Benefits of rest March October two years out of three see below All 35 of those study transects are included in the Continuing remeasu
24. es prevalent in the Sonoran Desert become more common and at the higher elevations species from the Madrean Oak Woodland become more common In the Desert Grassland the common native grasses are Rothrock grama Bouteloua rothrockii Vasey sideoats grama B curtipendula Michx Torr Arizona cottontop Digitaria californica Benth Henrard bush muhly Muhlenbergia porteri Scribn tanglehead Heteropogon contortus L Beauv several threeawn species Aristida spp L and the nonnative Lehmann lovegrass Eragrostis lehmanniana Nees Common shrub and cactus species are burroweed Haplopappus tenuisectus Greene Blake cholla cactus species Opuntia spp Mill snakeweed Gutierrezia sarothrae Pursh Britton amp Rusby soaptree yucca Yucca elata Engelm catclaw acacia Acacia greggii A Gray and desert hackberry Celtis pallida Torr The most com mon tree species is velvet mesquite Prosopis velutina Woot and less common spe cies are blue paloverde Cercidium floridum Benth canyon hackberry Celtis reticulata Torr and Emory oak Quercus emoryi Torr Dramatic vegetation changes have occurred on the SRER since its establishment and those are well documented in the field measurements of vegetation and in the repeat photography collections in this archive Briefly velvet mesquite density and cover has increased since 1902 when it was largely limited to stream washes to its present ubiquity 10 to more than 40 percent c
25. for the study transects ASCII text file and 6 distance to live stock water for study transects ASCII text file S Clark Martin designed this study to determine the degree to which the avail ability of drinking water will control the spatial distribution of livestock grazing use This work was pursued because controlling the distribution of livestock use through the availability of drinking water could be less expensive than building fences Permanently established study transects were arranged at five increasing dis tances from water developments approximately 100 200 300 400 and 500 m from the water see Study Plan ASCII text file Two replications of this series of five plots were established at five water sources in Pasture 6A and one in Pasture 6B for a total of 60 permanent transects The water in Pasture 6B was made available to livestock throughout the year In contrast availability in Pasture 6A was limited to only one of five water locations at any time and those locations were switched every 3 months This spatial arrangement of plots radiating from the water source enabled one to assess changes in the magnitude of grazing use and impact relative to the proximity to water The degree of livestock use around the continuously avail able water source provided a control group to assess the patterns around the ro tated water locations Finally comparisons among the rotated waters enabled an assessment of the degree to which wat
26. ges of human structures are based on the locations on maps made in the 1980s It is important to recognize that there have been changes in the number and location of structures since the establishment of the SRER in 1903 and that there will be future changes Future changes will be noted in the Update log on the Web site The coverages pertaining to elevation and topography will represent the topogra phy slope and aspect for the SRER from USGS topographic and digital elevation models DEM The unique coverages are a boundaries for relevant USGS topographic map quadrangles b Green Valley USGS Quadrangle level 2 DEM c Helvetia USGS Quadrangle level 2 DEM d Sahuarita USGS Quadrangle level 2 DEM e Corona de Tucson USGS Quadrangle level 2 DEM and f a mosaic of the four USGS Quad rangle level 2 DEM s clipped to the SRER boundary The coverages pertaining to soil and ecological sites represent the results of a 1996 survey Breckenfeld and Robinett 1997 by the Natural Resource Conserva tion Service NRCS The survey identified and mapped the location of 24 soil series and 21 ecological sites The unique coverages are a 1996 Soil Survey by NRCS and b 1996 Ecological Site Survey by NRCS The coverages pertaining to the location of permanent study areas and transects represent the location of all study areas used to gather vegetation information dur ing the four Forest Service studies and the continuing remeasurement of these ar e
27. mesquite removal It employed four pastures on two pastures 1 and 7 all mesquite trees were killed with diesel oil and on two pastures 8 and 10 the mes quite trees were left intact as control or comparable study sites Twenty perma nently established study plots were located in each pasture see Study Plan ASCII text file The experimental treatments were continued from 1957 through 1966 Livestock use was controlled to contain utilization below 40 percent In alternate years livestock use was yearlong and the following year it was excluded during the summer seasons only Yearlong grazing continued throughout the study in a fifth pasture 9 which was measured for comparative purposes in 5 of the 10 years Estimates of cover by species were made along 100 foot transects by stretching a graduated tape between permanently placed rebar stakes in the ground at either end of the transect Basal intercept for perennial grasses and canopy intercept for shrubs and trees were measured to the nearest 0 01 foot Estimates of grass biomass production for each species were made at the end of each summer growing season using a double sampling method Biomass was esti mated to the nearest gram on six 9 6 foot by 1 foot plots along each of the 100 foot transects Clipped plots used for the double sampling estimates were not located on the permanent transects Based on the transect locations marked on aerial photographs estimates of these locations were
28. midesert grass shrub ranges in SOUTMEMMANIZONA serena sleet TEATA aad A Atta EE EE A A ETEA 6 Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 12 A comparison of vegetation and grazing capacities on mesquite free and mesquite infested semidesert ranges in southern Arizona 2 ceeeceeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeaees 7 Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 15 A demonstration to determine the feasibility of achieving rotation deferred grazing within a single pasture by controlling access to water cccceeeeeeeeeeeeeeenenaees 7 Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 25 Benefits of rest March October two years out of three seeee 8 Continuing remeasurement of selected transects used in Forest Service Studies FSRM 1706 09 FSRM 1706 12 FSRM 1706 15 and FSRM 1706 25 0 eeccccecceeeeeceeeeeeceeeeeeeee ce aaeeeeeeeeseaeeeseeeeseeeeeetaeeneneees 9 Spatial Data Map Coverages ccceccceecesceceeeeeeeeeeeeeceeeeeeaaeeaaeeeeeaaesaaeeeeeaaesgaeeeeceaeseeeaeeeeaeeeseaaeseeeeesaaeseeneeee 10 Repeat Photography Collection cccccceeeeeeeeeneeeceeeeeeeeaeeeeeeeeecaaaeseeeeeecaaaeeseaaeeseaaeeeeaaeeseeeeesaaeseeaeeesiaeeeseeeeee 11 Annotated BIDIOQ rap My seier an a EEEE abedaulis ade onaazs EEE EAEE 12 Future EM Ort eeen ee ede Haas Seat eet yey ea en OUR Ga ase adn ede eee Baers 12 ACKNOWICAGIMOGNIS EEEE E seach A ETE E EA E E EEE TE veskereeetend 12 REII E EA E E EAE A E NE A NETE 13 Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database Introd
29. niversity of Arizona maintains this Web site and will continue that maintenance indefinitely Some of these databases are being used in many classes taught at the University of Arizona The digital files are in five formats all of which can be downloaded from the Web site The text files are in ASCII format so that they are compatible with the maxi mum variety of word processing programs The numerical data files are in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet format xls because it has become a standard for organizing numerical data and the files can be converted into a variety of more powerful database software formats The spatial coverage map files are available as ARCINFO export files e00 that can be incorporated into geographic informa tion systems for the purposes of constructing maps or performing analyses of spa tial patterns Finally the repeat photography catalog provides the option to down load images in the tagged image format tif or to copy images in the graphical interchange file format gif Files from both of these formats can be incorporated into image processing software It is possible to print or cut and paste images and text directly from the Web site This is especially relevant for the annotated bibliography and the repeat photogra phy databases This catalog includes a brief description of the digital format information found in each of the 10 databases The descriptions include the topic of the data and the fo
30. ns in Arizona Bureau of Plant Industry Bulletin No 67 Washington DC U S Department of Agriculture 62 p Humphrey R R Mehrhoff L A 1958 Vegetation changes on a southern Arizona grassland range Ecology 39 4 720 726 Martin S C Turner R M 1977 Vegetation change in the Sonoran Desert region Arizona and Sonora Journal of the Arizona Academy of Sciences 12 2 59 69 McAuliffe J R 1995 Landscape evolution soil formation and Arizona s desert grasslands In McClaran M P Van Devender T R eds The Desert Grassland Tucson University of Arizona Press 100 129 McClaran M P 1995 Desert grasslands and grasses In McClaran M P Van Devender T R eds The Desert Grassland Tucson AZ University of Arizona Press 1 30 Medina A L 1996 The Santa Rita Experimental Range History and Annotated Bibliography 1903 1988 Gen Tech Rep RM GTR 276 Fort Collins CO U S Department of Agriculture Forest Service Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station 67 p Rogers G F Malde H E Turner R M 1984 Bibliography of repeat photography for evaluating landscape change Salt Lake City UT University of Utah Press 179 p USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 13 The use of trade or firm names in this publication is for reader information and does not imply endorsement by the U S Department of Agriculture of any product or service am Federal Recycling Program tae Printe
31. on that is closest to north and on the east side of north in the year 1948 and the sixth month or June The direction code ranges from 1 to 7 about half of the locations have photographs taken in only one direction and about 40 percent have two directions One location PS 42 has seven locations that are arranged to provide a 360 degree view When more than one direction is included for a photo station the value of 1 was assigned to the direction closest to north on the east side of north and subsequent values increased in a clockwise direction USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 11 McClaran and others Annotated Bibliography Future Efforts Acknowledgments 12 Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide Griffiths took the earliest photographs between 1902 and 1905 at 16 different locations PS 219 220 221 222 224 228 229 230 231 233 234 251 332 333 334 and 335 The average interval between photographs is approximately 15 to 20 years but some locations have repeat photographs made twice a year for a period of up to 8 years This database is a digital version of Medina s 1996 compilation of the SRER history and all known publications made between 1903 and 1988 about work com pleted on the SRER and by SRER researchers The Web address is http ag arizona edu SRER history The bibliography includes over 450 citations with short annotations about their content
32. over on most soils and elevations except clayey soils Humphrey and Mehrhoff 1958 McAuliffe 1995 The abundance of burroweed and cholla species has expressed several increases and decreases with about 20 years between peaks Martin and Turner 1977 Native perennial grasses have increased from less than 1 percent cover in the 1950s to 2 to 4 percent cover in 2000 Angell and McClaran 2001 Starting in the mid 1980s the nonnative Lehmann lovegrass became the most common perennial grass on the SRER following a dra matic spread from a limited area about 1 percent of the SRER that was seeded between 1935 and 1970 Anable and others 1992 Because written records of climate vegetation change livestock use and experi mental land use treatments as well as repeat photography have been collected on USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 3 McClaran and others Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide the SRER since as early as 1902 this archive provides a long term record that is unsurpassed in the Southwest The archive at http ag arizona edu SRER includes a combination of weather records plant species composition measurements on more than 300 permanent plots extensive land treatment studies short term usually small scale tests or observations and 117 permanent photography stations More than 450 publications described the results of this research between 1903 and 1988 Medina 1996 an
33. placed on mylar overlays of USGS 7 5 1 24000 topographic quad maps of the SRER and then digitized from the overlays The UTM coordinates represent the digitized points reprojected to the NAD83 datum using the GRS1980 spheroid The results of the study are described in six publications Cover and production measurements were continued on 20 of these study transects in Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 25 Benefits of rest March October two years out of three see below Ten of those study transects are included in the Continuing remeasurement of selected transects made between 1991 and 2000 see below Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 15 A demonstration to determine the feasibility of achieving rotation deferred grazing within a single pasture by controlling access to water This database includes 1 the Study Plan ASCII text file 2 citations for publi cations that resulted from these data ASCII text file 3 cover measurements of vegetation by species or species group made on the study transects between 1959 and 1966 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 4 biomass production of vegetation by species or species group made on the study plots between USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 McClaran and others Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide 1959 and 1966 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 5 UTM coordinates
34. pulations including mesquite clearing soil erosion control and livestock exclosures About half of the locations have a series of repeat photographs taken in only a single direction The other half include photographs taken in more than one direction and some with three four and a maximum of seven directions creating a 360 degree panorama at one location These multiple directions provide an estimate of the generality of changes Rogers and others 1984 that is not possible when the photographs are limited to a single direction The interval between photographs is approximately 15 to 20 years but within some series the repeated photographs were made twice a year over 5 to 8 years Nearly all locations were rephotographed between 1998 and 2000 by Mitchel McClaran and his graduate students and assistants at the University of Arizona These frequen cies of repeat photographs enable estimates of seasonal and annual variation in biomass production long term successional trends and longevity for short and long lived plant species Approximately 200 repeat photograph locations were discontin ued before the 1970s Those images were not included in this digital archive but they can be accessed through the lead author The ancillary database for plant species names provides the genus specific epi thet and authority names for all species included in the other digital databases In USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 Sant
35. rement of selected transects made since 1991 see below Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 25 Benefits of rest March October two years out of three This database includes 1 the Study Plan ASCII text file 2 citations for publi cations that resulted from these data ASCII text file 3 cover measurements of vegetation by species or species group made on the study transects in 1975 1978 1981 and 1984 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 4 cover measurements of vegetation by species or species group made on additional transects measured in 1975 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 5 density measures of vegetation by species or species group made on study transects in 1972 1975 1978 1981 and 1984 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 6 density measures of vegetation by species or species group made on additional study transects in 1974 and 1975 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 7 biomass production of vegetation by species or species group made on the study plots between 1972 and 1975 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 8 biomass production of vegeta tion by species or species group made on additional study plots in 1972 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes and 9 UTM coordinates for the study transects ASCII text file USDA Forest Service General T
36. rmat and general arrangement of the data files In addition it describes the avail ability of metadata files that further describe the data This database includes the Excel format file of numerical data accompanying metadata files in ASCII text format an ASCII text file of the rain gauge UTM coor dinates and an ASCII text file describing the name changes for some of the rain gauges A total of 75 gauges are included in the database but only 28 are still mea sured regularly The frequency of measurement is monthly and the precision is 0 01 inch The earliest measurements began in 1922 and 15 gauges have a record from that point to the present Of the currently measured gauges 23 have a record of at least 50 years The locations of the gauges were digitized from locations marked on USGS topographic maps of the SRER The UTM coordinates represent the digitized points reprojected to the NAD83 datum using the GRS1980 spheroid USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 5 McClaran and others Plant Species Names Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide This database includes ASCII text files of 1 the genus specific epithet and au thority names for taxa identified during measurements made for the ecological studies included in the archive 2 the translation of species codes used in the Excel format data files for these ecological studies and 3 an ASCII text file describing some synonymou
37. s of cover and biomass on permanently estab lished plots The experiments were designed to compare vegetation responses to different seasons of livestock grazing the removal of velvet mesquite and the spa tial distribution of water developments for livestock use The fourth experiment used a subset of the permanent plots from the previous three experiments and 30 newly established permanent plots to compare on a large scale the vegetation re sponses to continuous yearlong grazing versus a three pasture rotation grazing sys tem called the Santa Rita Grazing System This experiment lasted from 1972 to 1984 with measurements made every 3 years Mitchel McClaran and his graduate students and assistants at the University of Arizona continue to measure cover and density every 3 years since 1991 on the plots used in the Santa Rita Grazing System experiment This compilation of databases provides a long term more than 40 years record of vegetation measurements completed at 1 to 7 year intervals on 132 perma nent study plots A digital collection of repeat photography made at 117 locations on the SRER provides a striking visual record of vegetation soil erosion and land use changes since 1902 For 16 locations Griffiths took the earliest photographs between 1902 and 1905 during his early work on the SRER Griffiths 1904 The repeat photogra phy series for many locations was initiated between the 1930s and 1950s in con junction with vegetation mani
38. s scientific names for those used in the database A total of 102 plant species and 42 species grouped by genera are included in the archive Perennial species dominate the list because researchers placed less em phasis on annual species except during biomass measurements Tree shrub and grass identification by the field personnel was reliable although difficulties in dis tinguishing some species led to the lumping of species into a single generic group The lumping of threeawn grass species into an Aristida group is the best example of this practice This list does not represent a flora for the SRER because annual spe cies were not always recorded and the measurements of vegetation for the ecologi cal studies were restricted to relatively small plots for example 1 foot by 100 feet Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 09 A comparison of vegetation responses to grazing yearlong in the growing season and in the dormant season on low value semidesert grass shrub ranges in southern Arizona This database includes 1 the Study Plan ASCII text file 2 citations for publi cations that resulted from these data ASCII text file 3 cover measurements of vegetation by species or species group made on the study transects between 1957 and 1966 and in 1970 Excel data file and ASCII text files of data layout and notes 4 biomass production of vegetation by species or species group made on the study transects between 1957 and 1966 and in 1970 Exc
39. tion of program information Braille large print audiotape etc should contact USDA s TARGET Center at 202 720 2600 voice and TDD To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA Director Office of Civil Rights Room 326 W Whitten Building 1400 Independence Avenue SW Washington DC 20250 9410 or call 202 720 5964 voice or TDD USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer
40. uction User s Guide Mitchel P McClaran Deborah L Angell Craig Wissler Long term ecological data provide the opportunity to place current conditions in a historical context By documenting long term patterns the current conditions can be judged as anomalous average or unusual Further by compiling long term an cillary information on weather and land use one can begin to interpret the factors influencing those ecological patterns and how those relationships may have changed over time The utility of long term ecological data is limited by a small number of databases and poor access We addressed these issues by preserving some existing paper data bases in digital format continuing the collection of data for others and making them all available to a large number of potential users In addition we compiled ancillary data that will assist in interpreting the factors contributing to the long term ecological changes Several of the databases in this archive began as ecological experiments evaluat ing vegetation manipulations mesquite removal and livestock grazing manage ment season of use and stocking rate Those experimental designs provide greater opportunities to understand the factors influencing long term changes than would less structured locations of long term measurements In some cases both the treat ments and the measurements have continued In other cases the treatments were changed the measurements were discontinued
41. ugh one of the following media Please specify the publication title and number Telephone 970 498 1392 FAX 970 498 1396 E mail rschneider fs fed us Mailing Address Publications Distribution Rocky Mountain Research Station 240 W Prospect Road Fort Collins CO 80526 2098 Web site www fs fed us rm Cover photo of Santa Rita Experimental Range by Mitchel P McClaran 2000 Rocky Mountain Research Station 324 25th Street Ogden UT 84401 Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide by Mitchel P McClaran Deborah L Angell and Craig Wissler Contents Page INTOJUCION 26 ae tied an een oh ia ee cea A Ria ah cae fae Tage ae Maca ee Send ee UR eae nied ae Tel eee 1 Database Management Access and Acknowledgment Policies 0 ccccecceeeeeeeeeeenneeeeeeeaaeeeeeeeaaeeeeenenaaeeeeeeeaas 1 Santa Rita Experimental Range ccecceceeeeceeeeceeeeeeeeeeaaeeeeaeeeceaaeseaeee cage eeaaeeseeaeeeseaaesgeaeeeseaaeseeeeeeseaaeeseeeeeee 2 Digital Databasesia tascci ie Ae a bree ae eres tae aoe A ou he ee 3 Accessing the Databases aisciai iaeia aE ages aN edhe aa EAEE N ANN A TE eevee Gen EENS ened 5 Database Gatal gn streti a aa a a a a a a 5 ProciptaNON nire eena E A TE A ES TN AR 5 Plant Species Names iocaenii iind aa ie a iaaa ada Ge eel adia aiaiai 6 Forest Service Study FSRM 1706 09 A comparison of vegetation responses to grazing yearlong in the growing season and in the dormant season on low value se
42. was performed on the numeric data from long term stud ies and precipitation records Backup copies of the numeric data files are stored on floppy disks Updates and additions to the database will be announced in an update log within the database Access to the database is available through the Web site http ag arizona edu SRER and the databases are provided in the most simple and generic formats to maximize the breadth of potential users Users are requested to acknowledge their use of the database in publications research proposals Web sites and other outlets with the following statement Data USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RMRS GTR 100 2002 1 McClaran and others Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database User s Guide sets were provided by the Santa Rita Experimental Range Digital Database Funding for the digitization of these data was provided by USDA Forest Service Rocky Moun tain Research Station and the University of Arizona In addition where appropriate users should reference the Web site and this User s Guide in the literature cited sec tions of publications Finally users are requested to send two copies of any publica tion that cites this Database to Mitchel McClaran School of Renewable Natural Resources 325 Biological Sciences East Building University of Arizona Tucson AZ 85721 Santa Rita Experimental Range Figure 1 Location of Santa Rita Experimental Range in Arizona U S A
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