Spatial heterogeneity in Chihuahuan Desert vegetation: implications for sampling methods in semi-arid ecosystems. Huenneke, L. F., Clason, D., & Muldavin, E. 2001.
abstract   bibtex   
Patchiness of above-ground vegetation, such as that in semi-arid grasslands and shrublands, can pose problems in sampling plant cover, biomass and productivity. We present a method of measuring above-ground plant biomass and production that can be applied consistently among vegetation types and that generates seasonal, spatially-explicit results. Results from 15 sites within the Jornada Basin (Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA) confirm considerable patchiness and non-normal distributions of plant biomass, even in grasslands. However, tests of adequacy of sample size and of sample error associated with the regression-based estimates of biomass confirmed that the estimates of above-ground net primary productivity are sufficiently precise to be useful in comparisons of both shrub-dominated and grassland sites.
@article{huenneke_spatial_2001,
	title = {Spatial heterogeneity in {Chihuahuan} {Desert} vegetation: implications for sampling methods in semi-arid ecosystems},
	volume = {47},
	abstract = {Patchiness of above-ground vegetation, such as that in semi-arid grasslands and shrublands, can pose problems in sampling plant cover, biomass and productivity.  We present a method of measuring above-ground plant biomass and production that can be applied consistently among vegetation types and that generates seasonal, spatially-explicit results.  Results from 15 sites within the Jornada Basin (Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA) confirm considerable patchiness and non-normal distributions of plant biomass, even in grasslands.  However, tests of adequacy of sample size and of sample error associated with the regression-based estimates of biomass confirmed that the estimates of above-ground net primary productivity are sufficiently precise to be useful in comparisons of both shrub-dominated and grassland sites.},
	author = {Huenneke, Laura F. and Clason, Dennis and Muldavin, Esteban},
	year = {2001},
	keywords = {JRN, technique, aboveground npp}
}

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