(Table 3) Soil temperatures at 10 cm depth after different treatments of wet sedge meadows on Ellesmere Island ...

• Main Authors: Elliott, Tammy L, Henry, Gregory HR
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2011
• Subjects: DATE/TIME; Date/time end; Number; Treatment; Sample amount; Temperature, soil; Temperature, standard deviation; Biology; Clipping experiment; International Polar Year 2007-2008 IPY; Ellesmere Island; International Polar Year; IPY; Tundra
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.809480; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.809480

Wet sedge tundra communities in the High Arctic are valuable sources of forage for several resident and migratory herbivores; however, the effects of grazing on these systems have been rarely studied. We simulated grazing in two wet sedge meadows at a site on Ellesmere Island that has not been affected by grazing. Over two summers, we clipped plots at four different frequencies and removed litter to assess effects on aboveground net primary production, availability of soil nitrogen, shoot concentrations of carbon and nitrogen, and soil temperature and moisture regimes. Available soil nitrate and ammonium were highest in plots with intermediate clipping frequencies. Shoot nitrogen concentrations were also greater at intermediate clipping frequencies in two of the four species studied. Aboveground net primary production decreased after clipping, regardless of frequency. Litter removal resulted in slightly increased soil moisture, but had no effect on aboveground net primary production. Soil temperature was not ... : Data extracted in the frame of a joint ICSTI/PANGAEA IPY effort, see http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.150150 ...