Snowbed experiment species composition data for Niwot Ridge from 2012 to ongoing, yearly

• Main Authors: Suding, Katharine N, Smith, Jane G, Niwot Ridge LTER
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Environmental Data Initiative 2020
• Subjects: Tundra
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/3371d213b58b5eafffcdfd81a087cd2c; https://portal.edirepository.org/nis/mapbrowse?packageid=knb-lter-nwt.172.3

Niwot Ridge climate records indicate a trend of warmer spring and summer temperatures and earlier timing of snowmelt. In alpine tundra plant communities where snow cover limits growing season length, the current climatic trend is conducive to a longer growing season. The snowbed experiment was established in order to monitor changes in plant cover and community composition in the alpine tundra in response to extended summer growing season conditions. Of particular interest are late-melting snowbed areas where plant colonization and survival are most restricted or entirely prevented by a limited number of snow-free days with the sunlight and temperature necessary for plant establishment and growth. In 2012, fifteen 1 x 1 m plots were established at 5 sites where there are persistent, late-melting snowbeds. Plots were placed along (1) an elevation gradient and (2) a snow-cover gradient from persistent snowbeds, where snowpack is greatest and melt-out dates latest in the season, to wind-scoured dry meadows, where snow pack is least and melt-out dates earliest. In 2015 the one site was dropped from the experiment because the snowbed there was quite different from the other four.