NPP Grassland: Beacon Hill, U.K., 1972-1973


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Photograph: General view of study site in 1973 (click on the photo to view a series of images from this site).

Data Citation

Cite this data set as follows:

Williamson, P., and J. Pitman. 1998. NPP Grassland: Beacon Hill, U.K., 1972-1973. Data set. Available on-line [http://www.daac.ornl.gov] from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.

Description

Productivity of a chalk grassland was studied from 1972 to 1973 at Beacon Hill, West Sussex, U.K. Measurements of above-ground live biomass and total dead matter were made approximately bi-monthly. Above-ground net primary production was estimated by several methods, including peak live biomass, peak total live and dead, and accounting for turnover determined from marked leaves.

The 20 x 20 m study site (50.92 N 0.85 W) was located on the western slope of Beacon Hill, about 30 km north-east of Portsmouth. It is fairly representative of the grasslands established over several hundred years by sheep grazing on the chalk hills of southern England. The climate is very mild and temperate, with relatively warm winters and rainfall distributed throughout the year. Grazing by sheep and rabbits had declined in the 20 years prior to the study, and had been very light since 1970.

Detailed data on 9 graminaceous species categories (92% of total matter) and a range of forbs is available from March 1972 to April 1973. ANPP was estimated at 355 g/m2/yr (peak live biomass), 773 g/m2/yr (max live + dead), 310 g/m2/yr (sum of positive increments in biomass) or 691 g/m2/yr (accounting for leaf turnover).

Monthly climate data for 1969-1993 are available from the weather station at the former King's College London field centre at Rogate, 6 km distant (51.01 N 0.85 W); daily climate data are also available for this site on special request from the ORNL DAAC User Services Office.

Contact Information

Contact: Dr. Phillip Williamson
School of Environmental Sciences
University of East Anglia
Norwich NR4 7TJ
U.K.

Telephone: +44 (1603) 456161
Fax: +44 (1603) 507719
E-mail: pwil@wpo.nerc.ac.uk

Alternative Contact: Dr. John Pitman
Department of Geography
King's College
Strand
London WC2R 2LS
U.K.

Telephone: +44 (171) 873-2466
Fax: +44 (171) 873-2287
E-mail: john.pitman@kcl.ac.uk

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