NPP Grassland: Montecillo, Mexico, 1984-1994


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Photograph: Quadrat sampling of above-ground biomass at the Montecillo site (click on the photo to view a series of images from this site).

Data Citation

Cite this data set as follows:

Garcia-Moya, E. 1996. NPP Grassland: Montecillo, Mexico, 1984-1994. 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

Net primary production of a saline grassland was determined at the Montecillo study site belonging to Colegio de Postgraduados, Texcoco, near Mexico City. Monthly dynamics of live biomass and dead matter, above and below-ground, were monitored from 1984 to the present, together with monthly litter bag estimates of decomposition rates above and below-ground. The method for calculating net primary production accounted for simultaneous growth and death, and carbon flows to all trophic levels. Work was carried out under the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Project on "Primary Productivity of Grass Ecosystems of the Tropics" and has continued under subsequent international projects sponsored by UNEP and UK-ODA (Overseas Development Administration) sponsored international projects.

The study site of 1.5 hectares is situated on the northwest side of the Colegio's Montecillo campus and experimental fields (19.46 N 98.91 W), about 30 km east of Mexico City and 5 km southwest of Texcoco. The area is an old salt lake bed drained in 1911 and subsequently used for cattle grazing.

Net primary productivity was determined, initially under the auspices of an international collaborative UNEP Project, since there was a lack of information on the productive capacity and carbon cycling of the region. Complete data are available for the period 1984-1994, including burned and unburned plots, and comprise probably one of the most continuous detailed data sets for any grassland worldwide.

Contact Information

Contact: Dr. E. Garcia Moya
Programa de Botanica
Instituto de Recursos Naturales
Colegio de Postgraduados
Montecillo, Texcoco, Mex. 56230
MEXICO

Telephone/fax: +52 (595) 20247
E-mail: edmundo@colpos.colpos.mx

Click on the following linked phrase to view references and summaries. More detailed information is available in the associated guide document.

Graphs Image
Click on the "Graphs" box to view a series of data plots for this site, e.g., biomass dynamics, climate data.