NPP Grassland: Shortandy, Kazakhstan, 1975-1980


[PHOTOGRAPH]
Photograph: Virgin typical steppe at the Shortandy grassland study site
(click on the photo to view a series of images from this site).

Data Citation

Cite this data set as follows:

Gilmanov, T. G. 1996. NPP Grassland: Shortandy, Kazakhstan, 1975-1980. 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 dry steppe was determined at the Shortandy study site from 1975 to 1980. Measurement of monthly dynamics of above and below-ground live biomass and dead matter were made for each growing season (April-September). Cumulative above-ground net primary production was estimated. These data are part of a series of grassland data sets recently assembled and checked by Dr. Tagir Gilmanov, which cover a wide range of climate and "continentality" across the Commonwealth of Independent States (former U.S.S.R.).

The Shortandy study site (51.7 N 71.0 E) is situated near the city of Astana (former names Aqmola/Akmolinsk/Tselinograd). This kind of steppe was typically grazed annually before about 1900, although the study site itself is not grazed. It represents one of the last few square kilometers of "virgin" typical dry steppe in northern Kazakhstan, in an area largely converted to wheat production in the 1950s. The remnant virgin steppe is thought to be in good condition, with large amounts of carbon stored in its soil.

Data on growing season dynamics of above-ground biomass, dead matter and litter, below-ground live biomass and dead matter are available for three years, 1975-1977. In addition, data exist for a single measurement of peak above and below-ground matter in 1978.

Contact Information

Contact: Dr. T. G. Gilmanov
Center for Ecology and Productivity of Forests
Russian Academy of Sciences
69 Novocheryomushkinskaya
Moscow 117418
RUSSIA

c/o Department of Biology and Microbiology
South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD 57007
U.S.A.

Telephone (U.S.A.): +1 (605) 688-4925/6141
Fax (Russia): +7 (095) 200-2216/2217 (Attn. Gilmanov 002840)
Fax (U.S.A.): +1 (605) 688-6677
E-mail: Tagir_Gilmanov@sdstate.edu

Click on the following linked phrase to view references and summaries for the Shortandy site. 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.