NPP Grassland: Tumugi, China, 1981-1990


Data Citation

Cite this data set as follows:

Xiao, X., and D. Ojima. 1999. NPP Grassland: Tumugi, China, 1981-1990. 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

Biomass dynamics and productivity of meadow steppe grasslands were studied from 1981 to 1990 at Tumugi, Xingan League, in eastern Inner Mongolia, China. Measurements of above-ground and below-ground live biomass were made monthly throughout the growing season (April to November), by clipping 1 m2 quadrats and sampling 1 m2 soil pits to a depth of 1.0 m.

The Tumugi study site (approximately 46.1 N 123.0 E) is located about 60 km east of the city of Ulan Hot (approximately 300 km west of Harbin, China). It is representative of the meadow steppes of eastern Inner Mongolia, which cover about 50,000 km2 in Inner Mongolia and are widely distributed in the Euro-Asian steppe zone. With a continental sub-humid climate dominated by monsoon rains from April to September, these grasslands are grazed by sheep and cattle at moderate grazing intensity. Net primary productivity is known to vary considerably both spatially and from year to year as a function of precipitation and temperature.

Data are available for three different steppe species: Filifolium sibiricum, Stipa baicalensis, and Leymus chinense. The 250 m x 40 m species plots have been fenced since 1976 for long-term monitoring of productivity, and each is divided into five 50 m x 40 m sub-plots for field sampling. Above-ground net primary productivity was estimated at 155 g/m2/year (average of three plots, based on peak above-ground biomass). Data on biomass dynamics have been compared with simulation results from the CENTURY model.

Contact Information

Contact: Dr. Xiangming Xiao
Complex Systems Research Center
Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824
U.S.A.

Telephone: +1 (603) 862-1792/ 862-3818
Fax: +1 (603) 862-0188
E-mail: xiangming.xiao@unh.edu

Alternative Contact: Dr. Dennis Ojima
Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado 80523
U.S.A.

Telephone: +1 (970) 491-1976
Fax: +1 (970) 491-1965
E-mail: dennis@nrel.colostate.edu

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