Lf. Huenneke et al., Spatial heterogeneity in Chihuahuan Desert vegetation: implications for sampling methods in semi-arid ecosystems, J ARID ENV, 47(3), 2001, pp. 257-270
Patchiness of above-ground vegetation, such as that in semi-arid grasslands
and shrublands, can pose problems in sampling plant cover, biomass and pro
ductivity. We present a method of measuring above-ground plant biomass and
production that can be applied consistently among vegetation types and that
generates seasonal, spatially-explicit results. Results from 15 sites with
in the Jornada Basin (Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, U.S.A.) confirm consid
erable patchiness and non-normal distributions of plant biomass, even in gr
asslands. However, tests of adequacy of sample size and of sample error ass
ociated with the regression-based estimates of biomass confirmed that the e
stimates of above-ground net primary productivity are sufficiently precise
to be useful in comparisons of both shrub-dominated and grassland sites. (C
) 2001 Academic Press.