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Harvard Forest Data Archive

HF157

Leaf Litter Moisture Content at Harvard Forest HEM and LPH Towers 2006

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Data

Overview

  • Lead: Julian Hadley
  • Investigators:
  • Contact: Information Manager
  • Start date: 2006
  • End date: 2006
  • Status: complete
  • Location: Prospect Hill Tract (Harvard Forest)
  • Latitude: +42.539 to +42.542 degrees
  • Longitude: -72.185 to -72.180 degrees
  • Elevation: 355 to 380 meter
  • Datum: WGS84
  • Taxa:
  • Release date: 2023
  • Language: English
  • EML file: knb-lter-hfr.157.13
  • DOI: digital object identifier
  • EDI: data package
  • DataONE: data package
  • Related links:
  • Study type: short-term measurement
  • Research topic: forest-atmosphere exchange; soil carbon and nitrogen dynamics
  • LTER core area: mineral cycling
  • Keywords: leaf litter, plant physiology, water content
  • Abstract:

    Leaf litter was collected at the time of soil respiration measurements and its moisture content was measured in order to determine the contribution of leaf litter decomposition to measurements of total soil respiration including the litter layer. Leaf litter moisture has been shown to strongly affect CO2 release from organic soil layers (Borken et al. 2003).

  • Methods:

    Ten leaves from the uppermost layer of leaf litter were collected at each location where soil respiration was measured. The leaves were immediately placed into a tightly closed plastic bag, and at the end of the day they were weighed. They were then dried at 70 degrees C for two days and reweighed. Leaf moisture content was then calculated as a percentage of the dry weight for each sample.

  • Organization: Harvard Forest. 324 North Main Street, Petersham, MA 01366, USA. Phone (978) 724-3302. Fax (978) 724-3595.

  • Project: The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program examines ecological dynamics in the New England region resulting from natural disturbances, environmental change, and human impacts. (ROR).

  • Funding: National Science Foundation LTER grants: DEB-8811764, DEB-9411975, DEB-0080592, DEB-0620443, DEB-1237491, DEB-1832210.

  • Use: This dataset is released to the public under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (No Rights Reserved). Please keep the dataset creators informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset should include proper acknowledgement.

  • License: Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal (CC0-1.0)

  • Citation: Hadley J. 2023. Leaf Litter Moisture Content at Harvard Forest HEM and LPH Towers 2006. Harvard Forest Data Archive: HF157 (v.13). Environmental Data Initiative: https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/ab69c6a56569ee33819b5f897ac90738.

Detailed Metadata

hf157-01: litter moisture

  1. site: site
    • HEM: Hemlock
    • LPH: Little Prospect Hill
  2. date: date
  3. distance: distance from tower base (unit: meter / missing value: NA)
  4. transect: compass bearing (degrees from north) of transect on which plot occurs (unit: degree / missing value: NA)
  5. fresh.mass: fresh weight of sample (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  6. dry.mass: dry weight of sample (unit: gram / missing value: NA)
  7. moisture: leaf moisture content calculated as a percentage of the dry weight for each sample (unit: dimensionless / missing value: NA)