Rebecca Finger-Higgens Erika L Geiger Michael C Duniway Jayne Belnap 20220321 comma-separated values tabular data Flagstaff, AZ U.S. Geological Survey Additional information about Originators: Finger-Higgens, Rebecca, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7645-504X; Geiger, Erika L, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4546-3503, Duniway, Michael C, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9643-2785, Belnap, Jayne, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7471-2279 https://doi.org/10.5066/P9MA0LZG These tabular data were compiled for/to monitor vegetation and biocrust cover in a never grazed grassland located in Canyonlands National Park. An objective, or objectives, of our study was to document potential changes in biocrust and vegetation cover and species composition as related to changes in land use and climate change. These data represent a timeseries of long-term vegetation and biocrust monitoring plots, dating from 1996 to 2021. These data were collected at/in Virginia Park, Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, Utah. These data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Research Center in coordination with the US National Park Service. Data were collected via field observations twice annually, once in the Spring (April-May) and once in fall (Sept.) starting in 1996. A weather station was established in 1998 which recorded hourly temperature and precipitation measurements on a portable data storage module which was switched out and downloaded approximately every 3 months. These data can be used to monitor long term trends and changes in vegetation in a rare, protected and never grazed grassland on the Colorado Plateau, and help with monitoring trends in similar dryland ecosystems. The purpose of these data are to monitor potential changes in vegetation and biocrust cover over time in a protected, never grazed grassland within Canyonlands National Park Needles District. Additionally, this data set allows for the comparison of different dominant grass cover types, both with and without invasion from a pervasive non-native grass, Bromus tectorum. These data were collected and created to establish a record and identify long-term trends in changes of biocrust and vegetation. Additionally, because Virginia Park was previously never grazed, these data also provide an important baseline understanding of how ecosystems across the Colorado Plateau might behave without the disturbance of past and present grazing. Future researchers can also use these data to compare rates of change in vegetation or biocrust across other drylands systems, especially within the greater Colorado Plateau region. These data provide 25 years of biocrust and vegetation cover and species abundance for a never-grazed, protected dryland grassland. This dataset also includes weather records from a maintained weather station within the field site, with data available dating from 1965-2021. These data can be used for long-term, observational ecological studies of biocrust and vegetation, however analyses outside the scope of observation data would be inappropriate. Additionally, species lists were compiled from observations made within designated plots and should not be considered a complete list of all potential species present over the study time period. The values listed here are also not necessarily represented of the species across their entire ranges, and previous and current land-use should be taken into consideration. Most of the values represent point measurements from certain times and places with limited replication on that site and no replication across the geographic and morphologic range of species. Data users should read the entire metadata record and acquire the manuscript identified as the ‘Larger Work Citation’, and/or review the 'Cross References' to have a complete understanding of how these data were created and used. The data are specific to the uses identified in this metadata record and the 'Larger Work Citation', and any other use of these data would be inappropriate. See 'Distribution liability' statements for more information. 19650618 20211231 ground condition Planned Annually -109.844 -109.837 38.097 38.092 USGS Thesaurus air temperature atmospheric and climatic processes biogeography biological soil crusts climate change effects of climate change ecosystem monitoring ecosystems field experiments field inventory and monitoring land use change long-term ecological monitoring plot sampling precipitation measurement, rainfall measurement, snowfall measurement precipitation (atmospheric) vegetation weather monitoring, weather observations USGS Biocomplexity Thesaurus grassland species composition vegetation cover ISO 19115 Topic Categories biota None biocrust cover dryland ecosystems field observations long-term monitoring plots never grazed grassland point-intercept measurements tabular data timeseries weather station USGS Metadata Identifier USGS:609bf197d34ea221ce39b029 Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Canyonlands National Park Colorado Plateau San Juan County Utah Virginia Park None Needles District none none Michael C Duniway U.S. Geological Survey Research Ecologist mailing and physical

2290 S West Resource Blvd

Moab UT 84532 US 928-556-7530 mduniway@usgs.gov The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Land Change Science Program and Ecosystem Mission Area, and Canyonlands National Park supported this work. We are grateful to the many USGS and NPS staff that helped with study establishment and data collection. We would also like to thank the National Park Service for their early recognition of the value of this study site and providing this grassland the most protection possible. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Jayne Belnap Susan L. Phillips Tonya Troxler 2006 ScienceDirect (online) Applied Soil Ecology https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2004.12.010 Rexford F. Daubenmire 1959 NA Northwest Science not available online Edgar F. Kleiner K. T. Harper 1977 JSTOR (online) Journal of Range Management https://doi.org/10.2307/3897307 Michael C. Duniway Rebecca Finger-Higgens Erika L. Geiger David L. Hoover Alix A. Pfennigwerth Anna C. Knight Matthew Van Scoyoc Mark Miller Jayne Belnap 2023 Wiley Online Library Global Change Biology https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16882 Rebecca Finger-Higgens Michael C. Duniway Stephen Fick Jayne Belnap 2022 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (online) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2120975119 No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted Data set is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details. No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) 2023 tabular data NOAA, National Centers for Environmental Information (online) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datasets/GHCND/stations/GHCND:USC00421168/detail digital tabular data 19650101 19980502 ground condition Daily Summaries Station Data: Canyonlands The Needles, Utah These data were summarized and select variables were (PPT, Tmin, Tmax) included in the Weather Station data table Ed Grote 2023 tabular data Flagstaff, AZ U.S. Geological Survey https://doi.org/10.5066/TBD tabular digital data 20160801 20221231 ground condition CLIM-MET Data These data (Tair and Rain attributes) were summarized as daily minimum temperature (TMin), daily maximum temperature (TMax), and total precipitation (PPT) were included in the Weather Station data table Frank E. Urban 2017 Tab delimited text file Lakewood, CO U.S. Geological Survey https://doi.org/10.5066/F76H4GBF tabular digital data 19980503 20160731 ground condition CLIM-MET Data These data (Tair and Rain attributes) were summarized as daily minimum temperature (TMin), daily maximum temperature (TMax), and total precipitation (PPT) were included in the Weather Station data table Establishment of the study area: To explore the impact of climate variation and cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) invasion on biocrust stability through time, we studied a grassland known as Virginia Park (VP) within the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, Utah that was never grazed by domestic livestock. This grassland comprises two distinct and common perennial grassland community associations: one dominated by the predominately spring-active C3 grasses Hesperostipa comata and Achnatherum hymenoides (collectedly referred to as Stipa) and another community dominated by the spring and fall-active C4 grass Pleuraphis jamesii (previous called Hilaria jamesii). Soils at our study sites are dominantly fine sandy loams derived from aeolian sands, with some sandstone alluvium and residuum at depth, and weak soil horizon development (Kleiner and Harper 1977, Belnap et al. 2006). Previous research in the area found differences in soil texture between the different plant cover types, with Pleuraphis site soils being slightly finder textures (more silt and fine sand) than Stipa sites. 2020 Development of the Study Design: Initial study design was created by Jayne Belnap, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the project was managed by Sue Phillips and Jayne Belnap until 2010, and Erika Geiger and Jayne Belnap from 2011-2015. The project is currently (2016-2021) managed by Erika Geiger and Michael Duniway. Data were collected by USGS biologists and technicians 1996-2015 and by USGS and NPS biologists and technicians 2016-2021. Data were typically collected by a team of two with one reader and one recorder. Technicians were trained in plant and/or biological soil crust identification using vouchers and in the field on other projects prior to collecting data or if it was their first time to the locations they typically recorded for a more experienced reader until we were confident in their abilities to read (i.e., identify most species). Unknown species were identified later when possible by revisiting the plot or by photographing the plant and showing to a subject matter expert in USGS or NPS. For plant species that required certain characteristics for identification (e.g., flower or fruits), individuals were sometimes flagged for identification at a later date (e.g., in spring for identification in fall). Additionally, sometimes due to the phenology of the plant it could only be identified to the genus level. For biological soil crust identification, mosses and common lichens (genera Collema and Placidium) were typically identified to species, while rarer lichens were identified to genus. Twelve permanent 0.5 ha plots were established in both Stipa spps. communities and Pleuraphis jamesii communities, both with and without Bromus invasion to create a factorial study design including four different vegetation cover types: Stipa (S), Stipa + Bromus (SB), Pleuraphis (P), and Pleuraphis + Bromus (PB) (n=3 plots for each cover type for a total of 12 plots). Within each plot, 20 replicates of 0.25 m2 frames were demarked for subpot level replication for vascular vegetation and biocrust cover estimates. Daubenmire cover classes were used to estimate cover of vascular vegetation and ground litter with 6 different canopy cover classes: 1) 0-5%, 2) 5-25%, 3) 25-50%, 4) 50-75%, 5)75-95, 6) 95-100%. Additionally, at all 20 subplots within a vegetation cover type plot, biocrusts and ground cover estimates were sampled using a point-hit method with a 0.1 m2 frame containing 20-point intercept hits. Vegetation and biocrust estimates were conducted twice a year, once in the spring (April-May) and again in the fall (September). 2020 Development of the Field Methods: Daubenmire cover classes were used to estimate cover of vascular vegetation and ground litter with 6 different canopy cover classes: 1) 0-5%, 2) 5-25%, 3) 25-50%, 4) 50-75%, 5)75-95, 6) 95-100% (Daubenmire 1959). Additionally, at all 20 subplots within a vegetation cover type plot, biocrusts and ground cover estimates were sampled using a point-hit method with a 0.1 m2 frame containing 20-point intercept hits. Percent cover was then calculated as the number of hits of a given biocrust component divided by the total number of point intercept hits. In the earliest years of the study (1996 and 1998), biocrust surveys were split into defined functional types including: Collema spps. (and later further grouped into cyanolichens), chlorolichens, moss, bare, and cyanobacteria. Starting in 1999 lichen species were identified to species, and mosses were identified to species starting in 2002. Cyanobacteria ground cover throughout the study was also identified but light versus darkly pigmented soil cyanobacteria were not distinguished, thereby limiting our ability to detect changes in the cyanobacterial component; thus, these data were not included. An hourly-recording weather station was established in Virginia Park (VP) in 1998 as a part of the Southwest Climate Impact Meteorological Stations network (CLIM-MET, US Geological Survey, Urban 2017). However, due to the remote location of the weather station, periodic interruptions of data collection occurred throughout the study period. Gaps in climate data collection were filled using temperature and precipitation data from the Needles District Visitors Center (NOAA: Daily Summaries Station Data: Canyonlands The Needles, Utah). Because there was a slight difference in temperature between these sites, a regression model was used to adjust temperature data collected at the Needles District Visitor Center. 2020 Data entry: Data were entered by U.S. Geological Survey technicians and efforts were made for different technicians to enter and check the data. Data entry was performed only by technicians who had collected data for this project at least once. Data that were collected during field visits were scribed on data sheets, and then scanned to a digital file for preservation in the office. Data were checked by Erika Geiger for consistency across readers and years; at times we opted for a coarser level of taxonomy when over the entire data set when plants were identified at the species level during in some seasons/years but only to the genus level at other times. 2023 Data processing: Once data had been proofed by a technician and Erika Geiger, cover data was read into R with an automated process and complied into the complete data set for both vegetation and biocrust cover data (Vegetation and Biocrust data tables, respectively). The species list was also generated from this process so that every unique species of vegetation and biocrust component was IDed to the lowest taxonomic unit possible (Vegetation Variables and Biocrust Variables data tables). Sampling dates were also selected from the total compiled data frame for the Sample Date data table. Final processing for biological data was conducted in 2021. 2023 Development of the Weather Station data table: Data downloaded directly from the Viginia Park weather station and was compiled for sample dates between January 2016-December 2019. Hourly weather data was downloaded from automated loggers deployed in the field approximately three times per year (February, May, and September) and compiled. Gaps in climate data collection were filled using temperature and precipitation data from the Canyonlands: The Needles weather station (GHCND:USC00421168). Because there was a slight difference in temperature between these sites, a regression model was used to adjust temperature data collected at the Needles District Visitor Center. Later raw hourly data was summarized into total daily precipitation, daily maximum and daily minimum recorded temperature and entered into the Weather Station data table and processed in 2020. 2023 Data Quality Assessment and Quality Control (QAQC): Data were checked by U.S. Geological Survey technicians and efforts were made for different technicians to enter and check the data. Data checking was performed only by technicians who had collected data for this project at least once. Data that were collected during field visits were scribed on data sheets, and then scanned to a digital file for preservation in the office. Data were checked by Erika Geiger for consistency across readers and years; at times we opted for a coarser level of taxonomy when over the entire data set when plants were identified at the species level during in some seasons/years but only to the genus level at other times. 2023 Finalize Data for Dissemination: Data sent to the Southwest Biological Science Center Data Steward for dissemination and preservation per USGS Data Management Policies SM 502.6, SM 502.7, SM 502.8 and SM 502.9 (1 October 2016). 2023 Biocrust Data This data table represents biocrust point-intercept measurements. Producer defined Year This attribute in the data table represents the year sampling occurred Producer defined 1996 2021 yyyy Season This attribute in the data table represents the sampling season. Producer defined The sampling season occurred in the fall or spring. Spring sampling occurred every year from late April-mid May starting in 1996. Fall sampling occurred in September of each sampling year. Sampling did not occur in Fall 1996, Spring 1997, Fall 1998, Fall 1999, Fall 2003, and Spring 2020. Type This attribute in the data table represents the dominant species cover classification Producer defined H Pleuraphis jamesii Producer defined HC Pleuraphis jamesii + Bromus tectorum Producer defined S Stipa Producer defined SC Stipa + Bromus tectorum Producer defined Plot This attribute in the data table represents the plot number where sampling occurred Producer defined Replicate plot numbers are designated as 1, 2, or 3 Subplot This attribute in the data table represents individual subplots nested within replicate plots Producer defined 1 23 integer number Variable This attribute in the data table represents the identified biocrust component Producer defined A textual description of biological variables at the data collection point that identifies the biocrust component. The attribute contains 44 distinct variable descriptions. Hits This attribute in the data table represents the number of hits of a given biocrust component Producer defined 0 20 integer number Biocrust Variables This data table represents a biocrust species list plus descriptions of additional cover categories found in the biocrust subplots Producer defined Variable This attribute in the data table represents the identified biocrust component Producer defined A textual description of biological variables at the data collection point that identifies the biocrust component. The attribute contains 44 distinct variables. Description This attribute in the data table represents a full genus name, a species name, or a description of other cover information Producer defined A textual description at the data collection point that identifies a full genus name, a species name, or a description of other cover information. The attribute contains 44 distinct variable descriptions. Genus This attribute in the data table represents the genus or other grouping Producer defined A textual description at the data collection point that identifies the genus or other grouping (Bare, Bioturb, Lichen, Litter, Plant, Rock). The attribute contains 25 distinct genus. FT This attribute in the data table represents the functional type by component Producer defined Bare bare ground without physical crust Producer defined Cyano Cyanobacteria Producer defined Lichen other lichens Producer defined Litter plant litter Producer defined Moss non-vascular plant Producer defined Nfixer nitrogen fixing lichens Producer defined Plant live plant base Producer defined Rock naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of one or more minerals Producer defined Sampling Dates This data table represents dates of all sampling events Producer defined Date This attribute in the data table represents the day, month, and year of the sampling event Producer defined 5/8/1996 9/17/2021 m/dd/yyyy Year This attribute in the data table represents the year of the sampling event Producer defined 1996 2021 yyyy Season This attribute in the data table represents the sampling season. Producer defined The sampling season occurred in the fall or spring. Spring sampling occurred every year from late April-mid May starting in 1996. Fall sampling occurred in September of each sampling year. Vegetation Data This data table represents percent cover estimates for above ground vegetation cover. Producer defined Year Year sampling occurred Producer defined 1998 2021 yyyy Season This attribute in the data table represents the sampling season. Producer defined The sampling season occurred in the fall or spring. Spring sampling occurred every year from late April-mid May starting in 1998. Fall sampling occurred in September of each sampling year. Sampling did not occur in Fall 1998 and Fall 2000. Type This attribute in the data table represents the vegetation cover classification Producer defined H Pleuraphis jamesii Producer defined HC Pleuraphis jamesii + Bromus tectorum Producer defined S Stipa Producer defined SC Stipa + Bromus tectorum Producer defined Plot This attribute in the data table represents the replicate plot number where sampling occurred Producer defined Replicate plot numbers are designated as 1, 2, or 3 Subplot This attribute in the data table represents individual subplots nested within replicate plots Producer defined 1 21 integer number Variable This attribute in the data table represents the identified plant species, genus, or other cover category Producer defined A textual description of biological variables at the data collection point that identifies plant species, genus, or other cover categories. The attribute contains 60 distinct variable descriptions and 1 "Unknown". PercentCover This attribute in the data table represents the percent variable cover as estimate by cover class and the mean value of the Daubenmire classifications: 0-100 Producer defined 2.5 97.5 integer number Class This attribute in the data table represents the Daubenmire vegetation cover class: 1-6 Producer defined 1 0 - 5% coverage Producer defined 2 5 - 25% coverage Producer defined 3 25 - 50% coverage Producer defined 4 50 - 75% coverage Producer defined 5 75 - 95% coverage Producer defined 6 95 - 100% coverage Producer defined Vegetation Variables This data table represents a vegetation species list plus description of an additional cover categories found in vegetation subplots Producer defined Variable This attribute in the data table represents the species code. Producer defined A textual description of vegetation variables at the data collection point that identifies the species code, the genus or other variables. Codes are letters that indicate the species (6 letters with the first 3 representing the genus and the last 3 representing the specific epithet) or genus (5 letters when the individual could not be identified down to the species level) or other cover categories (litter, etc). Taxonomic names can be found at the USDA PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov/home) either as the accepted current nomenclature or a synonym. The attribute contains 60 distinct variable descriptions. Family This attribute in the data table represents the family for the plant species. Current family names for the plant species can be found at the USDA PLANTS Database (https://plants.usda.gov/home). Producer defined A textual description of at the data collection point that identifies a full genus name, a species name, or a description of other cover information. The attribute contains 23 distinct family descriptions. NA = Not available Species This attribute in the data table represents the identification of plant to species or genus Producer defined A textual description of at the data collection point that identifies the plant species or genus. The attribute contains 52 distinct variable descriptions. NA = Not available Group This attribute in the data table represents the functional type by photosynthetic pathway Producer defined Bare bare ground without physical crust. Soil which is unconsolidated and is 1 mm or less in size and >0.5 cm thick/deep. Producer defined C3 C3 photosynthesis pathway or C3 carbon fixation Producer defined C4 C4 photosynthesis pathway or C4 carbon fixation Producer defined CAM crassulacean acid metabolism photosynthetic pathway Producer defined Forb herbaceous flowering plant other than a grass Producer defined Litter Organic material from plants which has separated from the plant but may be embedded in the surface of the soil or is so thick as to not allow light to reach the surface of the soil. Producer defined Shrub small- to medium-sized perennial woody plant Producer defined Group2 This attribute in the data table represents the funtionaly type by growth form Producer defined Bare bare ground without physical crust Producer defined Cactus succulent plant with a thick, fleshy stem that typically bears spines, lacks leaves, and has brilliantly colored flowers Producer defined Forb herbaceous flowering plant other than a grass Producer defined Grass vegetation consisting of typically short plants with long, narrow leaves Producer defined Litter plant litter Producer defined Shrub small- to medium-sized perennial woody plant Producer defined Lifeform This attribute in the data table represents the growth form which displays an obvious relationship to important environmental factors. Producer defined A annual Producer defined NA Not available Producer defined P perennial Producer defined Note This attribute in the data table represents miscellaneous notes Producer defined A textual description of miscellaneous notes about particular species including some common synonyms for some species Weather Station Data This data table represents weather data collected from 1998-2019 from the Virginia Park weather station (Urban 2017) and 1965 - 1997 from NOAA: the Canyonlands - The Needles weather station (GHCND:USC00421168). Updated data from direct station download from 2017-2021. Blank cells indicate that there was an error with the weather station of the recorded value on that date. Therefore data have been omitted. Producer defined Year This attribute in the data table represents the year of the weather data recording Producer defined 1965 2021 yyyy DOY This attribute in the data table represents the day of the year, or Julian day Producer defined 1 366 integer number Date This attribute in the data table represents the date of the weather data recording Producer defined 6/18/1965 12/31/2021 date: mmm/dd/yyyy Month This attribute in the data table represents the month of the weather data recording Producer defined 1 12 integer number Day This attribute in the data table represents the calendar day of the weather data recording Producer defined 1 31 integer number PPT This attribute in the data table represents daily precipitation total from the CLIM-MET weather station. Data values from the Rain attribute were summarized for each day from the CLIM-MET Data (Urban, 2017) and from the Canyonlands - The Needles weather station (GHCND:USC00421168) (NOAA). Producer defined 0 50.8 millimeters TMax This attribute in the data table represents the maximum daily temperature. Data values from the Tair attribute were summarized for each day from the CLIM-MET Data (Urban, 2017) and from the Canyonlands - The Needles weather station (GHCND:USC00421168) (NOAA). Producer defined -11.9867185535098 38.75 degrees Celsius TMin This attribute in the data table represents the minimum daily temperature. Data values from the Tair attribute were summarized for each day from the CLIM-MET Data (Urban, 2017) and from the Canyonlands - The Needles weather station (GHCND:USC00421168) (NOAA). Producer defined -19.676778 30.6989786687228 degrees Celsius U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase U.S. Geological Survey mailing and physical

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Denver CO 80225 United States 1-888-275-8747 sciencebase@usgs.gov The author(s) of these data request that data users contact them regarding intended use and to assist with understanding limitations and interpretation. Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. These files contains data available in comma-separated values (csv) format. The user must have software capable of displaying the data tables. 20230907 Michael C Duniway U.S. Geological Survey Research Ecologist mailing and physical

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Moab UT 84532 US 928-556-7530 mduniway@usgs.gov Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001-1998