DOI: 10.5061/dryad.c59zw3rcs
title: Data for: Plants, invertebrates, and birds of grasslands of northeastern Pennsylvania

description: This dataset contains data for a study of primary productivity and
 diversity for grassland, meadow, and savanna (GMS) vegetation in
 northeastern Pennsylvania, USA, where the landscape is primarily forests,
 agriculture, and urban or suburban development. Data were collected in
 late summer and early fall of 2014-2015. It includes data for primary
 productivity, plant species diversity, invertebrate order diversity, and
 avian abundance and species diversity of 14 grasslands and open areas that
 were actively managed and three that apparently occurred naturally. Four
 grasslands were dominated by warm season grasses with the C4
 photosynthetic pathway, nine were dominated by C3 grasses, forbs, and
 shrubs, and four had a mixture of both types.
description: We selected 17 grasslands of diverse types in a region that
 covered most of northeastern Pennsylvania, ranging from State Game Land
 036 in the northwest to Fort Indiantown Gap in the southwest to State Game
 Land 205 in the southeast to Cresco Heights in the northeast. The sites
 included those that were dominated by cool season grasses, warm season
 grasses, and mixtures of both types; areas ranged from 0.2 to 97.7 ha.
 Geographic information system (GIS) (ArcView, ESRI, Redlands, CA) was used
 to determine the area of each grassland, the ratio of area to perimeter,
 and the distance to the nearest GMS vegetation with an area greater than
 15 ha. We estimated aboveground primary productivity by
 harvesting ten 0.09 m<sup>2</sup> quadrats randomly positioned
 along each of two transects at each site and sorting the harvested
 material by species. The harvests took place in late summer of 2013-2015
 after the vegetation had reached maximum height. At most of the grassland
 sites, the vegetation was entirely herbaceous with minimal visual evidence
 of herbivory, so the harvested biomass samples were considered close
 approximations of annual aboveground net primary productivity. At sites
 with shrubs, we separated current year production from the previous year’s
 growth. The vascular plant samples were collected by clipping at ground
 level, separated according to species, dried at 65°C, and subsequently
 weighed. This information was also used to determine the ratio of
 C<sub>3</sub> and C<sub>4</sub> biomass. Plant
 species were identified using morphological traits and several keys.
 Plants that could not be identified were designated as unknown. In 82% of
 cases, these were less than 10% of the total biomass in a sample. Voucher
 specimens were deposited in the Rosenthal Herbarium at Wilkes
 University. Aboveground invertebrates were sampled from
 early June through early August 2014 using sweep nets and pitfall traps.
 At each site within each grassland, we carried out four sweep samples of
 100 sweeps each along a 50 m transect on two separate days with two days
 between them. We also established four pitfall traps filled with propylene
 glycol, which were monitored for two days. Invertebrate samples were
 preserved in 95% ethanol and classified to order. Voucher specimens are
 stored at Wilkes University. In 2014 and 2015, birds
 were surveyed between May 26 and July 17 when birds were likely resident
 and breeding. Each grassland was surveyed twice, with two weeks separating
 visits. Surveys began at sunrise (typically by 630) and ended by 1100 AM.
 Point count locations were located at least 75 m from an edge and at least
 200 m from other points. Bird species were identified by calls or song.
 Point counts were 10 minutes in duration divided into five two-minute
 sections. The first detection for each individual was recorded.
description: Data files can be accessed using Excel, R and JMP.