NPP Grassland: Badkhyz, Turkmenistan, 1948-1982, R1

This data set provides two data files in text format (.txt). One file contains estimates of above-ground live phytomass for an ephemeral desert steppe located in the Badkhyz Nature Reserve in southern Turkmenistan. Monthly measurements of plant biomass were made by harvest during the growing season (January-May) from 1948 through 1963. Afterwards, an annual measurement of peak live biomass was made in May from 1964 through 1982, with gaps for years 1973-1976. The second file contains monthly and annual climate data recorded at the study site from 1941 through 1982. Above-ground net production (ANPP) for the Badkhyz site is the lowest among the eight Eurasian grassland sites, at 100 g/m2/yr. Below-ground NPP for Badkhyz (1,745 g/m2/yr) was conservatively estimated from a similar dry, semiarid continental steppe in Northern Kazakhstan (i.e., Shortandy). Revision Notes: Only the documentation for this data set has been modified. The data files have been checked for accuracy and are identical to those originally published in 1998.