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Rainfall Mesocosm
Experiment |
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Rainfall Treatments
Sixty-four mesocosm assemblages were randomly
assigned to 16 combinations of rainfall variability, created by combining
four growing season mean rainfall quantities and four application intervals:
400, 600, 800, and 1000 mm per growing season. The 16 combinations were
crossed with 3, 6, 10, and 15 day inter-application intervals. These
combinations of quantity and application interval include 90% of the range of
natural growing season rainfall quantity/dry interval combinations in the
Central Plains, a 19-fold range of rainfall variability (standard deviations
from 1.11 to 20.84 mm d-1), and individual water event sizes range
from 4 to 53 mm. The treatments were arranged in a Latin square design with
four blocks. Experimental watering is performed by hand, using a
low-intensity spray nozzle and a digital inline flow meter. The water
source is a domestic well at the Konza Prairie mesocosm site. |