The plots in experiment E046 are enclosed by a fence to exclude mammalian herbivores. Galvanized welded-wire hardware cloth with 6mm x 6mm openings was buried to a depth of 84cm. Additional hardware cloth extends 60cm above the ground, and poultry netting extends to 1.8m above the ground.
Mammal Trapping
Small mammals are trapped as often as possible to keep the resident population low. A list of the number and kind of mammals taken from each field is in the small mammal documentation file. Pocket gophers are trapped out of the fields as soon as they appear. Gopher mounds are then removed and vegetation is unburied.
PVC Tubes
Individual Schizachyrium scoparium plants and soil without plant cover were isolated within cores 15.24cm in diameter by driving PVC tubes (15.2cm in diameter and 15cm in height) into the soil. Two paired plant-soil cores were located at each sampling point and 12 sampling points were located within the field.