Field-measured aboveground biomass dataset for grasslands in Xinjiang, China (2010–2019)

Each sampling quadrat was 1 m × 1 m, with larger quadrats used in sparsely vegetated areas. To prevent repeated sampling at the same locations, quadrat positions were adjusted annually at sites monitored consecutively.

For each quadrat, we recorded geographic coordinates, elevation, grassland type, aboveground biomass, and the number of plant species. AGB samples were oven-dried at 65°C to a constant weight.Sampling spanned diverse geographic and climatic conditions, totalling 12,352 quadrats. These covered 11 grassland types classified into three categories: 1. alpine grassland: alpine desert (AD), alpine steppe (AS), alpine meadow (AM); 2. transzonal grassland: lowland meadow (LM), marsh (MAR); and 3. temperate grassland: temperate mountain meadow (TMM), temperate meadow steppe (TMS), temperate steppe (TS), temperate desert steppe (TDS), temperate steppe desert (TSD), temperate desert (TD).