Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2015View details →

Figure 3 in Temporal dynamics of invertebrate and aquatic plant communities at three intermittent ponds in livestock grazed Patagonian wetlands

Figure 3. Seasonal variation of total taxa richness (A), mean density (A), and relative contribution of biomass (B) of most abundant groups of aquatic invertebrates at three ponds in a Patagonian wetland (Mallín Crespo) during the study period (May 2008 to April 2009). Livestock stocking period is indicated by the black bar.

opencc-zeroDec 2012View details →

Data from: Genetic diversity in widespread species is not congruent with species richness in alpine plant communities

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) aims at the conservation of all three levels of biodiversity, i.e. ecosystems, species and genes. Genetic diversity represents evolutionary potential and is important for ecosystem functioning. Unfortunately, genetic diversity in natural populations is hardly considered in conservation strategies because it is difficult to measure and has been hypothesized to co-vary with species richness. This means that species richness is taken as a surrogate of genetic diversity in conservation planning, though their relationship has not been properly evaluated. We tested whether the genetic and species levels of biodiversity co-vary, using a large-scale and multi-species approach. We chose the high-mountain flora of the Alps and the Carpathians as study systems and demonstrate that species richness and genetic diversity are not correlated. Species richness thus cannot act as a surrogate for genetic diversity. Our results have important consequences for implementing the CBD when designing conservation strategies.

opencc-zeroNov 2019View details →

Data from: Resource addition drives taxonomic divergence and phylogenetic convergence of plant communities

1. Anthropogenic environmental changes are known to affect the Earth's ecosystems. However, how these changes influence assembly trajectories of the impacted communities remains a largely open question. 2. In this study, we investigated the effect of elevated nitrogen (N) deposition and increased precipitation on plant taxonomic and phylogenetic β-diversity in a 9-year field experiment in the temperate semi-arid steppe of Inner Mongolia, China. 3. We found that both N and water addition significantly increased taxonomic β-diversity, whereas N, not water, addition significantly increased phylogenetic β-diversity. After the differences in local species diversity were controlled using null models, the standard effect size of taxonomic β-diversity still increased with both N and water addition, while water, not N, addition, significantly reduced the standard effect size of phylogenetic β-diversity. The increased phylogenetic convergence observed in the water addition treatment was associated with the colonization of different, but phylogenetically closely related, species into different replicate plots of the treatment. Species colonization in this treatment was found to be trait-based, with leaf nitrogen concentration being the key functional trait. 4. Synthesis. Our analyses demonstrate that anthropogenic environmental changes may affect the assembly trajectories of plant communities at both taxonomic and phylogenetic scales. Our results also suggest that while stochastic processes may cause communities to diverge in species composition, deterministic process could still drive communities to converge in phylogenetic community structure.

opencc-zeroMay 2020View details →

Plant dispersal strategies of high tropical alpine communities across the Andes

• Dispersal is a key ecological process that influences plant community assembly. Therefore, understanding whether dispersal strategies are associated with climate is of utmost importance, particularly in areas greatly exposed to climate change. We examined alpine plant communities located in the mountain summits of the tropical Andes across a 4000 km latitudinal gradient. We investigated species dispersal strategies and tested their association with climatic conditions and their evolutionary history. • We used dispersal-related traits (dispersal mode and growth form) to characterize dispersal strategies for 486 species recorded on 49 mountain summits. Then we analysed the phylogenetic signal of traits and investigated the association between dispersal traits, phylogeny, climate and space using structural equation modelling and fourth-corner analysis together with RLQ ordination. • A median of 36% species in the communities were anemochorous (wind-dispersed) and herbaceous. This dispersal strategy was followed by the barochory-herb combination (herbaceous with unspecialised seeds, dispersed by gravity) with a median of 26.3% species in the communities. The latter strategy was common among species with distributions restricted to alpine environments. • While trait states were phylogenetically conserved, they were significantly associated with a temperature gradient. Low minimum air temperatures, found at higher latitudes/elevations, were correlated with the prevalence of barochory and the herb growth form, traits that are common among Caryophyllales, Brassicaceae and Poaceae. Milder temperatures, found at lower latitudes/elevations, were associated with endozoochorous, shrub species mostly from the Ericaceae family. Anemochorous species were found all along the temperature gradient, possibly due to the success of anemochorous Compositae species in alpine regions. We also found that trait state dominance was more associated with the climatic conditions of the summit than with community phylogenetic structure. Although the evolutionary history of the tropical Andean flora has also shaped dispersal strategies, our results suggest that the environment had a more predominant role. • Synthesis: We showed that dispersal related traits are strongly associated with a gradient of minimum air temperatures in the Andes. Global warming may weaken this key filter at tropical alpine summits, potentially altering community dispersal strategies in this region and thus, plant community structure and composition.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

Plant community compositional stability over 40 years in a Fraser River Estuary tidal freshwater marsh

Long-term data sets documenting temporal changes in vegetation communities are uncommon, yet imperative for understanding trends and triggering potential conservation management interventions. For example, decreasing species diversity and increasing non-native species abundance may be indicative of decreasing community stability. We explored long-term plant community change over a 40-year period through the contribution of data collected in 2019 to two historical datasets collected in 1979 and 1999 to evaluate decadal changes in plant community biodiversity in a tidal freshwater marsh in the Fraser River Estuary in British Columbia, Canada. We found that plant assemblages were characterized by similar indicator species, but most other indicator species changed, and that overall α-diversity decreased while β-diversity increased. Further, we found evidence for plant assemblage homogenization through the increased abundance of invasive species such as yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus), and reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea). These observations may inform concepts of habitat stability in the absence of direct anthropogenic disturbance and corroborate globally observed trends of native species loss and non-native species encroachment. Our results indicate that within the Fraser River Estuary, active threat management may be necessary in areas of conservation concern in order to prevent further native species biodiversity loss.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2023View details →

Data and code corresponding to the article "Interaction network structure explains species temporal persistence in empirical plant-pollinator communities"

This upload contains the Datasets and code to generate the results of the article "Interaction network structure explains species temporal persistence in empirical plant-pollinator communities".The database comprises two files containing the abundances of plants and pollinators, and one containing the interaction networks among plants and pollinators. The code folder contains the code to generate the results, and to generate the figures of the manuscript.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2023View details →

Data from: Supervised classification of plant communities with artificial neural networks

This dataset was used to test the performance of artificial neural networks for supervised classification of plant communities, published in:Černá L. & Chytrý M. (2005) Supervised classification of plant communities with artificial neural networks. Journal of Vegetation Science 16, 407-414. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2005.tb02380.xThe meaning of the individual columns (separated by semicolons) in the file is as follows (for details see the above-mentioned article):<ul><li>Plot no - unique number of the vegetation plot</li><li>Group expert - plot membership in classes 1-11 of the expert  classification</li><li>Subset expert random B - assignment of the plot to the training, selection, test or ignored data subset, using the random selection of the training (and selection) subset, for the expert classification</li><li>Subset expert dg species B - assignment of the plot to the training, selection, test or ignored data subset, using the selection of the training (and selection) subset by  diagnostic species, for the expert classification</li><li>Assignment expert random - a class assignment of the plot by the MLP classifier, when trained with the randomly selected training (and selection) subset, for expert classification</li><li>Assignment expert dg-sp - a class assignment  of the plot by the MLP classifier, when trained with the plots rich in diagnostic species contained in the training (and selection) subset, for expert classification</li><li>Group cluster - plot membership in classes 1-11 of the numerical classification</li><li>Subset cluster random - assignment of the plot to the training, selection, test or ignored data subset, using the random selection of the training (and selection) subset, for numerical classification</li><li>Subset cluster dg species - assignment of the plot to the training, selection, test or ignored data subset, using the selection of the training (and selection) subset by diagnostic species, for expert classification, for numerical classification</li><li>Assignment cluster random - class assignment of the plot by the MLP classifier, when trained with the randomly selected training (and selection) subset, for expert classification, for numerical classification</li><li>Assignment cluster dg-sp - class assignment  of the plot by the MLP classifier, when trained with the plots rich in diagnostic species contained in the training (and selection) subset, for expert classification, for numerical classification </li><li>598 species, with cover/abundance estimates on an ordinal scale of 1-9</li></ul>

opencc-zeroDec 2023View details →

Functional traits—not nativeness—shape the effects of large mammalian herbivores on plant communities

Large mammalian herbivores (megafauna) have experienced extinctions and declines since prehistory. Introduced megafauna have partly counteracted these losses yet are thought to have unusually negative effects compared to native megafauna. Using a meta-analysis of 3,995 plot-scale plant abundance and diversity responses from 221 studies, we found no evidence that megafauna impacts were shaped by nativeness, 'invasiveness', 'feralness', coevolutionary history, or functional and phylogenetic novelty. Nor was there evidence that introduced megafauna facilitate introduced plants more than native megafauna. Instead, we found strong evidence that functional traits shaped megafauna impacts, with larger-bodied and bulk-feeding megafauna promoting plant diversity. Our work suggests that trait-based ecology provides better insight into interactions between megafauna and plants than concepts of nativeness.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

Drivers of plant diversity, community composition, functional traits and soil processes along an alpine gradient in the central Chilean Andes

The datasets in this repository include plant community surveys, hyperspectral reflectance data at the leaf and canopy level, leaf trait data, and soil chemistry data collected at five sites along an elevation gradient of 2400m-3500m in the Chilean Andes (33°S, 70°W). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the environmental drivers of community assembly processes along the elevation gradient.

Figure 5 in Variations in trophic niches of generalist predators with plant community composition as indicated by stable isotopes and fatty acids

Figure 5. Principal components analysis of the relative abundance (mol %, logit- transformed) of individual NLFAs of Trochosa ruricola using body size (small, large), flooding index (FI), plant species richness (SR), plant functional group richness (FG), presence of grasses (Gr), legumes (Leg), small herbs (SH) and tall herbs (TH) as supplementary variables.

Figure 4 in Variations in trophic niches of generalist predators with plant community composition as indicated by stable isotopes and fatty acids

Figure 4. Variations in δ15N signatures of Trochosa ruricola as affected by flooding index (P = 0.04, R2 = 0.12) and body size (small, large; P <0.01).

Figure 1 in Variations in trophic niches of generalist predators with plant community composition as indicated by stable isotopes and fatty acids

Figure 1. Variations in δ15N and δ13C signatures of Harpalus rufipes (black) and Trochosa ruricola (pink) across the study site of the Jena Experiment.

Figure 3 in Variations in trophic niches of generalist predators with plant community composition as indicated by stable isotopes and fatty acids

Figure 3. Principal components analysis of the relative abundance (mol %, logit-transformed) of individual NLFAs of Harpalus rufipes using flooding index (FI), plant species richness (SR), plant functional group richness (FG), presence of grasses (Gr), legumes (Leg), small herbs (SH) and tall herbs (TH) as supplementary variables.

Figure 6 in Variations in trophic niches of generalist predators with plant community composition as indicated by stable isotopes and fatty acids

Figure 6. Principal components analysis of the relative abundance (mol%, logit- transformed) of individual PLFAs of soil microorganisms using flooding index (FI), plant species richness (SR), plant functional group richness (FG), presence of grasses (Gr), legumes (Leg), small herbs (SH) and tall herbs (TH) as supplementary variables.

Figure 2 in Variations in trophic niches of generalist predators with plant community composition as indicated by stable isotopes and fatty acids

Figure 2. Variations in δ15N signatures of Harpalus rufipes (P <0.01, R2 = 0.11) as affected by plant species richness (log-transformed).

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2024View details →

Plant silicon content as a proxy for understanding plant community properties and ecosystem structure

Main dataset from the paper entitled "Plant silicon content as a proxy for understanding plant community properties and ecosystem structure".