ReadMe for Gallagher, M.K. & Wagenius, S. (2015) Seed source impacts germination and early establishment of dominant grasses in prairie restorations. Journal of Applied Ecology. 

This ReadMe file describes the data files and supplementary files accompanying the above publication. Please, contact me if you have suggestions, find errors, inconsistencies or any other bug in the files. As well, please let me know about your uses of this data and send manuscripts and reprints when available. I’ll be happy to help you in any case, as far as I can.

*********************************** CONTENTS *********************************** 
All files are plain text (.txt) or comma-separated values (.csv) and should be readily imported into any statistical package or spreadsheet program. Please, contact me if you need the files formatted in other ways (e.g., my original R datasets or EXCEL worksheets). 

1. README.txt - This file. Including a brief background on the experiment and a description of the variables for each .csv file.

2. gallagherWagenius2015_fieldSeedling_germSurvMass.csv - Data used to analyze germination, first-season survival and mean seed mass of Andropogon gerardii, Bouteloua curtipendula and Sorghastrum nutans seeds that were directly sown into three experimental plots located in three prairie restorations in western Minnesota. Seeds were sourced from four remnants, three restorations and three MN prairie seed nurseries.

3. gallagherWagenius2015_fieldSeedling_vigor.csv - Data used to analyze first-season vigor of Andropogon gerardii, Bouteloua curtipendula and Sorghastrum nutans seedlings that were directly sown into three experimental plots located in three prairie restorations in western Minnesota. Seeds were sourced from four remnants, three restorations and three MN prairie seed nurseries. Only surviving seedlings are included in this data set.

4. gallagherWagenius2015_plug_germSurv.csv - Data used to analyze germination and first-season survival of Andropogon gerardii, Bouteloua curtipendula and Sorghastrum nutans plugs that were germinated in growth chambers and then transplanted into three experimental plots located in three prairie restorations in western Minnesota. Seeds were sourced from four remnants, three restorations and three MN prairie seed nurseries. Only surviving plugs that were actually planted in the field are included in this data set.

5. gallagherWagenius2015_plug_vigor.csv - Data used to analyze first-season vigor of Andropogon gerardii, Bouteloua curtipendula and Sorghastrum nutans plugs that were germinated in growth chambers and then transplanted into three experimental plots located in three prairie restorations in western Minnesota. Seeds were sourced from four remnants, three restorations and three MN prairie seed nurseries. Only surviving plugs, with final vigor measurements, are included in this data set.

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Experiment Background: Using a common garden experimental approach, we investigated the extent to which (i) seed provenance and (ii) site of planting, independently or together, influence germination and first-season survival and growth of dominant grass species in prairie restorations. To investigate these relationships, seeds of three prairie grasses, big bluestem Andropogon gerardii Vitman, side-oats grama Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torrey and Indian grass Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash, were hand-collected from four local remnant and three restoration sites and purchased from three native seed nurseries and then planted as seeds and plugs into three established tallgrass prairie restorations in western Minnesota, United States (centred near 45°49' N, 95°43' W). We evaluated performance (i.e. germination, survival and growth) of both (iii) transplanted plugs (hereafter plugs) and directly sowed seeds to bridge the conditions experienced by plants in typical restoration practice versus restoration studies.

Terminology Note: Throughout these data, the term “source type” refers to the remnant, restoration and nursery level, and “seed source” refers to the ten specific sites from which seeds were collected or purchased. “Provenance” will refer to both source levels. 

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2. gallagherWagenius2015_fieldSeedlingGermSurvMass.csv
3. gallagherWagenius2015_fieldSeedling_vigor.csv

Variable names and descriptions:

	collectionEnvID -	Original envelope ID for individual maternal lines from remnant and restoration seed sources. Nursery sources arrived in bulk. Each collectionEnvID for nursery sources, therefore, indicates the specific nursery source and not individual maternal lines.

		Remnant & Restoration IDs range from 10001 - 12948.
		Nursery IDs range from 1-9.

Seeds were hand collected on cool, clear days between August 31st and September 26th 2009, from up to 50 randomly selected individuals (i.e., maternal lines) of each species per seed remnant and restoration seed source location. See Appendix S1 for complete description of collection methods and quantities. 

	seedSource - 	One of 10 specific seed sources.
		Remnants:
			J.I. Case Hill	jichill
			Hegg Lake East Unit	hleu
			Hegg Lake NE Corner	hlnec
			Staffanson Prairie Reserve	sppe 
		Restorations:
			Runestone WPA	rune
			Hegg Lake WMA	hlh
			Mahoney	bm
		Nurseries:
			Prairie Restorations, Inc.	PRI
			Habitat Forever, LLC	HF
			Prairie Moon Nursery, Inc.	PM

			See Appendix S1 for complete descriptions of each seed source.

	sourceType - 	One of three source types.
		Remnant - 	Sites were defined as remnants if there was no history of ploughing and were typically found on hillsides too steep for agricultural production, in fence corners inaccessible to farm machinery or along roadsides.
		Restoration - Locations with a history of row-crop production that were subsequently replanted with native seeds following Minnesota guidelines were designated as restorations.
		Nursery - 	Seeds were purchased from three Minnesota seed nurseries that specialize in native seed production for conservation purposes. 

	species - 	Andropogon gerardii Vitman				AG
		Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torrey 		BC
		Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash				SN

	plantingEnvID - 	Envelope IDs for seeds from each maternal line after they were divided into three groups. 
		Remnant & Restoration IDs range from 10001 - 30574.
		Nursery IDs range from 1-270.

To quantify the extent to which variation in germination and establishment is linked to provenance for seeds germinated in the field, we divided seeds from each maternal line into three groups of equal number and placed them in new coin envelopes, each with a randomly assigned row and position in each of three experimental plots. We also assigned thirty samples (20 seeds per sample) from each nursery source to positions and rows in each plot. 

	plantingSite - 	Seeds were planted into experimental plots located at each of the source restoration sites:
			Runestone WPA	rune
			Hegg Lake WMA	hlh
			Mahoney	bm

	plantingSiteRow - 	We planted seeds into three 10 × 10 meter experimental plots located at each of the source restoration sites (Figure S1, Appendix S1). Seeds and plugs were randomly assigned to rows and positions within plots.

	plantingSitePos - 	see “plantingSiteRow”

	plaEnv.seedCount - 	The quantity of seeds within each planting envelope. All seeds from each planting envelope were planted at randomly assigned rows and positions within plots. Total seed set for each maternal line would be the sum of the seed counts for envelopes with the same collectionEnvIDs. 

	slings.oneMo - 	Germination of directly sown seeds. Number of seedlings at each position, assessed one month after sowing into experimental plots.

	allLvs.oneMo - 	Sum of the longest leaves for all seedlings (mm) at each position, assessed one month after sowing into experimental plots.

	mLvs.oneMo - 	Mean longest leaf of seedlings (mm) at each position, assessed one month after sowing into experimental plots. 

	slings.twoMo - 	First-season survival of directly sown seeds. Number of seedlings at each position, assessed two months after sowing into experimental plots.

	allLvs.twoMo - 	Sum of the longest leaves for all seedlings (mm) at each position, assessed two months after sowing into experimental plots.

	mLvs.twoMo - 	Mean longest leaf of seedlings (mm) at each position, assessed two months after sowing into experimental plots. 

	meanSeedMass - 	Mean seed mass of seeds for each maternal line (g). 
		Remnant & Restoration seeds: AG and SN seeds from each maternal line were cleaned, counted and weighed. The mean seed mass was calculated for each maternal line by deciding the total mass by the number of seeds. Due to its unique morphology BC spikelets were not cleaned, but were counted and weighed in the same manner as the other species.
		Nursery seeds: For each species, a random sample of thirty seeds per nursery source were counted and weighed in the same manner as the remnant and restoration seeds.

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4. gallagherWagenius2015_plug_germSurv.csv
5. gallagherWagenius2015_plug_vigor.csv

Variable names and descriptions:

	species - 	Andropogon gerardii Vitman				AG
		Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torrey 		BC
		Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash				SN

	seedSource - 	One of 10 specific seed sources.
		Remnants:
			J.I. Case Hill	jichill
			Hegg Lake East Unit	hleu
			Hegg Lake NE Corner	hlnec
			Staffanson Prairie Reserve	sppe 
		Restorations:
			Runestone WPA	rune
			Hegg Lake WMA	hlh
			Mahoney	bm
		Nurseries:
			Prairie Restorations, Inc.	PRI
			Habitat Forever, LLC	HF
			Prairie Moon Nursery, Inc.	PM

			See Appendix S1 for complete descriptions of each seed source.

	sourceType - 	One of three seed source types.
		Remnant - 	Sites were defined as remnants if there was no history of ploughing and were typically found on hillsides too steep for agricultural production, in fence corners inaccessible to farm machinery or along roadsides.
		Restoration - Locations with a history of row-crop production that were subsequently replanted with native seeds following Minnesota guidelines were designated as restorations.
		Nursery - 	Seeds were purchased from three Minnesota seed nurseries that specialize in native seed production for conservation purposes. 

	collectionEnvID -	Original envelope ID for individual maternal lines from remnant and restoration seed sources. Nursery sources arrived in bulk. Each collectionEnvID for nursery sources, therefore, indicates the specific nursery source and not individual maternal lines.

		Remnant & Restoration IDs range from 10001 - 12924.
		Nursery IDs range from 1-9.

Seeds were hand collected on cool, clear days between August 31st and September 26th 2009, from up to 50 randomly selected individuals (i.e., maternal lines) of each species per seed remnant and restoration seed source location. See Appendix S1 for complete description of collection methods and quantities. 

	dish - 	ID numbers for each dish, ranging from 2-879.

		To investigate the extent to which transplanted seedlings (i.e., plugs) are influenced by provenance and site of planting during early establishment, we selected up to nine seeds from each maternal line, along with 30 samples (nine seeds per sample) from each nursery source, to germinate and grow into plugs in a growth chamber prior to planting them in randomly assigned rows and positions in the same three experimental plots. For maternal lines with fewer than 18 seeds, half were chosen at random to be grown into plugs.

		We placed seeds in petri dishes lined with blue seed germination blotters (Anchor Paper Company, St. Paul, MN). We placed dishes on trays, which we stored in a growth chamber at 18.3/21.1°C night/day and a light schedule simulating spring day lengths starting with 14 h 20 min of fluorescent light and increasing 2 min 40 s each day. We rotated and watered dishes with distilled water every 48 hours. 
		
		Note: In these files, each row represents an individual plug that survived at least to planting. Since each dish contained up to nine seeds, dish IDs may be represented more than once. If you are interested in the complete data set please contact me.

	plug - 	Unique ID	numbers for each plug, ranging from 45-3955. Once seeds had sprouted (when radicles emerged at least 1 mm), we moved seeds to plug trays. Sprouts were randomly assigned to trays and positions (po) within trays.

	tray - 	Unique ID numbers for each plug tray, ranging from 1-18. Plugs were 2 cm square on top, 4.5 cm deep and filled with Sunshine plug mix (Sun Gro Horticulture, Vancouver, BC). We rotated and watered plug trays from below three times a week and kept them in the same growth chamber.

	site.fpm - 	Plugs were planted into experimental plots located at each of the source restoration sites:
			Runestone WPA	rune
			Hegg Lake WMA	hlh
			Mahoney	bm

	row.fpm - 	We planted plugs into three 10 × 10 meter experimental plots located at each of the source restoration sites (Figure S1, Appendix S1). Seeds and plugs were randomly assigned to rows and positions within plots.

	pos.fpm - 	see “row.fpm”

	loc.fpm - 	Unique ID number for each site/row/position combination.

	dishCount - 	Number of seeds in each dish. Each dish only had seeds from a singled maternal line (collectionEnvID).

	sproutCnt - 	Number of seeds that sprouted and were moved to plug trays.

	dishFailure - 	Number of seeds that did not sprout.

	plugCnt - 	Number of sprouts that grew at least one leaf in the plug trays.

	plugFailures - 	Number of sprouts that did not grow any leaves in plug trays.

	plantCnt -	Number of plugs that survived to be planted into experimental plots.

	plantFailures - 	Number of plugs that did not survive to be planted into experimental plots.

	finalCnt - 	Number of plugs that survived to the end of summer (for final measurements).

	finalFailures - 	Number of plugs that died between planting and the end of summer. 

	plugStat - 	Status of plug before transport to the field sites in Minnesota. 
			Alive	A
			Dead	D
			Unknown	U		

	plaStat - 	Status of plug during planting. (Symbols as above).

	finStat - 	Status of plug during final measurements. (Symbols as above).

	propDishSuc -	Proportion of seeds that  successfully sprouted (sproutCnt/dishCount).

	propPlugSuc -	Proportion of sprouts that successfully grew leaves (plugCnt/dishCount).

	propPlanthSuc -	Proportion of plugs that were successfully planted (plantCnt/plugCnt).

	propFinalSuc -	Proportion of planted plugs that survived to final measurements at the end of the summer (finalCnt/plantCnt).

	culmCount - 	The number of culms produced by each plug. We measured the number of leaves and the longest leaf for each culm. Assessed during final measurements at the end of the summer.

	longestLf - 	Length of the longest leaf (cm), measured from the base to the tip at a 90 degree angle. Assessed during final measurements at the end of the summer.

	totLfCount - 	Total leaf count of all of the culms produced by a plug.Assessed during final measurements at the end of the summer.

	longLf1-7 - 	Length of the longest leaf (cm) of each culm, measured from the base to the tip at a 90 degree angle. Assessed during final measurements at the end of the summer.

	lfCount1-7 - 	Total leaf count of each culm.Assessed during final measurements at the end of the summer.

	crispLvs - 	Number of leaves (out of the total leaf count) that were more than 50% crisp/brown. Assessed during final measurements at the end of the summer.

	dishDate -	Date the seeds were placed in dishes. Up to nine seeds per dish.

	di	Unique ID letter for each day that sprouts were removed from dishes and planted into plug trays.

	po	Unique ID number linking dish IDs to their specific locations in plug trays.

	plantDate - 	Date the plugs were planted in experimental plots.

	measureDate - 	Date of final plug measurements in the experimental plots.

*********************************** CONTACTING ***********************************
Contact me at:

M. Kate Gallagher
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Dept.
University of California, Irvine
321 Steinhaus Hall
Irvine, CA 92697-2525

Phone:	(949) 824-6461
Cell:	(847) 571-4839
Fax:	(949) 824-2181
Email:	mkgallag@uci.edu

*********************************** ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ***********************************
We thank Chad Raitz (US Fish and Wildlife Service), Kevin Kotts (Minnesota DNR), Robert Mahoney, The Nature Conservancy and anonymous landowners for permission to work on their land. Team Echinacea (2009 and 2010) and the Chicago Botanic Garden community, including over 20 volunteers, family members and interns helped with field and lab work. Krissa Skogen, Joe Walsh, Diane Campbell and anonymous reviewers provided helpful feedback. The Garden Club of America, the Harris Family Foundation and NSF (0545072) supported this work.