******************************* PACKAGE OVERVIEW ******************************

This data package contains the data used in the article: 

Bagaria G, Rodà F, Clotet M, Míguez S, Pino J. Contrasting habitat and
landscape effects on the fitness of a long-lived grassland plant under forest
encroachment: do they provide evidence for extinction debt? Journal of Ecology  

This article studies the mechanisms involved in the long-term persistence of 
the common grassland specialist plant Aphyllanthes monspeliensis L. 
(Asparagaceae) after forest encroachment into semi-natural Mediterranean
calcareous grasslands in Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula):


********************************** CONTENTS ***********************************

All data files are CSV files (comma-separated).

1. README.txt - This file. Includes a description of the data files and 
   variables.
2. Bagaria_JECOL_2017_Site_level_data - Data regarding Aphyllanthes 
   monspeliensis frequency and its flowering frequency in 19 sites, and site
   characteristics. This data is used in Figure 3.
3. Bagaria_JECOL_2017_Individual_level_data - Data regarding Aphyllanthes
   monspeliensis individual plants' vegetative and reproductive performance in
   19 sites, and site and local-habitat characteristics. This data is used in 
   Table 1.
4. Bagaria_JECOL_2017_Belowground_individual_level_data - Data regarding
   Aphyllanthes monspeliensis belowground individual plant performance in 6 
   of the sites, and local-habitat characteristics. This data is used in
   Table 2.
5. Bagaria_JECOL_2017_Precipitation_data - Late-spring and summer precipitation 
   (May, June and July) in the study area. This data is used in Figure 4b.

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Variable names and descriptions

   Aboveground_belowground_biomass_ratio  Ratio between plant aboveground and 
                                          belowground biomass.
                                          
   Area_cm2                               Plant size (area of an ellipse taking
                                          length and width of the tussock), in
                                          cm2.
                                          
   Current_landscape_connectivity         Current (2009) grassland proportion 
                                          in the landscape (500 m in radius).
                                          
   Current_tree_cover                     Current (2009) tree cover for 
                                          individual plants (in a 10 m radius).
                                          
   Flowering_individuals                  From the sampled individuals, number 
                                          of flowering individuals at a site.
                                          
   Flowers_per_stem                       Mean number of flowers per stem.
   
   Grazing_signs                          Mean of 13 measures of grazing 
                                          intensity per site, where each
                                          measure was 0 (absent), 1 (only one
                                          group of excrements, or 2 (more than
                                          one group).
                                          
   Historical_landscape_connectivity      Historical (1956) grassland proportion 
                                          in the landscape (500 m in radius).
                                          
   Historical_tree_cover                  Historical (1956) tree cover for 
                                          individual plants (in a 10 m radius).
                                          
   Non-flowering_individuals              From the sampled individuals, number 
                                          of non-flowering individuals at a
                                          site.
                                          
   Plant_frequency                        From the 13 sampled plots at a site, 
                                          number of plots where Aphyllanthes
                                          monspeliensis was detected.
                                          
   PlantID                                Individual plant code.
   
   Rainfall_May_June_July_mm              Accumulated pecipitation of May, June
                                          and July, in mm.
                                          
   Rhizome_branching_intensity            Mean number of ramifications per node
                                          in the rhizome, from 20 measurements.
                                          
   Rhizome_internode_length               Mean distance between nodes in the 
                                          rhizome, from 20 measurements.
                                          
   Seeds_per_flower                       Mean number of seeds per flower.
   
   SiteID                                 Site code.
   
   Soil_clay_proportion                   Mean clay proportion of 13 soil 
                                          samples per site.
                                          
   Soil_depth_cm                          Mean soil depth of 13 measures per
                                          site, in cm.
   
   Soil_pH                                Mean soil pH of 13 soil samples per 
                                          site.
                                          
   Stem_number                            Number of stems.
   
   Tree_cover_change                      Change in tree cover for individual 
                                          plants (in a 10 m radius), calculated
                                          as current (2009) minus historical
                                          (1956) tree cover.
                                          
   UTMx                                   X coordinate in projection EPSG:32631
   
   UTMy                                   Y coordinate in projection EPSG:32631
   
   Year                                   Year


********************************* CONTACTING **********************************

Contact me at:

Guillem Bagaria
CREAF
Campus UAB, Edifici C
08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain

Phone: +34 935814851
       
e-mail: g.bagaria@creaf.uab.cat

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