Range size and local abundance data for angiosperm communities across an elevation gradient, Rocky Mountain Biological Lab, 2021-2022

This dataset contains abundance and range size data for angiosperm communities at three sites in Washington Gulch near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL, Gothic, Colorado, USA) for 2021 and 2022. RMBL is located in the East River valley of the West Elk mountains, approximately 10 kilometers from Crested Butte, Colorado. Study sites were located at 2815 m (38°53'50"N, 106°58'43"W), 3165 m (38°57'38"N, 107°01'53"W) and 3380 m (38°58'10"N, 107°01'53"W) in elevation, and contained five 1.2 m x 1.2 m plots each. We identified all vascular plants to species level. Each plot was sampled once per year near the peak of the growing season (approximately mid-July, depending on the year and elevation). In each plot, we counted all individuals of every species. To quantify abundance, we averaged local abundance across all five plots at each site and the two data collection years, and then ranked species by averaged abundance within each site (highest to lowest). We calculated range size as Extent of Occurrence (EOO) and Area of Occupancy (AOO). We calculated AOO and EOO with GBIF data using the ‘red’ package. We then ranked species by AOO within each site (largest to smallest).

本数据集涵盖美国科罗拉多州哥特市落基山生物实验室（Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, RMBL）周边华盛顿峡谷内3个样地的被子植物群落多度与分布区面积数据，采集时间为2021年与2022年。落基山生物实验室（RMBL）坐落于西埃尔克山脉的东河河谷，距离科罗拉多州克雷斯特德比特市约10公里。本研究的3个样地海拔分别为2815米（北纬38°53'50"，西经106°58'43"）、3165米（北纬38°57'38"，西经107°01'53"）与3380米（北纬38°58'10"，西经107°01'53"），每个样地均设置5个1.2米×1.2米的样方。我们对所有维管植物进行了物种水平的鉴定。每个样方于每年生长季峰值附近开展一次采样，时间约为7月中旬，具体依当年与海拔条件而定。在每个样方内，我们统计了每一物种的所有个体数量。为量化物种多度，我们对每个样地内全部5个样方以及两年的调查数据取局部多度的平均值，随后在每个样地内按平均多度对物种进行降序排序。我们以发生范围面积（Extent of Occurrence, EOO）与占领面积（Area of Occupancy, AOO）两项指标量化物种分布区大小，并借助‘red’软件包，基于全球生物多样性信息机构（Global Biodiversity Information Facility, GBIF）的数据计算得到AOO与EOO。随后我们在每个样地内按AOO对物种进行降序排序。