Data and R scripts for: Plant species diversity and dominant plant functional types control productivity in a reclaimed mineland prairie

Original raw datasets and R analysis scripts for the article: Kieser E., Glover R., Swab B.M. &amp; Davies G.M. (in press): Plant species diversity and dominant plant functional types control productivity in a reclaimed mineland prairie. Diversity<b>ABSTRACT</b>Tallgrass prairie ecosystems in North America sustain globally-important plant and animal biodiversity while providing ecosystem services including biomass production, forage for livestock and carbon sequestration. Land-use change has left less that 1% of North American prairies intact and opportunities are needed for their restoration. There has been increasing interest in the establishment of prairies on degraded former minelands where significant challenges exist for reestablishing historic vegetation communities. We examined how the productivity and diversity of mineland prairies was influenced by the varying restoration treatments that had been applied nearly a decade previously. We utilized an existing prairie research plot network established using seed-mixes containing one to seven species and differing fertilization and tillage treatments. We calibrated a non-destructive method to assess prairie biomass and used it to assess productivity and diversity across 312 research plots. Results showed that, with the exception of C4 grasses, few originally seeded species were present. Significant differences in species richness existed as a function of the interacting effects of seed mix type and fertilization treatment. Unfertilized plots generally had higher species richness particularly where larger numbers of species were included in the mixes. Prairie biomass was significantly greater in seed-mixes containing big bluestem (<i>Andropogon gerardii</i>) and was also significantly related to Shannon diversity. Our results suggest that the establishment of (<i>Andropogon gerardii</i>) is fundamental to maximizing the diversity and productivity of mineland prairies especially in the absence of follow-up management. The results also suggest caution should be exercised when considering the use of fertilizer as this may reduce the diversity of native species by favouring competitive non-native species such as some C3 grasses.<b>FILES</b><b>data_Biomass_samples.zip</b> - Contains data on destructively harvested calibration quadrats used to develop allometric relationships between vegetation structure indices and stand biomass<b>data_Diversity_Structure_plots.zip</b> - Contains data from experimental restoration plots included species-level abundance scores, plot-level vegetation structural attributes and plot level restoration treatments<b>script_Biomass_Regression_240521.r</b> - R script for development of allometric equations for stand biomass<b>script_prairie_ProdDiv_240510.r</b> - R script for analysis of variation in plot-level productivity/biomass, diversity and species composition as a function of restoration treatments<br>

本文配套的原始数据集与R分析脚本：Kieser E.、Glover R.、Swab B.M.与Davies G.M.（即将刊出）：《复垦矿区草原中植物物种多样性与优势植物功能型调控生产力》

【摘要】
北美高草草原生态系统不仅维系着具有全球重要性的动植物生物多样性，同时可提供生物量生产、家畜饲草供应与碳固存等生态系统服务。土地利用变化导致北美仅剩不足1%的高草草原得以完整保留，因此其修复工作亟需更多实践契机。当前，在退化的原矿区土地上重建高草草原的研究愈发受到关注，但在此类区域重建历史植被群落面临诸多严峻挑战。
本研究探究了近十年前实施的不同修复处理对矿区草原生产力与多样性的影响。研究依托一套已有的草原研究样地网络，该网络采用包含1至7个物种的种子混合配方，并设置了不同的施肥与耕作处理。我们校准了一种用于评估草原生物量的非破坏性方法，并利用该方法对312个研究样地的生产力与多样性进行了评估。
研究结果显示：除C4草本植物外，最初播种的多数物种已难以在样地中检出。物种丰富度的显著差异取决于种子混合配方与施肥处理的交互效应。未施肥样地的物种丰富度普遍更高，尤其是当种子混合配方中包含更多物种时。包含大须芒草（*Andropogon gerardii*）的种子混合配方的草原生物量显著更高，且草原生物量也与香农多样性显著相关。
本研究结果表明，若要最大化矿区草原的多样性与生产力，尤其是在未开展后续管理的情况下，种植大须芒草（*Andropogon gerardii*）是至关重要的。研究结果同时提示，在考虑使用肥料时需谨慎：肥料可能会通过偏向于促进具有竞争优势的外来物种（如部分C3草本植物）的生长，降低本土物种的多样性。

【文件说明】
1. data_Biomass_samples.zip：包含用于构建植被结构指标与样地生物量间异速生长关系的破坏性采集校准样方数据
2. data_Diversity_Structure_plots.zip：包含来自实验修复样地的数据集，涵盖物种水平多度评分、样地水平植被结构属性以及样地水平修复处理信息
3. script_Biomass_Regression_240521.r：用于构建样地生物量异速生长方程的R脚本
4. script_prairie_ProdDiv_240510.r：用于分析样地水平生产力/生物量、多样性以及物种组成随修复处理产生的变异的R脚本