Applied paleoecology for macrophyte restoration: Defining Anthropocene baselines in Lake Liangzi

The global degradation of freshwater lakes threatens biodiversity and critical ecosystem services. Restoring aquatic macrophytes is essential for reversing this decline, yet a fundamental challenge persists: the debate between aiming for historical baseline conditions or accepting novel ecosystems in the Anthropocene. This dilemma is exacerbated by a lack of long-term data about pre-degradation states. Current assessments are based mainly on short-term in situ observations, providing limited insights into historical reference conditions and hindering the development of effective restoration targets. Here, we develop an evolutionary restoration methodological approach that integrates sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA), pollen, macrofossils, satellite remote sensing, and contemporary surveys to determine the centennial-scale trajectory of macrophyte communities and inform their restoration targets. Taking Lake Liangzi (eastern China) as a case study, our results show that submerged taxa (e..., , # Data from: Applied paleoecology for macrophyte restoration: Defining Anthropocene baselines in Lake Liangzi

**Dataset DOI:** 10.5061/dryad.w6m905r3k

## Description of the data and file structure

This dataset includes 11 CSV files, corresponding to Figures 2–7 and Supplementary Figures S2–S8 in the associated manuscript. Each file is described below with its structure, column definitions, units, and organization. Missing data are represented by blank cells (empty strings between commas).

### 1. `Fig.2.csv` – Data for Figure 2

**File purpose**

Time‑series data of multiple proxies in lake sediments, including aquatic macrophyte abundance, nutrient levels, and catchment erosion indicators. Different proxies may have different temporal resolutions.

**File structure**

* Format: CSV (comma‑separated values)
* Rows: 55 (header + 54 data rows)
* Columns: 22
* Encoding: UTF‑8 with BOM
* Missing values: blank cells (no NA)

**Column definitions**

* `Year` (year AD) – common age axis for..., ,