β-diversity of herbaceous versus woody plant communities across a tropical rainfall gradient

Aim: Most of our current knowledge of tropical forest plant communities is based on trees, despite the substantial contribution of other life forms to plant diversity in these systems. In particular, studies of understory herbaceous plants are limited. With their lower dispersal abilities, higher rates of evolution, and lower drought tolerance than trees, herbs are expected to exhibit different patterns of species composition across space. The aim of the study is to compare the patterns and drivers of variation in species composition (i.e., β-diversity) of trees and understory herbaceous plants.Location: Mudumalai, Western Ghats, India.Time period: 2018 - 2019.Major taxa studied: Angiosperms.Methods: We surveyed tree and understory herb communities in 13 one-ha plots along a strong rainfall gradient in a seasonally dry forest landscape in the Western Ghats, India. In both groups, we estimated among-plot β-diversity, which we decomposed into two components: turnover and nestedness. Then ..., , , # β-diversity of herbaceous versus woody plant communities across a tropical rainfall gradient

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.95x69p8s6](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.95x69p8s6)

## Description of the data and file structure

The dataset was collected by conducting fieldwork in the forests of Mudumalai during 2018-19. It was processed using R.

There are four data files (all in csv)

1. **Herbaceous Plants in all plots.csv**: Here, the species data of all herbaceous angiosperms in 13 one-ha plots in Mudumalai forests, India, have been provided. The rows are plot names, columns are species names. This is presence-absence data (1 means presence, 0 means absent).
2. **Tree Species in all plots.csv**: Here, the species data of all tree species in 13 one-ha plots in Mudumalai forests, India, have been provided. The rows are plot names, columns are species names. This is presence-absence data.
3. **Environmental Variables.csv**: In this four set of environmental variables in 13 one-ha plots ...,