Spatial ecology, biodiversity, and abiotic determinants of Congo’s bai ecosystem

Canopy gaps are foundational features of rainforest biodiversity and successional processes. The bais of Central Africa are among the world’s largest natural forest clearings and thought to be critically important islands of open-canopy habitat in an ocean of closed-canopy rainforest. However, while frequently denoted as a conservation priority, there are no published studies on the abundance or distribution of bais across the landscape, nor on their biodiversity patterns, limiting our understanding of their ecological contribution to Congolese rainforests. We combined remote sensing and field surveys to quantify the abundance, spatial distribution, shape, size, biodiversity, and soil properties of bais in Odzala-Kokoua National Park (OKNP), Republic of the Congo (hereafter, Congo). We related bais spatial distribution to variation in hydrology and topography, compared plant community composition and 3D structure between bais and other open ecosystems, quantified animal diversity from c..., , , # Spatial ecology, biodiversity, and abiotic determinants of Congo’s bai ecosystem

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2bvq83c0s](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.2bvq83c0s)

## Description of the data and file structure

The data here were collected as part of the publication titled \"**Spatial ecology, biodiversity, and abiotic determinants of Congo’s bai ecosystem**\" and can be organized into distinct groups.

Group 1: Species matrix data

There are two files in this category: openecospeciesmatrix.csv and Openecoplotclasses.txt

These data are the synthesis of field sampling efforts in 5 x 5m plots in open ecosystems of Odzala-Kokoua National Park. The txt file contains helpful information regarding further analysis of the .csv data.

Group 2: Stream data

Contained within the Streams_33N.shp and accompanying files, these data represent the modeled streams of Odzala-Kokoua National Park utilized in this study. They were produced from remote sensing products described in the publication.

Gr...