Effects of urbanization on tank bromeliad diversity and ecosystem services: A case study in a Neotropical city in Colombia

Although bromeliads are important components of urban diversity in the Neotropics and occur in high numbers within biodiversity hotspots, their ecosystem services and ecological relationships remain poorly understood. Therefore, to evaluate the effects of urbanization on bromeliad diversity and associated ecosystem services, we sampled bromeliads at urban and rural sites using 50 × 2 m transects. We also assessed ecosystem services provided by these plants, including carbon sequestration, water regulation, biodiversity support, and nutrient cycling. This dataset contains information on bromeliad communities and their ecosystem services in rural and urban sites of a Neotropical city. The dataset consists of two files: (i) Bromeliad diversity.csv file contains information on bromeliad diversity and characteristics of their host trees in 10 transects of urban and rural sites. Bromeliad diversity is described using species richness, abundance, and the Shannon diversity index by transect. The dataset includes information on 60 bromeliad individuals. For each transect (sampling unit), host-tree information includes Diameter at breast height (DBH, cm), tree height (m), and tree density by transect, measured as the number of trees recorded within a 100 m² area. (ii) Ecosystem.service.csv file contains data on the regulating and supporting ecosystem services provided by bromeliads at rural and urban sites. The ecosystem service variables were standardized to account for differences in measurement units, following the equation proposed by Bradford & D’Amato (2021). The regulating ecosystem services include: Carbon sequestration (ESstdi_biomasa) and water regulation (ESstdi_actual.water. The supporting ecosystem services include biodiversity support (ESstdi_riqueza) and nutrient cycling (ESstdi_Detrital.dry.total) Bradford, J.B., A.W., and D’Amato. 2012. “Recognizing trade-offs in multi-objective land management.” Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 10: 210e216. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.foreco.2014.07.029.