Data for Finkel et al. "Assessing the natural variance as a baseline for biodiversity monitoring: a case of an East Mediterranean canyon"

These are the data and R script used for the analysis presented in the manuscript "Assessing the natural variance as a baseline for biodiversity monitoring: a case of an East Mediterranean canyon" by Meir Finkel et al. These data are from Keziv Stream, Western Upper Galilee, Israel. The data are given in separate excel and csv files as follows: ants.xlsx - columns include the species names of all ant taxa found in the study, research period, and total number of individuals caught in pitfall traps in the north-facing slope (N), south-facing slope (S) and the valley bed (VB). Beetles 1998-2000.xlsx - columns include species names of four common ground beetle species caught by pitfall traps during 1998-2000, the month and year, total monthly count, mean date of all surveys conducted during this month and the number of surveys taken per month. Sampling dates are given a separate sheet. Beetles 2019-2021.xlsx - row.summary sheet summarizes beetles' the total number of individuals per research period, sampling row and collection method (pitfalls or sweeping nets), and also gives the species' global distribution pattern. raw.data details the exact collection dates and trap numbers (for pitfalls only). Eylon rain data 2018-2021.csv - rainfall data per day in 2018-2021. Dates with no rainfall are missing from the file. Note that there are two adjacent meteorological stations at the same site, one for which is manned and the other is automatic. Eylon temperature data 2018-2021.csv - temperature data per day in 2018-2022. Same two meteorological stations. NDVI.xlsx - NDVI values for August 15th to September 30th (summer minimum) from LANDSAT and MODIS (not analyzed in the paper) for 1984-2022. Columns 1 to 7 relate to the line numbers at the site. plants data.csv - Presence-absence data of plant species per line (L1 to L7) and period combination (1998-2000, indicated as 2000, vs. 2019-2021, indicated as 2020). precipitation_comb_stations_a_m.csv - homogenized rainfall data (corrected for differences in measuring devices, exact station location etc.) temperature_comb_stations.csv - homogenized temperature data (corrected for differences in measuring devices, exact station location etc.), in degrees Celsius. TN = minimum temperature. TX = maximum temperature. traps microhabitats 2019-2021.csv - The microhabitat of all pitfall traps, defined as other "open" (pitfall was not position near any plant), "shrub" (pitfall positioned near a shrub) or "tree" (pitfall positioned near a tree). SFS = south-facing slope; NFS = north-facing slope; VB = valley bed