Herbivore regulation of savanna vegetation: Structural complexity, diversity, and the complexity–diversity relationship

Large mammalian herbivores exert strong top-down control on plants, which in turn influence most ecological processes. Accordingly, the decline, displacement, or extinction of wild large herbivores in African savannas is expected to alter the physical structure of vegetation, the diversity of plant communities, and downstream ecosystem functions. However, herbivore impacts on vegetation comprise both direct and indirect effects and often depend on herbivore body size and plant type. Understanding how herbivores affect savanna vegetation requires disaggregating the effects of different herbivores and the responses of different plants, as well as accounting for both the structural complexity and composition of plant assemblages. We combined high-resolution Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) with field measurements from size-selective herbivore exclosures in Kenya to determine how herbivores affect the diversity and physical structure of vegetation, how these impacts vary with body size a..., , , # **Herbivore regulation of savanna vegetation: structural complexity, diversity, and the complexity–diversity relationship**

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rfj6q57jp](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.rfj6q57jp)

This is the README file for datasets contained in the publication: Tyler C. Coverdale, Peter B. Boucher, Jenia Singh, Todd M. Palmer, Jacob R. Goheen, Robert M. Pringle, and Andrew B. Davies. Herbivore regulation of savanna vegetation: structural complexity, diversity, and the complexity–diversity relationship. Ecological Monographs, 2024.

Contact author for all files: Tyler Coverdale ([[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail]))

## **Description of the data and file structure**

### Files contained in this repository:

1.     Individual_Field_Data.xlsx

2.     Individual_LiDAR_Data.xlsx

3.     Quadrat_Data.xlsx

4.     Subplot_Data.xlsx

5.     Plot_Data.xlsx

6.     Community_Data.xlsx

### File descriptions:

**1.     Individual_Field_Data.xlsx**—this file conta...