Supporting information to the paper Asrat, Z. et al. Distribution and soil seed bank regeneration of the Ericaceous vegetation. Journal of Vegetation Science

The Ethiopian Highlands harbor unique Afroalpine ecosystems dominated by ericaceous vegetation, representing critical biodiversity hotspots (Miehe & Miehe, 1994; Girma et al., 2018). These ecosystems, characterized by fire-adapted shrubs and trees from the genus Erica, particularly Erica trimera and E. arborea, support exceptional levels of endemism and provide essential ecosystem services including carbon sequestration, watershed protection, and habitat for endemic fauna such as Canis simensis, Tachyoryctes macrocephalus, Tragelaphus buxtoni, and Tragelaphus scriptus (Wesche et al., 2000; Girma et al., 2018; Gil-Romera et al., 2019). The flora of these regions is well documented (Edwards et al., 1997, 2000; Mesfin, 2004), and their soils, primarily acidic andosols and leptosols, are crucial for carbon storage (IUSS Working Group WRB, 2015; Gebrehiwot et al., 2019). Many of these mountain-restricted animal species are currently under pressure from a rising human impact on the ericaceous vegetation (Wesche et al., 2000; Gil-Romera et al., 2019). We postulate that the current change in the distribution of Erica plants is due to anthropogenic disturbances rather than seed scarcity, in addition to the Erica distribution edge. In order to determine their effects on the composition of Ericaceous vegetation and the regeneration of soil seed banks, we collected data considering aspects, altitude, and disturbance of the environment. Our data includes list of plant species and corresponding families' , including growth habits and lifestyle. We identified species from stand vegetation and germination test plots, and our data contained plant cover, families, and related abundance data to show the major environmental constraints on Erica growth above tree-line. Along with the vegetation data, we ranked anthropogenic disturbance by site observation, and the study plots floor covers, altitude, and aspect are included for testing variability. For every site, the density of Erica seeds and the Erica cover are arranged in columns and tested for significant factor. Pleas read the journal article for more information.