Data from: Community-level canopy reflectance in grazed grasslands is linked to the habitat preferences of individual plant species

Spectral remote sensing provides tools for biological monitoring and can
be used to characterize habitat quality in grasslands. These data have
been used to study the relationships between plant community composition
and remotely sensed canopy reflectance in grazed grasslands. The study
area is located on the island of Öland, Sweden, and the data were
collected in grazed grasslands that represent a succession from previously
arable fields to old semi-natural pastures. All included grassland sites
have been assigned to three different classes of grassland age, defined by
the grazing continuity in years: young (5–14 years), intermediate-aged
(15–49 years), and old (>50 years). The plant community data
consist of presences/absences for 100 vascular plant species in 104 (4 m ×
4 m) sample plots positioned in open grassland vegetation. Information on
species’ habitat preferences is included and has been used to explain the
associations between plant species’ occurrences and the variation in
community-level canopy reflectance. The remote sensing data consist of 317
hyperspectral bands in the wavelength regions 414–1322 nm, 1496–1797 nm,
and 2050–2351 nm, and show the mean reflectance in each spectral band for
the 104 sample plots. The main gradient in the hyperspectral data is
characterized by contrasting reflectance values between bands located in
the NIR spectra and bands located in the red, blue, and SWIR spectra.
Grassland canopy reflectance was able to explain variation in the
occurrences of individual plant species, particularly those with distinct
habitat preferences. Species' habitat preferences indicated that
vegetation reflectance in the red, blue, SWIR, and NIR spectra was linked
to the plant-availability of mineral nitrogen. In contrast, species’
phosphorus preferences showed stronger associations with reflectance in
the green and red-edge spectra.