Long-term effects of intercropping on multi-trophic structure and bio-thermodynamic health of mixed Eucalyptus-native tree plantations

1. The intercropping approach of Eucalyptus and native trees has been widely recommended, as an ideal replacement for monoculture Eucalyptus plantations (EUs), to ameliorate global biodiversity loss and mitigate environmental change. However, both suitable native tree species and the best intercropping ratio between Eucalyptus and native trees have not been determined.
2. To fill this gap, a four-level intercropping gradient of Eucalyptus urophylla planted with eight native tree species was set up (i.e., 20%NS, 30%NS, 40%NS, 50%NS), monitored and compared to a monoculture E. urophylla plantation (EU) and a randomly mixed plantation of nine native tree species (NS) in southern China.
3. The results showed that the intercropping ratio of Eucalyptus and native trees had a long-term effect on tree layer structure and health status and a cascading effect on the thermodynamic health state of soil microbes. Shade-tolerant woody species are more suitable for intercropping with Eucalyptus. Int..., 1. Change of species abundance: Species abundance (Ind/ha) of each tree species in the six types of forest plantations from 2006 (1a) to 2018 (13 a) were given in this file, based on field investigation. Detailed field investigation method is available in our paper which will be published on Journal of Applied Ecology. The average species abundance of each tree was calculated based on three replicated plots for each of the six types of forest plantations. The six forest plantations are monoculture Eucalyptus urophylla plantation (EU); four types of mixed forest plantations of E. urophylla and native tree species (20%NS, 30%NS, 40%NS, 50%NS), and randomly mixed plantation of nine native tree species (NS).
2. Tree layer: Plant biomass density (t/ha), diameter at breast height (DBH, cm), height (m), crown (cm) and mortality (%) for E. urophylla and native trees in the six types of mixed forest plantations were given in this file. Three repetitive plots were investigated for each type of fo..., , Datasets included:

 

1\) Change of species abundance:

* Time: 2016 and 2018 (1 and 13 years after planting)
* Latin name of each tree species
* Abundance: Number of trees per unit area

 

2\) Tree layer:

* Time: 2018 (13 years after planting)
* Grouping trees as *E. urophylla* and native trees
* Plant biomass density (biomass per unit area in *E. urophylla* and native trees roles, respectively)
* Average diameters at breast height for *E. urophylla* and native trees
* Average heights for *E. urophylla* and native trees
* Average crown sizes for *E. urophylla* and native trees
* Mortality rates for *E. urophylla* and native tree

 

**3) Plant community:**

* Time: 2018 (13 years after planting)
* Grouping plants into three layers (trees, shrubs and herbs) and plant community as a whole
* Eco-exergy indicates the genetic complexity embedded in the biomass of each plant community
* Specific eco-exergy, indicates the eco-exergy per unit biomass for each pla...