Rapid evolution of flower phenology and clonality in restored populations of multiple grassland species

Restoration of terrestrial ecosystems often requires re-introduction of plants. In restored sites, the plants often face environments that differ from those of natural populations. This can affect plant traits, reduce performance and impose novel selection pressures. As a response, restored populations might rapidly evolve and adapt to the novel conditions. This may enhance population survival and contribute to restoration success but has been rarely tested so far.
Here, we focused on populations of three grassland species restored 20 years ago (Galium wirtgenii, Inula salicina and Centaurea jacea) by the transfer of green hay, and compared them with donor populations that were the source of the hay. We measured plants both in situ and in a common garden under control and three stress conditions.
In-situ, plants in restored sites flowered earlier than plants in donor sites in two out of the three species. In the common garden, plants from the restored populations flowered earlier (in G..., There are two sets of mesurements:
1) in the field
2) in the common garden, , # Data from: Rapid evolution of flower phenology and clonality in restored populations of multiple grassland species

Comparison of plants from three species (*Galium wirtgenii*, *Inula salicina* and *Centaurea jacea*) from restored sites and sites that served as donor of seed material for the restoration. We compared the plants both *in situ,* and in a common garden under common and three stress conditions - nutrition deficiency, competition and clipping.

*In-situ*, plants in restored sites flowered earlier than plants in donor sites in two out of the three species. In the common garden, plants from the restored populations flowered earlier (in *Galium*) or showed increased plasticity of clonal propagation in response to clipping (in *Inula*). In *Centaurea*, we detected no differentiation, neither *in-situ*, nor in the common garden.

## Description of the data and file structure

There are two datasets, one from in-situ, and one from common garden.

*NA* stands for missing value...