SPRUCE: Vegetation Community Survey Data from SPRUCE Experimental Plots, 2014-2018

This dataset provides vegetation survey data collected across vegetation community plots within the 10 chambered treatment plots (6, 19, 11, 20, 4, 13, 8, 16, 10, 17) and 3 unchambered ambient plots (7, 14, 21) of the SPRUCE experiment project in 2014-2018. The vegetation community plots, three in each experimental plot, were established in 2014 and designated to be undisturbed and reserved for long-term sampling. Vegetation survey data were collected at the peak of each growing season by placing a 1x2 meter rectangular grid over each community plot. The 1x2 meter grid is subset into 50 20x20 cm grid cells. Observations are of the presence of each species in each grid cell for each subplot. That’s a total of 39 subplots across the 13 experimental plots. Beginning in 2018, shrub stem density was counted and percent shrub cover was estimated in five selected grid cells in each vegetation community plot. Also included are photographs of each community plot taken at the time of data collection for each measurement year. All measurements were made at the 8.1-ha S1 bog forest site in northern Minnesota, 40 km north of Grand Rapids, in the USDA Forest Service Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF).