plants.fine.csv

Meta-Data
Methods:
This experiment was performed at two grassland locations in
Cambria, California that were subject to two different management strategies.
At the first location, Rancho Marino Reserve, two different transects were set
up – one with no history of tilling or planting*(35.52895, -121.07758) and one
that had been previously tilled and planted (35.53932, -121.09002). At the
second location, Fiscalini Ranch Preserve, two transects were set up - both
with no history of tilling or planting (35.54976, -121.10072 and 35.5508,
-121.10195). All four transects were 100 meters long with 25 quadrats (0.5m x
0.5m) randomly placed along them. Plant community structure and composition
were assessed in one census per transect over a three-day period. We observed
abundance through species diversity, percent coverage, density, and flower
count. Species diversity was measured through direct count of the number of
different species found in each quadrat. Percent coverage was assessed visually
and flower count was counted directly. The density was calculated by counting
the number of individual plant stems in four circular rings (20.27 cm2) placed
in the center of each quarter of the quadrat and then dividing by the total
surface area of the rings (81.07cm2). These measurements were taken separately
for Phalaris aquatica, native
species, and non-native species. Co-variants and soil moisture levels were also
considered to control for any confounding variables.

*“Planting” refers to the intentional introduction of Phalaris aquatica
Data:
The column
site has two values: RM refers to Rancho Marino Reserve and FR refers to
Fiscalini Ranch Preserve. Management indicates the historical management
strategies of both sites and whether there was an introduction of Phalaris aquatica (Harding grass). Each location has two
sampling sites on 100-meter-long transects and the column rep.day refers to the
quadrat sample number at each transect. Harding cover, exotic plant cover, and
bare cover refer to the percentage of ground covered by each. Animal sign
indicates any animal presence found within the quadrats including scat, holes,
trails, and/or individuals. Abundance is a calculation derived by adding the
diversity value for Harding grass, exotic plants and native plants. Diversity
is a count of all different species of plant present in each quadrat. Sampling
time and rate per hour are irrelevant to this experiment. Harding density,
native density, and exotic density refer to the number of relevant individuals that
occur in the quadrat. The density value was calculated by adding the
number of individual plant stems in four surface area samples and dividing the
resulting value by the total surface area sampled. This value was then multiplied
by 100 to extrapolate for the entire quadrat. Native flowers and exotic flowers
is a direct count of the number of flowers found within the quadrat. Soil
moisture is a measure of the water content of the soil in the quadrat taken
with a digital soil moisture meter - all results indicated the soil was “too
dry.”
**Authors are all equal contributors listed in alphabetical order.