RIV02 Plant transect data for the N2B experiment at Konza Prairie

Woody plant expansion is well-known to alter plant community composition, often including a decrease in plant biodiversity, such as species richness. This dataset was used to determine if plant communities are able to “bounce back” after repeated woody plant removal, returning to plant community more similar to tallgrass prairie without woody plant encroachment. Woody plant encroachment can affect plant communities in two key ways: increasing competition for light and limiting grassland propagules (if woody encroachment is widespread). Therefore, we also included a treatment in the riparian removal where seeds of native prairie plants were added to reduce propagule limitation. This data suggests that despite repeated tree removal, the plant community has not returned to a grassland state. Instead, shrubs and herbaceous woodland plants are dominant. Adding grassland propagules had no discernable impact.