Floristic and structural heterogeneity in a Neotropical riparian wetland: Conservation implications

Despite the incontrovertible importance of wetland ecosystems, our understanding of the causes underlying the spatial heterogeneity of their attributes is still insufficient. Here, we assess the spatial variation of the floristics (species composition and their relative abundances) and quantitative structure (vegetation cover) of the San Pedro Mártir River riparian herbaceous wetlands (Tabasco, Mexico), and explore potential factors responsible for within- and among community variation. Vegetation was sampled at 10 sites along a 40-km stretch of the river. Per site cover of the recorded morphospecies was assessed with digital photography, and community diversity was analyzed using the Hill numbers framework. Total richness was 76 morphospecies (67 identified to some taxonomic category); the drastic decrease in true diversity with increasing q values indicated that few species dominate the community matrix, while numerous remaining species occupy the small interstices among them. Three C..., , , # Data from: Floristic and structural heterogeneity in a Neotropical riparian wetland: Conservation implications [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5tb2rbpdq](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5tb2rbpdq) ## Description of the data and file structure The data were collected at ten sites of herbaceous riparian wetland along a 40 km stretch of the San Pedro Mártir River. At most sites but one (where sampling effort was half that in all other sites), vegetation was sampled in ten 4 m2 quadrats located at various distances from the river edge. At the center of each plot, we took five to eight photographs to assess the cover of each species. We used a 20-megapixel *Evorok Adventure III* camera with a wide-angle lens mounted on a support fixed to an L-shaped structure; the camera was kept at a height of 3 m above the vegetation. Additionally, the cover of some species was visually estimated and recorded in the field. In the laboratory, the photographs taken in the field were corrected using *Ado...