Data from: Environmental context determines the limiting demographic processes for plant recruitment across a species’ elevational range

Plant recruitment is a multi-stage process determining population dynamics
and species distributions. Still, we have limited understanding of how the
successive demographic processes depend on the environmental context
across species’ distributional ranges. We conducted a large-scale
transplant experiment to study recruitment of Pinus cembra over six years.
We quantified the effects of environmental conditions on four demographic
processes and identified the most limiting across and beyond the pines’
elevational range over several years. Realized transition probabilities of
the demographic processes varied substantially across the species'
distributional range. Seed deposition decreased from the lower to the
upper elevational range margin by 90 %, but this reduction was offset by
increased seed germination and seedling survival. Dispersal limitation at
the upper range margin potentially stems from unsuitable seed caching
conditions for the animal seed disperser, whereas increased seed
germination might result from enemy escape from fungal pathogens and
favourable abiotic conditions at the upper range margin. Our multi-year
experiment demonstrates that environmental context is decisive for the
local relevance of particular demographic processes. We conclude that
experimental studies identifying the limiting demographic processes
controlling species distributions are key for projecting future range
dynamics of plants.