Baseline assessment of vegetation status for ecological restoration of discontinued plantations and degraded forests in the Manar estate, Nilgiris

PROJECT TITLE: Baseline assessment of vegetation status for ecological restoration of discontinued plantations and degraded forests in the Manar estate, Nilgiris PROJECT OVERVIEW This dataset and the associated project report (Gamuz A.S. 2024, Nature Conservation Foundation) are part of a long-term forest and grassland restoration project in the Manar estate, Craigmore Plantations, Kolacamby, in the southern Nilgiris, Western Ghats, India. The targeted area for restoration has been divided into 100 grids of 1 ha (100x100 metre) each, of which vegetation within 70 accessible grids were surveyed; the remaining 30 grids were either too steep, or chockablock with native thorny bushes that could neither be cleared nor measured. The vegetation survey primarily comprised of (1) trees identified and measured for girth and height within 20x20 m plots located at the centroid of each grid (manar_vegetation_survey_trees.csv), and (2) saplings and seedlings identified and enumerated within 5x5 m plots at the centre of each 20x20m plot (manar_vegetation_survey_saplings_seedlings.csv). In addition, this dataset includes (3) the species identity of large trees with canopies that overtopped in the Manar estate5x5 m plots from outside the circumscribing 20x20 m plot (manar_vegetation_survey_overheadtrees_additional.csv), and (4) ocular estimates of vegetation (and other) cover scored on a tertile scale for each accessible grid (manar_vegetation_survey_cover.csv) DATASET CONTACTS Name: Arunachala Skaria Gamuz Institution: Nature Conservation Foundation, IndiaEmail: [e-mail]: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-3357-0489 Name: A. P. MadhavanInstitution: Nature Conservation Foundation, IndiaEmail: [e-mail]: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2754-8256 Name: T. R. Shankar RamanInstitution: Nature Conservation Foundation, IndiaEmail: [e-mail]: 0000-0002-1347-3953 Name: Divya MudappaInstitution: Nature Conservation Foundation, IndiaEmail: [e-mail]: 0000-0001-9708-4826 Keywords: tropical deciduous forests, tropical rainforests, plantations, The Nilgiris, Western Ghats, ecological restoration, plant communities, vegetation structure, floristics GEOGRAPHIC AND TEMPORAL COVERAGE Geographic Coverage:1. Location/Study Area: Manar Estate, Kolakamby, The Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India2. GPS coordinates: Manar (11.244° - 11.260° N, 76.744° - 76.761° E) Temporal Coverage:1. Begins: 2024-12-13 (Year, Month, Day)2. Ends: 2025-03-05 (Year, Month, Day) FILES AND THEIR DESCRIPTIONBesides this file (00_Readme.txt), this dataset contains the following 5 CSV files. 01_manar_vegetation_survey_metadata.csvThis metadata file comprises grid-level information of the habitat type, land use category, coordinates of the centroid, the date on which the grid was surveyed and the names (and ORCID IDs, where applicable) of people who surveyed the plot. <Column_name> : <Description>Date: Date of grid's surveyHabitat_fine_code: Code indicating the fine-scale habitat of the gridHabitat_fine_desc: Description of the fine-scale habitat of the grid (Forest type and land-use)Habitat_coarse_code: Code indicating the coarse-scale habitat of the gridHabitat_coarse_desc: Description of the coarse-scale habitat of the grid (Forest type and land-use)Grid_ID: Name of the gridLatitude: Latitude coordinate of the centroid of the grid in decimal degrees NLongitude: Longitude coordinate of the centroid of the grid in decimal degrees ECentroid_notes: Notes describing the shift in field-measured centroid from the actual centroidRecorded_by: Personnel involved in the field surveyRecorded_by_ID: ORCID IDs of Personnel involved in the field survey when availableRemarks: Additional remarks if any 02_manar_vegetation_survey_trees.csvThis file comprises of data on trees (>_ cm girth) measured within 70 plots of 20x20 m dimension located at the centroid of each of the 70 grids of 1 ha (100x100 m) size. <Column_name> : <Description>Date: Date of measurementGrid_ID: Name of the gridVerbatim_name: Scientific name of the tree identified to the highest taxonomic level in the fieldScientific_name: Scientific name of the tree as per the GBIF backbone taxonomy (as of 2026-03-13) Height: Height of the tree as measured using a rangefinder or visually estimated (in metres)Estimated_girth: Code indicating whether the tree's girth was measured with a tape (no) or inaccessible and therefore estimated from afar (yes)GBH1: Girth of the first stem (cm)GBH2: Girth of the second stem if applicable (cm)GBH3: Girth of the third stem if applicable (cm)GBH4: Girth of the fourth stem if applicable (cm)GBH5: Girth of the fifth stem if applicable (cm)GBH6: Girth of the sixth stem if applicable (cm)GBH7: Girth of the seventh stem if applicable (cm)GBH8: Girth of the eight stem if applicable (cm)GBH9: Girth of the ninth stem if applicable (cm)Remarks: Additional remarks if any 03_manar_vegetation_survey_saplings_seedlings.csvThis file comprises of data on saplings (>=3.1 GBH to 30 cm GBH) and seedlings (>50 cm height and GBH <= 3.1cm (1 cm DBH)) measured within 70 plots of 5x5 m dimension located at the centroid of each of the 70 grids of 1 ha (100x100 m) size and overlapping the 20x20 m plot for adult trees around it. <Column_name> : <Description>Date: Date of measurementGrid_ID: Name of the gridVerbatim_name: Scientific name of a sapling or seedling identified to the highest taxonomic level in the fieldScientific_name: Scientific name of the sapling or seedling as per the GBIF backbone taxonomy (as of 2026-03-13) No_of_saplings: Total number of saplings of the particular species (enumeration)No_of_seedlings: Total number of seedlings of the particular species (enumeration)No_of_coppicing_saplings: Total number of coppicing saplings of the particular species among the total saplings (enumeration)Remarks: Additional remarks if any 04_manar_vegetation_survey_overheadtrees_additional.csvThis file comprises of data on the species identity of trees whose canopies overtopped the 5x5 m plots. <Column_name> : <Description>Date: Date of measurementGrid_ID: Name of the gridVerbatim_name: Scientific name of the tree above the central 5x5 m plot located outside the circumscribing 20x20 m plot identified to the highest taxonomic level in the fieldScientific_name: Scientific name of the sapling or seedling as per the GBIF backbone phylogeny (as of 2026-03-13)Remarks: Additional remarks if any 05_manar_vegetation_survey_cover.csvThis file comprises of data on estimates of vegetation cover -- viz. canopy, invasives (Lantana camara, Chromolaena odoratum, and Solanum mauritianum), grasses, lianas -- and estimates of rock and top-soil cover with slope of the land estimated at the centroid of each of the 70 accessible grids. <Column_name> : <Description>Date: Date of measurementGrid_ID: Name of the gridCanopy_openness: Canopy openness measured using a hand-held densiometer at 1 m height in four cardinal directionsCanopy_cover: Canopy cover or closure calculated as 1 - average (openness estimates)Liana: Visual estimate of liana (woody climber) cover scored on a tertile scale* Grass: Visual estimate of grassy cover scored on a tertile scale*Lantana: Visual estimate of Lantana camara (invasive) cover scored on a tertile scale*Solanum: Visual estimate of Solanum mauritianum (invasive) cover scored on a tertile scale*Chromolaena: Visual estimate of Chromolaena odorata (invasive) cover scored on a tertile scale*Soil: Visual estimate of open soil cover scored on a tertile scale*Rock: Visual estimate of bare rock cover scored on a tertile scale*Slope: Visual estimate of the slope of the land (0 = 0-20 degrees, 1 = 20-30 degrees, 3 = 30-45 degrees, 4 = >45 degrees)Coppice: A count of the number of coppicing stems (0 = none, 1 = 0-10 stems, 2 = 10-20 stems, 3 = >20 stems)Remarks: Additional remarks if any *Absence was scored as "0", 1 to 33.3% cover was scored as "1", 33.3 to 66.66 % was scored as "2", and 66.6% up to 100% was scored as "3". All scores were ocular estimates made from the centre of each grid.