Multiple canopy opening effects on recruited saplings in a typhoon-disturbed tropical rainforest, Taiwan

Aim: To investigate the influence of multiple canopy openings on the composition and diversity of recruited saplings in a forest frequently disturbed by typhoons.
Methods: We conducted tree-by-tree censuses (diameter at breast height ≥ 1 cm) and mapped gaps (canopy height < 5 m) in 1993, 2000, 2008, and 2013 in a tropical mountain zonal foothill evergreen broad-leaved forest in Nanjenshan Nature Reserve, Taiwan. We analysed the composition and diversity of recruited saplings within a 2.1 ha plot (840 sampling quadrats (5 m × 5 m)) with variable numbers of canopy openings recorded during the study period.
Results: Composition of recruited saplings was dissimilar between quadrats that stayed opened and those that stayed closed throughout the study period (pairwise similarity estimates C02 = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.38–0.66). The quadrats under closed canopy had high diversity when weighting rare species (species richness), whereas quadrats with one or two gap opening records during the past 20..., This dataset is the basal area (m2) of recruited saplings (diameter at breast height ≥ 1 cm) in the 2000, 2008, and 2013 censuses of a tropical mountain zonal foothill evergreen broad-leaved forest in Nanjenshan Nature Reserve, Taiwan. There are 840 sampling quadrats (5 m × 5 m) within the 2.1 ha study plot. Many individuals had multiple stems, and some stems may die or recruit during the census period. Thus, we sum up the basal area (radius2 × π) of the stems for each individual to indicate its survival status. The canopy opening history type of each sampling quadrats were also indicated in the column Type.9313. We also included a worksheet with species abbreviation and species photosynthetic capacity (Amax; μmol CO2 m-2 s-1) measured by Kuo and Yeh (2015) and Kuo et al. (2021)., , , # Data from: Multiple canopy opening effects on recruited saplings in a typhoon-disturbed tropical rainforest, Taiwan.

## Description of the Data and file structure

This dataset is the basal area (m^2^) of recruited saplings (diameter at breast height ≥ 1 cm) in the 2000, 2008, and 2013 census of a tropical mountain zonal foothill evergreen broad-leaved forest in Nanjenshan Nature Reserve, Taiwan. There are 840 sampling quadrats (5 m × 5 m) within the 2.1 ha study plot (10X and 10Y are the coordinate system for the 10 m scale. 5X and 5Y are the coordinate system for the 5 m scale). Many individuals had multiple stems, and some stems may die or recruit during the census period. Thus, we sum up the basal area (radius^2^×π) of the stems for each individual to indicate its survival status. The canopy opening history type of each sampling quadrats were also indicated in the column Type.9313. We also included a worksheet with species abbreviation and species photosynthetic capacity (Amax; μ...