Data for: Barriers to seedling establishment in grasslands: Implications for Nothofagus forest restoration and migration

Tree seedling establishment outside forest boundaries is controlled by many interacting factors. Understanding the relative importance of different pressures is essential for improving techniques for forest restoration and for understanding the potential of forest boundaries to shift and adapt to changing climate conditions. We investigated constraints on the spread of a key southern hemisphere forest type into grasslands by undertaking a multi-factorial experiment sowing Nothofagus cliffortioides (Nothofagaceae) in a historically deforested retired pasture. We manipulated factors to determine the relative effects of sheltered microsites, competition with pasture species, availability of ectomycorrhizal fungi, soil nutrients, and rabbit herbivory, on seedling emergence and survival. Overall survival was low (11.7% after six months and 1.5% after ten months), but there were strong treatment effects on both seedling establishment and survival. The availability of shelter and competition w...