Fire-driven alternative vegetation states across the temperate Andes

The theory of alternative stable states as applied to terrestrial ecosystems, suggests that, under common environmental conditions, different vegetation types may remain stable by contrasting feedback processes. In the temperate Andes, forests and shrublands of Nothofagus species have been proposed as fire-driven alternative vegetation states (AVS): while high fire frequency would promote the stability of pyrophilic shrublands, the absence fires would stabilize pyrophobic forests. However, to assert that they are AVS we need to demonstrate that the fire-vegetation feedbacks occur under the same environmental conditions. We aimed to (i) identify to what extent Nothofagus forests and shrublands occur in the same environmental conditions across the temperate Andes and (ii) to understand how the fire regime explains the distribution patterns of these states. We used global environmental databases and local fire data to (i) estimate the environmental niche overlap of forests and shrublands, ..., , , # Data from: Fire-driven alternative vegetation states in temperate Andes [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.crjdfn3cc](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.crjdfn3cc) ## Description of the data and file structure Below you will find the following files: 1\) \"code.txt\" 2\) \"pts.txt\" 3\) \"pts_pba.txt\". And following rasters: \"PC1.tif\", \"PC2.tif\" and \"PC3.tif\". **File \"code.txt\". Data description** It contains the R script to perform all the analyses described in the article. For this, the files \"pts.csv\" and \"pts_pba.csv\" will be used. A detailed workflow on the analyses are provided in the script. **File \"pts.txt\". Data description** This file contains 10,000 random points with environmental information (climate, soil and topography) for N. pumilio forests and N. antarctica shrublands. With the environmental information, a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) will be carried out to subsequently model the ecological niches of the *Nothofagus pumilio* forest and the *Nothofagus antarctica* ...