Data from: Ecological determinants of mating system within and between three Fagus sylvatica populations along an elevational gradient

Studies addressing the variation of mating system between plant
populations rarely account for the variability of these parameters between
individuals within populations, although this variability is often
non-negligible. Here, we propose a new direct method based on paternity
analyses (Mixed Effect Mating Model) to estimate individual migration (mi)
and selfing rates (si) together with the pollen dispersal kernel. Using
this method and the KINDIST approach, we investigated the variation of
mating system parameters within and between three populations of Fagus
sylvatica along an elevational gradient. Among the mother trees, si varied
from 0% to 48%, mi varied from 12% to 86% and the effective number of
pollen donors (Nepi) varied from 2 to 364. The mating patterns differed
along the gradient, the top population showing higher m and lower s, and a
trend to higher Nep than the bottom populations. The phenological lag
shaped long-distance pollen flow both within population (by increasing mi
at mother-tree level) and between populations (by increasing m at high
elevation). Rather than the mate density, the canopy density was detected
as a major mating system determinant within population; it acted as a
barrier to pollen flow, decreasing the proportion of long-distance pollen
flow and increasing si. Overall, the effects of ecological factors on
mating system were not the same within vs. between populations across the
gradient, and these factors also differed from those traditionally found
to shape variation at range-wide scale, highlighting the interest of
multiscale approaches.