Data from: Butterfly and moth communities differ in their response to habitat structure in rainforests of Mount Cameroon

The table 'Species_abundance' corresponds to the number of Lepidoptera specimens of each species collected in understory and canopy layers at each locality. The three other tables 'Forest_structure', 'Forest_openness', and 'Plant_diversity' correspond to the three categories of habitat characteristics measured or estimated at each plot. Here is a table with the different variables, their corresponding code in the dataset, and their definition. Variable Code Definition/way of evaluation Forest structure Tree number Tnb Number of all trees >10 cm DBH (individuals/plot) Live tree number LTnb Number of live trees >10 cm DBH (individuals/plot) Dead tree number DTnb Number of dead trees >10 cm DBH (individuals/plot) Tree basal area TBA Cumulative area of all tree trunks and stems >10 cm DBH; calculated from measured DBH (m2) Live tree basal area LTBA Cumulative area of all live tree trunks and stems >10 cm DBH; calculated from measured DBH (m2) Dead tree basal area DTBA Cumulative area of all dead tree trunks and stems >10 cm DBH; calculated from measured DBH (m2) Stand wood volume SWV Calculated from tree height and basal area of all trees (m3) Live tree wood volume LTWV Calculated from tree height and basal area of all living trees (m3) Dead tree wood volume DTWV Calculated from tree height and basal area of dead trees (m3) Mean Diamteter at Breast Height (DBH) MnDBH DBH measured at 1.3 m above ground (cm) Maximum Diameter at Breast Height MxDBH Maximum DBH from all trees at the plot (cm) Mean tree height MnTH Calculated from estimated heights of individual trees (m) Maximum tree height MxTH Estimated height of the highest tree at plot (m) Mean Stem Slenderness Index SSI Ratio of estimated tree height to measured DBH for each tree, averaged per plot Forest openness Maximum canopy openness MxCO Maximum percentage of open sky from beneath a forest canopy determined from hemispherical photographs Mean canopy openness MnCO Mean percentage of open sky from beneath a forest canopy determined from hemispherical photographs (%) Herb layer cover E1 Herbs defined as all non-woody plants rooted in the soil; visually estimated over the entire plot area by the same observer (%) Shrub layer cover E2 Shrubs defined as all woody plants not exceeding the height of 4 m and with DBH < 10 cm rooted in the soil and not classified as climbers; visually estimated over the entire plot area by the same observer (%) Herb and shrub layer cover E1+E2 Combined cover of herb and shrub layers as described above (%) Maximum Leaf Area Index MxLAI Maximum effective leaf area index integrated over the zenith angles 0 to 75° Mean Leaf Area Index MnLAI Mean effective leaf area index integrated over the zenith angles 0 to 75° Maximum amount of transmitted direct solar radiation MxTDr Maximum amount of direct solar radiation transmitted by the canopy (%) Mean transmitted direct solar radiation MnTDr Mean amount of direct solar radiation transmitted by the canopy (%) Maximum amount of transmitted diffuse solar radiation MxTDf Maximum amount of diffuse solar radiation transmitted by the canopy (%) Mean transmitted diffuse solar radiation MnTDf Mean amount of diffuse solar radiation transmitted by the canopy (%) Maximum of total solar radiation MxTT Maximum sum of direct and diffuse solar radiation transmitted by the canopy (%) Mean total solar radiation MnTT Mean sum of direct and diffuse solar radiation transmitted by the canopy (%) Plant diversity Tree species richness TSR Number of tree species Herb species richness HSR Number of herb species Tree DCA1 score TDCA1 Case scores derived from the tree count produced by a detrended correspondence analysis–Axis 1 Tree DCA2 score TDCA2 ditto–Axis 2 Tree DCA3 score TDCA3 ditto–Axis 3 Tree DCA4 score TDCA4 ditto–Axis 4 Herb DCA1 score HDCA1 Case scores derived from the herb count produced by a detrended correspondence analysis–Axis 1 Herb DCA2 score HDCA2 ditto–Axis 2 Herb DCA3 score HDCA3 ditto–Axis 3 Herb DCA4 score HDCA4 ditto–Axis 4