Occurrence and abundance of woody plants from vegetation plots in the tropical wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, India

This dataset contains occurrence records of woody plants from 156 vegetation plots (each 25 x 25 m, i.e. 0.06 ha) sampled across the entire latitudinal extent (8 to 19 degrees N) of the tropical wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, India. The plots were sampled between 2010 and 2014, ranging from 40 to 1600 m elevation. The dataset comprises 20,593 occurrence records of 437 species belonging to 212 genera and 79 families. All woody plants above 10 cm girth at breast height (GBH) were recorded within each plot, along with their taxonomic identity. In addition, the nested subplot (5x5m-A, 15x15m-B or 25x25m-C) within which each stem was located was also recorded. The three nested subplot were aligned to one corner, at which point the location was recorded. Ad-hoc observations of plants outside the 25 x 25m plot, and a checklist of small stems (1-10cm GBH) within the smallest 5x5m plot were also recorded. Plants were identified using established taxonomic keys including Gamble and Fischer (1935) 'Flora of the Presidency of Madras', and Pascal and Ramesh (1997) 'A field key to the trees and lianas of the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats'. These data were gathered as part of a doctoral dissertation project:Page, Navendu V. (2018). Species Ranges, Richness and Replacement of Trees in the Evergreen Forests of the Western Ghats. PhD Dissertation. Centre for Ecological Studies, Indian Institute of Science, India.