ACG-Growth-Forecasting: Tree diameter data in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica across 21 plots

Description of Forest Monitoring Program This forest monitoring program takes place in the tropical dry forests at the Parque Nacional Palo Verde, located in the Área de Conservación Arenal-Tempisque (10.358N, 85.358W), and in Parque Nacional Santa Rosa, located in the Área de Conservación Guanacaste (10.848N, 85.628W), in northwestern Costa Rica. The program consists of twenty-one 20 x 50 m plots distributed across the two areas. Seven plots at Parque Nacional Palo Verde (plots: 13-18, 19) and seven plots in Sector Santa Rosan (plots: 7-12, 20) were placed in a forest type consisting of a mixture of drought-deciduous and evergreen species (referred to as Palo Verde and Santa Rosa). In Sector Santa Rosa, an additional seven plots were placed in an evergreen forest dominated by the live oak Quercus oleoides with low abundance of co-occurring drought-deciduous and evergreen species (plots: 1-6, 21). Years of data available: 2021-2025 Data dictionary Species list The primary data file is structured as a flat, tabular, comma-separated values (.csv) file with UTF-8 encoding to preserve botanical accents and authority characters. File name: 20260526_SpeciesList.csv Column Name Data Type Description Sp_code.ORIG Character The original alphanumeric species code utilized during fieldwork or recorded within legacy census sheets. genus.ORIG Character The original genus name as recorded prior to taxonomic curation. species.ORIG Character The original specific epithet as recorded prior to taxonomic curation. spec.name.ORIG Character The full scientific binomial originally assigned to the tree stem, combining the uncleaned genus and species strings. family Character The resolved taxonomic family name following standardization. genus Character The accepted, valid genus name following resolution against the taxonomic backbone from WFO. specificEpithet Character The accepted, valid specific epithet following taxonomic resolution from WFO. scientificName Character The finalized, fully resolved scientific binomial (Genus + specific epithet) verified as accepted in WFO. scientificNameAuthorship Character The formal authority string designating the botanist(s) responsible for the valid publication of the name. Old.status Character Nomenclatural status label assigned to the name in legacy tracking configurations. taxonomicStatus Character The authoritative taxonomic validity status of the resolved name. New.accepted Logical Boolean flag indicating whether the cleaning pipeline altered the identity of the original field label to a new accepted binomial. Sp_code Character The final standardized species code generated for community matrix configurations, ordinations, and demographic models. Tree diameter data The primary data file is a flat, long-format tabular data file tracking multi-year longitudinal stem diameter measurements within permanent sampling infrastructure. File name: 20260626_dbh_data_corrected.csv Column Name Data Type Description plot Numeric / Integer Unique identifier for the permanent master inventory sampling plot. Baseline spatial block indicator. subplot Numeric / Integer Unique identifier for the localized spatial subdivision within the plot. Used to manage local census boundaries. tree Numeric / Integer Unique master tag tracking an individual tree organism over time. Remains invariant across years to isolate mortality metrics. stem Numeric / Integer Specific tracking number for individual trunks belonging to a tree. Essential for separating biomass allocations in multi-stemmed species. dendrometer Numeric / Integer Unique identification code of the physical band installed on the trunk. Sp_code Character Standardized taxonomic code matching the resolved taxonomic spine. Direct link to the WFO taxonomic reference table. obsYear Numeric / Integer The calendar year in which the physical field census was completed. Aligns tree responses with regional ERA5 reanalysis time-series. dbh_dendro Numeric / Double Diameter at Breast Height (cm) derived via continuous dendrometer band increments. Precision floating point; NA if missing. Exclude values where QC == -1 to filter out mechanical instrument adjustments. liana Numeric / Factor Index tracking the degree of tree crown area colonized by woody vine infestations. 0: No liana present; 1: Liana present; obscuring <10% of crown area; 2: Liana present in 10-50% of crown area; 3: Liana present in >50% of crown area. phenology Numeric / Factor Categorical index documenting the leafing phenological phase exactly at the time of field measurement. | 1: <30% of leaves present (Deciduous phase); 2: 30-80% of leaves present (Intermediate flush/senescence); 3: >80% of leaves present (Full evergreen canopy). canopy Numeric / Factor Crown Illumination Index assessing the canopy vertical exposure and sunlight interception. 1: Canopy receives no direct sunlight; 2: Canopy receives sunlight only on lateral crown parts; 3: Canopy receives partial direct sunlight on top of crown; 4: Entire top of the crown receives direct vertical sunlight; 5: Both sides and top of the crown receive full direct sunlight. Standardized ecological proxy for canopy stratification and dominance. mortality Numeric / Binary Vital status flag tracking individual stem survival. 0: Individual is alive; 1: individual is death at the time of census. QC Numeric / Integer Quality Control flag indicating data reliability and structural gaps. 1: Normal, valid growth increment; -1: Technical band adjustment, reset, or dead entry Notes Character Qualitative field metadata tracking equipment updates or structural shifts.