Effects of soil disturbance on changes in plant species composition in a native pine savanna, Georgia, USA – Plant species and percent cover in 2021@en

The purpose of the data was to compare vegetation changes over time (0-9 years) in 1) an area repeatedly disturbance by tilling with a disk harrow to maintain a firebreak, 2) single tilling disturbance to create a temporary firebreak, and 3) undisturbed vegetation within a native pine savanna in Georgia, USA. We established 9-10 plots each covering 10 square meters within a repeated-disturbance firebreak, a single-disturbance firebreak, and in undisturbed vegetation (n = 29). We identified plant species within the plots six times over a nine year period from 2012-2021. In 2021 we also visually estimated percent cover of each species. We assessed changes in the plant community using ordination. Results were used to infer the effects of a single and repeated soil disturbance on plant species composition by comparison to the undisturbed plots.本数据集旨在对比美国佐治亚州原生松林稀树草原（pine savanna）中三类区域的植被随0-9年时间跨度的变化情况：1）通过反复使用圆盘耙（disk harrow）耕作以维持防火带（firebreak）的区域；2）经单次耕作以构建临时防火带的区域；3）未受干扰的原生植被区域。我们在反复扰动防火带、单次扰动防火带及未受干扰植被区域内各设置9-10个样地，单个样地面积为10平方米，总计29个样地（n=29）。在2012年至2021年的9年研究周期内，我们先后6次对样地内的植物物种进行鉴定。2021年，我们还通过目视法估算了各物种的盖度百分比。我们采用排序分析（ordination）法对植物群落的变化进行评估。通过与未受干扰样地进行对照，本研究结果可用于推断单次及反复土壤扰动对植物物种组成的影响。