Experimental data of cushion plants on the Tibetan Plateau

Cushion plants are important elements of alpine plant communities and have crucial roles in maintaining soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Therefore, we selected as dominant shrubs Eremogone kansuensis, Thylacospermum caespitosum, and Androsace tapete, widely distributed on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In August 2020, samples were collected from 25 sites across an 1158 km × 1214 km area on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau垫状植物（cushion plants）是高寒植物群落的重要组成部分，在青藏高原维持土壤生物多样性与生态系统功能方面发挥着关键作用。因此，我们选取了广泛分布于青藏高原的3种优势垫状灌木：甘肃雪灵芝（Eremogone kansuensis）、丛生囊果草（Thylacospermum caespitosum）与垫状点地梅（Androsace tapete）。2020年8月，我们在青藏高原1158千米×1214千米的研究区域内的25个样点采集了样本。