Data for: Vegetation and soil ecology of threatened Himalayan Trillium habitats in Kashmir, Himalaya

Understanding the vegetation and soil ecology of natural habitats harbouring threatened species is critical in conservation planning and restoration. The present study investigated the vegetation composition and soil physico-chemical attributes of natural habitats of Trillium govanianum – a threatened Himalayan endemic species. We laid 120 quadrats across eight randomly selected sites where the species was growing in the Kashmir Himalaya. We collected the soil samples from these sites and determined soil physico-chemical attributes using standard methods. Across all the sites, we found a total of 57 plant species with dominance of Rosaceae and Ranunculaceae. The IVI results revealed that Fragaria nubicola, Corydalis diphylla, Galium aparine, and Leucanthemum vulgare, were the dominant species in T. govanianum communities. The density, abundance and IVI of 3-leaf vegetative plants was higher than 1-leaf vegetative and 3-leaf reproductive plants across all the study sites. We found that T. govanianum alone forms 23.5 % positive, 0 negative, 76.4% random co-occurrences with other associated species in its community. Our results reveal that the variations in vegetation composition among the sites was influenced by differences in soil properties. Principal component analysis revealed that several soil parameters such as organic carbon, nitrogen, potassium, and sulphur were concentrated in five sites, namely Dara, Drung, Bangus, Gulmarg, and Doodhpathri, which also showed the highest density, frequency, and abundance of T. govanianum. Overall, our study contributes quantitative information on the vegetation and soil ecology of T. govanianum-assemblages, which in turn can help in developing conservation strategies for this threatened species, and its sustainable management and habitat restoration.探明栖息受胁物种的自然栖息地的植被与土壤生态学特征，对于保护规划与生态修复工作至关重要。本研究针对喜马拉雅特有受胁物种延龄草（Trillium govanianum）的自然栖息地，展开了植被组成与土壤理化性质的调查分析。研究团队在克什米尔喜马拉雅山区该物种分布的8个随机选取样地内，共布设120个样方。随后采集上述样地的土壤样品，并采用标准方法测定土壤理化性质指标。所有样地中共记录到57种植物，其中蔷薇科（Rosaceae）与毛茛科（Ranunculaceae）占据优势地位。重要值指数（Importance Value Index，IVI）分析结果显示，在延龄草群落中，西藏草莓（Fragaria nubicola）、紫堇（Corydalis diphylla）、猪殃殃（Galium aparine）以及滨菊（Leucanthemum vulgare）为优势物种。在所有研究样地中，具3枚叶片的营养株的密度、多度与重要值指数均高于具1枚叶片的营养株以及具3枚叶片的生殖株。研究发现，延龄草与其群落内其他伴生物种的共现关系中，23.5%为正相关，0%为负相关，其余76.4%为随机共现。研究结果表明，各样地间的植被组成差异受到土壤性质差异的调控。主成分分析（Principal Component Analysis，PCA）结果显示，有机碳、氮、钾与硫等多项土壤参数在达拉（Dara）、德隆（Drung）、班古斯（Bangus）、古尔马格（Gulmarg）以及杜德帕特里（Doodhpathri）这5个样地中富集；同时这5个样地的延龄草密度、频度与多度均达到最高水平。综上，本研究为延龄草群落的植被与土壤生态学特征提供了量化数据，可为该受胁物种的保护策略制定、可持续管理以及栖息地修复工作提供科学支撑。