DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7457732
title: Data from: Plant Community Structure in Tropical Rain Forest Fragments of the Western Ghats, India

description: DESCRIPTION
This dataset includes vegetation plot data on trees, lianas, understorey plants, and regeneration, and related data and species name matching files in five rainforest sites collected in 2003 as part of the following study:
MUTHURAMKUMAR, S., AYYAPPAN, N., PARTHASARATHY, N., MUDAPPA, D., RAMAN, T. R. S., SELWYN, M. A. & PRAGASAN, L. A. 2006. Plant community structure in tropical rain forest fragments of the Western Ghats, India. Biotropica 38: 143–160. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00118.x
The regeneration data were analysed and presented in the following publication and related dataset:
OSURI, A. M., CHAKRAVARTHY, D., MUDAPPA, D., RAMAN, T. R. S., AYYAPPAN, N., MUTHURAMKUMAR, S. & PARTHASARATHY, N. 2017. Successional status, seed dispersal mode and overstorey species influence tree regeneration in tropical rain-forest fragments in Western Ghats, India. Journal of Tropical Ecology 33(4): 270-284. DOI: 10.1017/S0266467417000219
OSURI, A. M., CHAKRAVARTHY, D., MUDAPPA, D., RAMAN, T. R. S., AYYAPPAN, N., MUTHURAMKUMAR, S. & PARTHASARATHY, N. 2017. Data from: Successional status, seed dispersal mode and overstorey species influence tree regeneration in tropical rain-forest fragments in Western Ghats, India, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vd0nn
CONTACTS
CONTACT #11. Name: T. R. Shankar Raman2. Work Address: Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311, 12th A Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysuru 570017, Karnataka, India3. Work Phone: +91 821 25156014. Email address: trsr@ncf-india.org5. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1347-3953
CONTACT #21. Name: Divya Mudappa2. Work Address: Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311, 12th A Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysuru 570017, Karnataka, India3. Work Phone: +91 821 25156014. Email address: divya@ncf-india.org5. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9708-4826
CONTACT #31. Name: Anand M. Osuri2. Work Address: Nature Conservation Foundation, 1311, 12th A Main, Vijayanagar 1st Stage, Mysuru 570017, Karnataka, India3. Work Phone: +91 821 25156014. Email address: aosuri@ncf-india.org5. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9909-5633
CONTACT #41. Name:  N. Ayyappan2. Work Address: French Institute of Pondicherry, No. 11, Post Box No. 33, Saint Louis Street, Pondicherry – 605 001, India.3. Work Phone: + 91- 413-22316164. Email address: ayyappan.n@ifpindia.org5. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4383-557X
CONTACT #51. Name:  S. Muthuramkumar2. Work Address: V.H.N.S.N. College, 3/151-1, College Road, Virudhunagar - 626001, Tamil Nadu, India.3. Work Phone: + 91-4562-2801544. Email address: muthuramkumar@vhnsnc.edu.in5. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7791-8499
CONTACT #61. Name:  N. Parthasarathy2. Work Address: Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University, R Venkat Raman Nagar, Kalapet, Pondicherry 605014, India3. Work Phone: + 91-413-26543264. Email address: parthapu@yahoo.com5. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4172-5441
KEYWORDS
Anamalai hills; biodiversity hotspot; disturbance; endemics; fragmentation; lianas; plant conservation; tree diversity; tropical rain forest; understory plants.
GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE
1. Location/Study Area: Valparai Plateau, Tamil Nadu, India; Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu, India
2. GPS coordinates: Valparai Plateau (10°15'- 10°22'N, 76°52' - 76°59'E); Anamalai Tiger Reserve (10°12' - 10°35'N, 76°49' - 77°24'E)
TEMPORAL COVERAGE
1. Begins: 2003-03-01 (Year, Month, Day)2. Ends: 2003-04-30 (Year, Month, Day)
METHODS
Methods involved systematic vegetation plots for trees, lianans and understorey plants as described in Muthuramkumar et al. 2006 (Biotropica 38: 143–160. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00118.x) and for tree and woody regeneration as described in Osuri et al. 2017 (Journal of Tropical Ecology 33(4): 270-284. DOI: 10.1017/S0266467417000219). The vegetation sampling methods are briefly described below.
The present study was conducted in five tropical wet evergreen forest fragments located on the Valparai plateau (Fig. 1): Akkamalai (AK, 2600 ha), Upper Manamboli (UM, 100 ha), Lower Manamboli (LM, 100 ha), Tata Finlay (TF, 32 ha), and Injipara (IP, 18 ha).
In each site, vegetation was sampled in randomly placed noncontiguous plots of 20 × 20 m located at least 50 m apart and at least 20 m into the fragment interior from the edges, major trails, or roads. We sampled 20 plots each in IP, TF, and LM, and 25 plots each in UM and AK. Within each plot, all trees ≥30cm girth at breast height (gbh, at 1.3 m; corresponding to DBH of 9.55 cm) and lianas ≥1 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) were identified to species, counted, and their girth/diameter measured. For multi-stemmed trees bole girths were measured separately, basal area calculated and summed. Each 20 x 20 m plot was divided into four 10 × 10 m quarters.
For understory plants, 2 × 2 m quadrats were laid at the four corners of the 20 × 20 m plot (one in each of the corresponding four quarters) and all shrubs, undershrubs, herbs, ferns, and small twiners found within the quadrats were enumerated and identified. The regeneration sampling was done in a 5 × 5-m plot (0.0025 ha) placed at the outer corner of the first (south-west) quarter of the 20 x 20 m plot. Within each regeneration plot, we identified, counted and measured all tree saplings >1 cm diameter at breast height (dbh, at 1.3 m) and <9.55 cm dbh (equivalent to <30 cm girth at breast height, gbh). Woody shrubs of 1–9.55 cm dbh were alsorecorded in the regeneration plots (but these were excluded in the Osuri et al. 2017 analysis).
For vegetatively propagating plants a clump of stems that is basally connected was considered as one individual. Canopy height was measured with a range finder and canopy closure was measured using a spherical densiometer. Vouchers were identified with regional flora and confirmed with the Western Ghats collections available in the herbarium of Salim Ali School of Ecology, Pondicherry University, from our previous works in the region.
 
ACKNOLWEDGEMENTS
Funders and other supporters of the research are acknowledged in the original publications. The compilation and publication of this dataset was carried out as part of an NCF project supported by Fondation Franklinia.
FILES INCLUDED
Besides the 00_README.txt file that contains this metadata, the dataset includes the following 11 files, whose details and contents are explained below.
01_all_sites.csv
Description: The file contains details of the five study sites (three continuous forest and two forest fragment sites). Note: Current Name of TF (Tata Finlay) site is Old Valparai, current name of Akkamalai (AK) is Iyerpadi-Akkamalai complex. Sites and codes correspond to the Muthuramkumar et al. 2006 paper (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00118.x).
Column names and descriptions:eventDate: Date range when sampling was carried out in the sitesold_sitename: Name of the site as used in the Muthuramkumar et al. (2006) paper (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00118.x)sitecode: Site code as used in the Muthuramkumar et al. (2006) paper (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00118.x)site: Site name as at present and used in this datasetdecimalLatitude: latitude in decimal degrees NorthdecimalLongitude: longitude in decimal degrees EastgeodeticDatum: Geodetic Datum WGS 84coordinateUncertaintyInMeters: Uncertainty in metres of the GPS location (as only one location available for entire site where points were distributed)type: Indicates whether site was continuous rainforest or rainforest fragmentArea_ha: Area in hectaresAltitude_min_m: Minimum altitude in metres of sampled plotsAltitude_max_m: Maximum altitude in metres of sampled plotsOwnership: Whether site is in privately owned land or within state-protected reserveAverage_canopy_height_m: average canopy height in metresCanopy_closure_%: estimated canopy closure in percentageNearby_plantations: Adjoining plantations
02_all_trees_adult_data.csv
Description: The file contains records of all adult trees >= 30 cm girth at breast height of 1.3 m (gbh) recorded within 20 m x 20 m plots across three continuous forests and two forest fragments.
Note: Same as in the Osuri et al. (2017) dataset (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vd0nn), with Tithonia diversifolia added back in Injipara and data from one additional site (Manamboli Lower) added back from the original dataset corresponding to the Muthuramkumar et al. 2006 paper (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00118.x). Column names and descriptions:x: Row indexsite: Name of forest siteplot_no: An unique plot number assigned to each 20m x 20m adult tree plot within each siteq_no: An unique number assigned to each of four 10m x 10m quarters within each adult plott_no: An unique number assigned to each individual tree within each site.old_code: Species codes used at the time of data collection (refer to Appendix A of the main paper for full species names, and the 06_all_species_names.csv file with this dataset)osuri_code: Revised species codes used in the Osuri et al. 2017 paper in Journal of Tropical Ecology 33: 270-284 (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467417000219) and related dataset (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vd0nn)current_code: Species codes used at presentgbh_1 to gbh_16: Girth at breast height of single- (gbh_1) and multi-stemmed (gbh_2 – gbh_16) individuals, measured in centimetres (cm)P_ID: Unique plot ID created by combining columns site and plot_no
03_all_liana_data.csv
Description: The file contains records of all lianas >= 1 cm diameter at breast height of 1.3 m (dbh) recorded within 20 m x 20 m plots across three continuous forests and two forest fragments.
Note: Lianas were not included in the Osuri et al. (2017) dataset (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vd0nn).
Column names and descriptions:x: Row indexsite: Name of forest siteplot_no: An unique plot number assigned to each 20m x 20m adult tree plot within each siteq_no: An unique number assigned to each of four 10m x 10m quarters within each adult plott_no: An unique number assigned to each individual tree within each site.old_code: Species codes used at the time of data collection (refer to Appendix A of the main paper for full species names, and the 06_all_species_names.csv file with this dataset)osuri_code: Indicated as NA since these data were not used in the Osuri et al. 2017 paper in Journal of Tropical Ecology 33: 270-284 (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467417000219) and related dataset (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vd0nn)current_code: Species codes used at presentdbh_1 to dbh_11: Diameter at breast height of single- (dbh_1) and multi-stemmed (dbh_2 – dbh_11) individuals, measured in centimetres (cm)    P_ID: Unique plot ID created by combining columns site and plot_no
04_all_herbs_data.csv
Description: The file contains records of all understorey plants (shrubs, undershrubs, herbs, ferns, and small twiners) recorded in 2 m × 2 m quadrats laid at the four corners of each 20 m × 20 m plot in three continuous forests and two forest fragments.
Note: Understorey plants were not included in the Osuri et al. (2017) dataset (https: //doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vd0nn).
Column names and descriptions:x: Row indexsite: Name of forest siteplot_no: An unique plot number assigned to each 20m x 20m plot within each sitecorner_no: An unique number assigned to each of four 2 m x 2 m quadrat laid at the four corners of the 20 m x 20 m plott_no: A number assigned to each individual species recorded within the corner plot.old_code: Species codes used at the time of data collection (refer to Appendix A of the main paper for full species names, and the 06_all_species_names.csv file with this dataset)osuri_code: Indicated as NA since these data were not used in the Osuri et al. 2017 paper in Journal of Tropical Ecology 33: 270-284 (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467417000219) and related dataset (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vd0nn)current_code: Species codes used at presentcount: Number of individuals counted (for vegetatively propagating plants a clump of stems that was basally connected was considered as one individual)P_ID: Unique plot ID created by combining columns site and plot_no
05_all_regeneration_data.csv
Description: The file contains records of woody seedlings and saplings (1-5 cm diameter at breast height at 1.3 m, dbh) and larger-stemmed trees (>5 cm dbh) recorded within single 5 m x 5 m regeneration plots nested within 20 m x 20 m plots. Plots were located in three continuous forests and two forest fragments. Data were filtered during analysis in Osuri et al. (2017, Journal of Tropical Ecology) to retain only seedling and saplings, defined as individuals with effective diameter <=5 cm.
Note: Same as in the Osuri et al. (2017) dataset, with Tithonia diversifolia added back in Injipara from original dataset; and data from one additional site (Manamboli Lower) added back from the Muthuramkumar et al. 2006 dataset. Column names and descriptions:x: Row indexsite: Name of forest siteplot_no: An unique plot number assigned to each 20m x 20m adult tree plot within each siteq_no: The 5 m x 5 m plot was placed in the SW corner of the 20 m x 20 m plot in this q_no which indicates one of the four 10 m x 10 m quarters of the 20 m x 20 m plot, where each quarter was given a unique number in each sitet_no: An unique number assigned to each individual seedling, sapling or tree within each site.old_code: Species codes used at the time of data collection (for full species names refer to 06_all_species_names.csv file with this dataset)osuri_code: Revised species codes used in the Osuri et al. 2017 paper in Journal of Tropical Ecology 33: 270-284 (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467417000219) and related dataset (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vd0nn)current_code: Species codes used at presentdbh_1 to dbh_12: Diameter at breast height of single- (dbh_1) and multi-stemmed (dbh_2 – dbh_12) individuals, measured in centimetres (cm)    eff_dbh: Effective diameter at breast height (cm)- calculated as ((dbh)^2 +(dbh_1)^2 +...+(dbh_12)^2)^(1/2),P_ID: Unique plot ID created by combining columns site and plot_no
06_all_canopy_readings.csv
Description: The file contains canopy-related measurements taken in each 20 m × 20 m plot in three continuous forests and two forest fragments.
Note: Units of light meter reading were not recorded
Column names and descriptions:site: Name of forest siteplot_no: An unique plot number assigned to each 20m x 20m adult tree plot within each sitereading: A number assigned to the 1 to 4 readings taken in each plotlight: Light measurement taken with a light meter in the plotcanopy_openness: Canopy openness (scored from 0-100%) using a spherical densiometer (Canopy cover = 100 - canopy openness)P_ID: Unique plot ID created by combining columns site and plot_no
07_all_extracanopy_trees_data.csv
Description: The file contains records of additional trees outside the 5 x 5 m plot whose canopy was overhead of the plot.
Note: Species codes are used to denote presence (not count of stems) of that species in the overhead canopy.
Column names and descriptions:site: Name of forest siteplot_no: An unique plot number assigned to each 20m x 20m adult tree plot within each siteq_no: The 5 m x 5 m plot was placed in the SW corner of the 20 m x 20 m plot in this q_no which indicates one of the four 10 m x 10 m quarters of the 20 m x 20 m plot, where each quarter was given a unique number in each siteold_code: Species codes used at the time of data collection (for full species names refer to 06_all_species_names.csv file with this dataset)osuri_code: Revised species codes used in the Osuri et al. 2017 paper in Journal of Tropical Ecology 33: 270-284 (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467417000219) and related dataset (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vd0nn)current_code: Species codes used at presentP_ID: Unique plot ID created by combining columns site and plot_no
08_all_species_names.csv
Description: This file provides species codes and species scientific names as originally used in the Muthuramkumar et al. 2006 paper (https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00118.x), and as matched with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) species name matching tool
Note: For plots that had no species occurrences (old_code = No herbs, Noliana), NA has been used for other columns
Column names and descriptions:group: Code indicating main dataset group where species occurs (tree and regeneration data, liana data, understorey plants data)old_code: Species codes used at the time of data collection (refer to traits data file for full species names)osuri_code: Revised species codes if used in the Osuri et al. 2017 paper in Journal of Tropical Ecology 33: 270-284 (https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467417000219) and related dataset (https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vd0nn) or else indicated as NAcurrent_code: Species codes used at presentoriginal_name: Scientific name of plant species as used at the time of the original publication (Muthuramkumar et al. 2006)original_fullname: Scientific name and authorship of plant species as used at the time of the original publication (Muthuramkumar et al. 2006)original_family: Family of the plant species as used at the time of original publicationGBIFname: Scientific name as matched by GBIF species name matching toolkey: GBIF name matching tool key numbermatchType: Type of matchconfidence: Confidence returned by name matching toolstatus: Whether accepted name or synonymrank: Taxanomic rank (level) to which identifiedkingdom: Taxonomic Kingdomphylum: Taxonomic Phylumclass: Taxonomic Classorder: Taxonomic Orderfamily: Taxonomic Familygenus: Taxonomic Genusspecies: Taxonomic SpeciescanonicalName: Canonical part of scientific name matched by GBIFauthorship: Authorship of scientific name matched by GBIFscientificName: Current scientific name (from species, genus, or family columns)
09_tabula_Biotropica_appendix1.csv
Description: This file contains tabled values extracted from Appendix 1 of Muthuramkumar et al. 2006 paper in Biotropica (DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00118.x); extraction from PDF carried out using Tabula software (https://tabula.technology/)
Note: Last 5 columns contain total abundance (count of individuals/stems) in the corresponding site.
Column names and descriptions:slno: serial numberhabit: Plant habit indicating trees, lianas, or understorey plantsspecies: species name as used in Appendix 1 of Muthuramkumar et al. 2006asterisk: species endemic to Western Ghats are indicated by an asterisk (∗ ), and invasive species by double asterisk (∗∗ ).voucher_number: voucher number of herbarium specimen deposited in the herbarium of Salim Ali School of Ecology, Pondicherry University, India.family: plant family as in Appendix 1Iyerpadi-Akkamalai: abundance (total number of individuals counted) in this siteManamboli_Upper: abundance (total number of individuals counted) in this siteManamboli_Lower: abundance (total number of individuals counted) in this siteOld_Valparai: abundance (total number of individuals counted) in this siteInjipara: abundance (total number of individuals counted) in this site
10_Muthuramkumar et al 2006_Abstract and Appendix 1_extract_Biotropica.pdf
Extracted PDF of first page with Abstract and Appendix 1 of Muthuramkumar et al. 2006 (DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00118.x).
11_figure_1_Biotropica_paper.jpg
JPEG image of Figure 1 (map of study area) from the following publication:MUTHURAMKUMAR, S., AYYAPPAN, N., PARTHASARATHY, N., MUDAPPA, D., RAMAN, T. R. S., SELWYN, M. A. & PRAGASAN, L. A. 2006. Plant community structure in tropical rain forest fragments of the Western Ghats, India. Biotropica 38: 143–160. DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00118.x
description: Version 2.0 uploaded after minor fixes to ensure unique occurrence ID can be generated from plot and sub-plot numbers, and minor species name matching fixes, and name for one site (IP). 

Occurrence records have also been uploaded to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility:
Raman T R S, Mudappa D, Osuri A M, Ayyappan N, Muthuramkumar S, Parthasarathy N (2022): Plant Occurrence Data from: Plant Community Structure in Tropical Rain Forest Fragments of the Western Ghats, India. v1.0. Nature Conservation Foundation. Dataset/Samplingevent. https://cloud.gbif.org/asia/resource?r=ncf-anamalais-floristics-2003&v=1.0 

Note that although 25 plots of 20x20 m were sampled in each of two sites (AK and UM), the Muthuramkumar et al. 2006 paper used data from only 20 plots each to keep it comparable with the other three sites.