DOI: 10.5061/dryad.95x69p8s6
title: Data from: β-diversity of herbaceous versus woody plant communities across a tropical rainfall gradient

description: Aim: Most of our current knowledge of tropical forest plant communities is
 based on trees, despite the substantial contribution of other life forms
 to plant diversity in these systems. In particular, studies of understory
 herbaceous plants are limited. With their lower dispersal abilities,
 higher rates of evolution, and lower drought tolerance than trees, herbs
 are expected to exhibit different patterns of species composition across
 space. The aim of the study is to compare the patterns and drivers of
 variation in species composition (i.e., β-diversity) of trees and
 understory herbaceous plants.Location: Mudumalai, Western Ghats,
 India.Time period: 2018 - 2019.Major taxa studied: Angiosperms.Methods: We
 surveyed tree and understory herb communities in 13 one-ha plots along a
 strong rainfall gradient in a seasonally dry forest landscape in the
 Western Ghats, India. In both groups, we estimated among-plot β-diversity,
 which we decomposed into two components: turnover and nestedness. Then we
 partitioned the relative influences of spatial and environmental
 predictors, including rainfall, temperature, soil, and fire frequency, on
 β-diversity.Results: Contrary to our expectations, β-diversity was
 remarkably similar for herbs and trees, and both groups exhibited high
 turnover along the gradient. Rainfall and temperature explained the most
 variation in composition within both groups, while fire and soil explained
 less variation, and their effects differed between groups.Main
 Conclusions: While trees and herbs show contrasting patterns of
 α-diversity across this rainfall gradient, our study suggests that both
 life forms are impacted strongly by environmental filtering, predominantly
 rainfall and temperature, resulting in similar patterns of β-diversity.
 The high turnover observed in tree and herb communities, and the influence
 of rainfall and temperature in structuring these communities, should be
 considered when designing conservation and restoration strategies in the
 face of ongoing global changes and other anthropogenic pressures on
 tropical forests.
description: # β-diversity of herbaceous versus woody plant communities across a
 tropical rainfall gradient
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.95x69p8s6](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.95x69p8s6) ## Description of the data and file structure The dataset was collected by conducting fieldwork in the forests of Mudumalai during 2018-19. It was processed using R. There are four data files (all in csv) 1. **Herbaceous Plants in all plots.csv**: Here, the species data of all herbaceous angiosperms in 13 one-ha plots in Mudumalai forests, India, have been provided. The rows are plot names, columns are species names. This is presence-absence data (1 means presence, 0 means absent). 2. **Tree Species in all plots.csv**: Here, the species data of all tree species in 13 one-ha plots in Mudumalai forests, India, have been provided. The rows are plot names, columns are species names. This is presence-absence data. 3. **Environmental Variables.csv**: In this four set of environmental variables in 13 one-ha plots in Mudumalai are provided. These are MAP (Mean annual precipitation in millimeters); Fire_Fr (Fire Frequency as fire incidents/year); Ann_ST (Annual Surface Temperature in degree Celcius); and Soil.PCA (PCA axes of soil variables mentioned in the main manuscript). 4. **Geographical Coordinates.csv**: These provide the latitude and longitude of the 13 one-ha plots in Mudumalai.