DOI: 10.5061/dryad.47d7wm3jh
title: Data from: Shifts in grasses diversity patterns between two contrasting 40-year climate periods in tropical dry islands

description: Grasses are one of the most successful and dispersed plant families
 worldwide and their environmental and economic values are widely
 acknowledged. They dominate the landscape of Cabo Verde, the southernmost
 and driest archipelago of Macaronesia, and are relevant natural resources
 for local populations, but a comprehensive evaluation of their
 distribution patterns is still lacking. In this study, we aim to evaluate
 the potential effects of climate changes using the long-term data
 concerning grass distribution in Cabo Verde and the widely recognized
 climatic variability of this archipelago, which entails a huge
 irregularity in spatial and temporal rainfall. We identified two
 contrasting climatic periods (wet, from 1929 to 1968, and dry, from 1969
 to 2007) and gathered all the information available from the bibliography,
 herbaria and fieldwork concerning spontaneous grass species recorded in
 Cabo Verde during those two periods, which amounted to 107 taxa. 
 This information was then used to disclose the patterns of grass diversity
 as related to climatic and topographic variables (altitude and windward vs
 leeward aspects). Different altitudinal shifts in the distribution
 patterns of grass species assemblages and an assemblage specific to the
 wet period were revealed by comparing the two climatic periods. The role
 of exposure in delimiting the altitudinal distribution of the various
 assemblages was highlighted; the trade winds clearly determine the
 distribution of grass assemblages. We detected shifts in the distribution
 of grass assemblages according to the climatic periods (related to the
 macroclimate) and local topographic factors (associated with
 mesoclimates). Also, functional traits (i.e., annuals vs. perennials, C3
 vs. C4 grasses, and tropical vs. temperate species) were found to vary
 between wet and dry periods, as well as with altitude and with slope
 aspect. Understanding species distributions and the role of the climatic
 variability of Cabo Verde is crucial to predict how climate change will
 affect them and thus to support effective management and conservation
 actions.
description: These data were mainly compiled from: 1) herbarium specimens
 housed in the following Herbaria: Instituto de Investigação Científica
 Tropical, University of Lisbon (LISC), which holds the main collections
 from this geographical region; University of Coimbra (COI); Muséum
 National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris (P); and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
 (K); local collections (e.g. Herbarium of the Parque Natural do Monte
 Gordo (PNMG), São Nicolau Island); 2) online databases such as the GBIF
 website that provide data on herbarium specimens and field observations
 (GBIF.org, 2020); 3) published works (namely Duarte, 1998; Duarte et al.,
 2005; Rivas-Martínez et al., 2017); and 4) unpublished data, including
 collected specimens and field observations dating from 1992 to 2006, done
 by the authors in Cabo Verde (mainly M.C. Duarte along with other
 collectors such as I. Gomes and J.C. Costa).
 <strong>References</strong>
 Duarte, M. C. 1998. A vegetação de Santiago (Cabo Verde):
 Apontamento histórico, composição florística e interpretação ecológica das
 comunidades. PhD thesis. Lisboa: Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Instituto
 Superior de Agronomia. Duarte, M. C., F. Rego, and I.
 Moreira. 2005. “Distribution patterns of plant communities on Santiago
 Island, Cape Verde.” Journal of Vegetation Science 16(3): 283-292. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1654-1103.2005.tb02366.x GBIF.org (30 June 2020). GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.9gm3g3 Rivas-Martinez, S., M. Lousã, J. C. Costa, and M. C. Duarte. 2017. “Geobotanical survey of Cabo Verde Islands (West Africa).” International Journal of Geobotanical Research 7: 1-103.
description: # Data from: Shifts in grasses diversity patterns between two contrasting
 40-year climate periods in tropical dry islands ## Description of the Data
 and file structure Raw data of spontaneous Poaceae species occurrences
 across the Cabo Verde archipelago. The data were obtained from the
 available bibliography, herbaria and fieldwork. This dataset contains a
 total of 3138 individual records corresponding to 107 taxa of Poaceae.
 Source: origin of the individual records Catalogue_Number: number
 registered on the original source Actual_name: actual taxa scientific name
 Year: year of collection/observation Island: Cabo Verde island of
 occurrence Latitude: latitude of the occurrence Longitude: longitude of
 the occurrence