DOI: 10.5061/dryad.51c59zwfj
title: Data from: Promoting plant diversity and habitat heterogeneity through vineyard terracing

description: Questions: Viticulture on steep slopes has shaped landscape and
 biodiversity in many regions, but insufficient profitability has led to
 management cessation and shrub encroachment. A solution to maintain
 cultivation economically viable could be vineyard terracing. We aimed to
 identify the potential of terracing to enhance plant diversity and habitat
 heterogeneity in vineyards, analyse effects of management intensity on
 vineyard vegetation, and assess how plant communities change
 after vineyard abandonment. Location: Wine-growing region of the Upper
 Middle Rhine Valley in Hesse (50.042342°N, 7.814533°E) and
 Rhineland-Palatinate (50.119139°N, 7.719275°E),
 Germany.            Methods: We recorded vascular plant species and local vineyard parameters in vertically oriented vineyards with vegetated and tilled open inter-rows, in terraced vineyards with tilled terrace inter-rows and extensively managed embankments and in vineyard fallows in a total of 45 study sites. We used plant species richness, Ellenberg indicator values and Grime’s strategy types to describe how traits and ecological requirements respond to distinct vineyard management.   Results: Plant species richness and composition were determined by management-derived disturbance intensities. Extensively managed embankments had a distinct plant community, the highest plant species richness, more perennial and indicator species, and lower nitrogen indicator values compared to inter-rows. In contrast, highly disturbed open and terrace inter-rows revealed plant communities associated with annuals and ruderals, but species richness did not differ between terrace inter-rows and embankments. Plant communities of fallows were completely different with lower plant diversity.        Conclusions: Our results highlight the potential of terraced vineyards for plant diversity with nutrient-poor, extensively managed embankments providing conditions that have become rare in modern agricultural systems. A long environmental gradient from terrace inter-rows to embankments created habitat heterogeneity at a narrow space. In contrast, intensive inter-row management in vertically oriented vineyards hampers high plant diversity and abandonment fosters the spread of woody species at the expanse of plant diversity.
description: Methods in brief, for details, see manuscript: 
 Vegetation surveying and assessment of local environmental
 data: Vegetation surveys were carried out
 in 2019 in two sampling rounds in March and June-July.
 For each sampling round, two pairs of vegetated and open
 inter-rows were selected in the center of each vertically oriented
 vineyard and two pairs of embankments and terrace inter-rows were selected
 in the center of each terraced vineyard. The plant community was assessed
 in rectangles of 1 x 6 m in each selected inter-row and embankment
 (vineyard compartments) respectively, resulting in four quadrats per
 vineyard and sampling round. As fallows were difficult to assess due to
 dense scrub, <br>we used one plot of 4 x 6 m for vegetation
 surveying. Within each plot, we identified all vascular plants and
 estimated their respective ground cover according to Londo (Londo
 1976). We additionally estimated the percentage cover
 of total vegetation, bare ground, litter, shrubs, and trees. Nomenclature
 follows Buttler et al. (2018).  Data
 processing: For statistical analysis,
 Londo cover-abundance values were transformed into mean values according
 to Leyer and Wesche (2007), and mean values for percentage <br>cover
 of total vegetation, bare ground, litter, shrub, and tree cover were
 calculated and averaged over the two sampling rounds.
 To determine the total cover of herbaceous vegetation and
 grasses per plot, we added up all transformed cover values of the
 respective grass and herbaceous species.   To
 describe site-specific factors, we calculated Ellenberg indicator values
 for nitrogen, temperature, light, moisture, and reaction for each vineyard
 compartment. Only presence-absence data of species abundance were used to
 compute mean indicator values. Species without existing Ellenberg values
 were excluded from the analyses. To account for
 distinct management-related disturbance intensities, we implemented a
 disturbance gradient ranging from high disturbance (1) in open and terrace
 inter-rows, to intermediate disturbance in vegetated inter-rows (2) and
 embankments (3) to low disturbance (4) in fallows. 
 To describe ecological traits of plant species, we calculated
 CSR strategy types according to Grime (2002) for each site. We used a
 numerical implementation to handle the strategy types mathematically and
 translated the three categories (CSR) into values ranging from 0-3 for
 each of the three strategy dimensions (competitiveness, stress tolerance,
 and ruderality). The three scores of each species sum up to three and each
 score corresponds to the number of the respective letter in the strategy
 category. We calculated mean values for each strategy type for each site
 based on presence-absence data. We assigned species to different life
 forms (annual, biennial, perennial).  We chose
 (generalized) linear mixed effect models (GLMMs) and indirect ordination
 methods (DCA) for analysis. 
description: # Data from: Promoting plant diversity and habitat heterogeneity through
 vineyard terracing Authors: Wersebeckmann, V.; Burstedde, K.; Leyer, I.
 ### General information #### Date of data collection vegetation surveying
 and assessment of local environmental data: March and June-July 2019 ####
 Location winegrowing area of the Upper middle Rhine Valley, Germany ####
 Keywords Agroecology, Community composition, Extensive management,
 Disturbance, Management intensity, Strategy type, Viticulture #### Funding
 German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) [34025/01] as part of the
 BioQuiS project (www.bioquis.de) ### Methods in brief, for details see
 manuscript: ## Vegetation surveying and assessment of local environmental
 data: \&gt; Vegetation surveys were carried out in 2019 in two
 sampling rounds in March and June\-July\. \&gt; For each sampling
 round\, two pairs of vegetated and open inter\-rows were selected in the
 center of each vertically oriented vineyard and two \&gt; pairs of
 embankments and terrace inter\-rows were selected in the center of each
 terraced vineyard\. \&gt; The plant community was assessed in
 rectangles of 1 x 6 m in each selected inter\-row and embankment
 \(vineyard compartments\) respectively\, \&gt; resulting in four
 quadrats per vineyard and sampling round\. As fallows were difficult to
 assess due to dense scrub\, \&gt; we used one plot of 4 x 6 m for
 vegetation surveying\. \&gt; Within each plot\, we identified all
 vascular plants and estimated their respective ground cover according to
 Londo \(Londo 1976\)\. \&gt; We additionally estimated the percentage
 cover of total vegetation\, bare ground\, litter\, shrubs\, and
 trees\.Nomenclature follows Buttler et al\. \(2018\)\. Buttler, K. P.;
 May, R.; Metzing, D. (2018): Liste der Gefäßpflanzen Deutschlands.
 Florensynopse und Synonyme. Bonn-Bad Godesberg: Bundesamt für Naturschutz
 (BfN-Skripten, 519). # Data processing: \&gt; For statistical
 analysis\, Londo cover\-abundance values were transformed into mean values
 according to Leyer and Wesche \(2007\)\, and mean values for percentage
 \&gt; cover of total vegetation\, bare ground\, litter\, shrub\, and
 tree cover were calculated and averaged over the two sampling rounds\.
 \&gt; To determine the total cover of herbaceous vegetation and
 grasses per plot\, we added up all transformed cover values of the
 respective grass and herbaceous species\. Leyer, I.; Wesche, K. (2007):
 Multivariate Statistik in der Ökologie. Eine Einführung. Berlin,
 Heidelberg: Springer (Springer-Lehrbuch). \&gt; To describe site
 specific factors\, we calculated Ellenberg indicator values for nitrogen\,
 temperature\, light\, moisture\, and reaction \&gt; for each vineyard
 compartment\. Only presence\-absence data of species abundance were used
 to compute mean indicator values\. Species without existing Ellenberg
 values were excluded from the analyses\. \&gt; To account for distinct
 management related disturbance intensities\, we implemented a disturbance
 gradient ranging from high disturbance \(1\) in open and terrace
 inter\-rows\, \&gt; to intermediate disturbance in vegetated
 inter\-rows \(2\) and embankments \(3\) to low disturbance \(4\) in
 fallows\. \&gt; To describe ecological traits of plant species\, we
 calculated CSR strategy types according to Grime \(2002\) for each site\.
 We used a numerical implementation to handle the strategy types
 mathematically and translated the three \&gt; categories \(CSR\) into
 values ranging from 0\-3 for each of the three strategy dimensions
 \(competitiveness\, stress tolerance\, and ruderality\)\. The three scores
 of each species sum up to three and each score corresponds to the
 \&gt; number of the respective letter in the strategy category\. We
 calculated mean values for each strategy type for each site based on
 presence\-absence data\. \&gt; We assigned species to differences life
 forms \(annual\, biennial\, perennial\)\. \&gt; We chose
 \(generalized\) linear mixed effect models \(GLMMs\) and indirect
 ordination methods \(DCA\) for analysis\. ### Data-specific information
 Variable list and units of measurement: Please see txt.files containing
 metadata for the respective dataframes ## Description of the Data and file
 structure ### Unprocessed data \&gt; Raw data on plant cover for each
 sampling round\, for analysis plant cover values were summarised over all
 sampling rounds\. Wersebeckmann et al\_plant\_species\_matrix\_spring.csv
 Wersebeckmann et al\_plant\_species\_matrix\_spring.txt Wersebeckmann et
 al\_plant\_species\_matrix\_summer.csv Wersebeckmann et
 al\_plant\_species\_matrix\_summer.txt \&gt; Unprosessed data on local
 environmental parameters for each sampling round\, for analysis mean
 values were calculated over all sampling rounds\. Wersebeckmann et
 al\_local\_env\_spring.csv Wersebeckmann et al\_local\_env\_spring.txt
 Wersebeckmann et al\_local\_env\_summer.csv Wersebeckmann et
 al\_local\_env\_summer.txt \&gt; This dataframe contains general
 information on plant species abbreviation and status according to the Red
 List of plants in Germany\. Wersebeckmann et
 al\_plant\_species\_abbreviation.csv Wersebeckmann et
 al\_plant\_species\_abbreviation.txt ### Data for analysis Wersebeckmann
 et al\_plant\_species\_matrix.csv Wersebeckmann et
 al\_plant\_species\_matrix.txt Cover data on plant species summarised over
 all sampling rounds. Wersebeckmann et al\_local\_env.csv Wersebeckmann et
 al\_local\_env.txt Wersebeckmann et al\_ecological\_plant\_traits.csv
 Wersebeckmann et al\_ecological\_plant\_traits.txt Data on local
 environmental parameters for each study plot averaged over all sampling
 rounds. ## Sharing/access Information Was data derived from another
 source? If yes, list source(s): \&gt; Annual mean temperature
 \(Lorch\, 2015–2019\) is based on climate data provided the weather
 station of Geisenheim University \(2015\-2019\,
 https://rebschutz\.hs\-geisenheim\.de/wetterstationen/witterung\.php\)\.
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