DOI: 10.5061/dryad.s4mw6m9br
title: Data from: Historical reindeer corrals in northern boreal forests reveal divergent post-disturbance reorganization by forest type

description: Current theoretical frameworks on alternative ecosystem states in boreal
 forests do not contain a clear prediction on how the sensitivity for state
 transitions depends on site productivity, which forms a major gap in
 understanding how disturbances impact these ecosystems. To test a
 hypothesis that forest type may be an important determinant for forest
 resilience to disturbances, we analyzed tree layer, field and ground
 vegetation layers as well as soil physico-chemical properties in 26
 historical reindeer (Rangifer tarandus L.) corrals used in animal
 husbandry between late 1800’s to early 1960’s, and reference forests in
 northern boreal forest zone in Finland. The forest sites were assigned to
 two forest types that represent different levels of site productivity:
 mesic forests (high productivity) and sub-xeric forests (low
 productivity), which enabled testing whether forest recovery or potential
 reorganization and transition to another alternative states after
 historical disturbance differs by forest type. The dataset includes two
 different datasets: the site-level data, i.e., the mean value for each
 site, which was used in the statistical tests (DataFromManninenStark, the
 total N = 26; N = 18 for sub-xeric forests, N = 8 for mesic forests), and
 the plot-level data (PlotLevelDataManninenStark; N = 4 for each individual
 site) as well as R scripts that were used for the statistical
 analyses. 
description: We located 26 historical reindeer corrals used in reindeer
 husbandry activities between the 1800's and 1960's using several
 different archaeological and cultural heritage databases in Finland. We
 analyzed tree layer (trees per hectare, average tree height and breast
 height thickness), field layer (the cover of plant species) and ground
 layer (lichens, mosses, litter, bare ground, deadwood) in four study plots
 in both controls and historical reindeer corrals, and calculated a mean
 value for each variable for the treatments for each site. Main variables
 analyzed in the tree layer are the densities of the main tree species
 (<em>Pinus sylvestris</em>, <em>Picea abies
 </em>and <em>Betula </em>spp. consisting of <em>B.
 pubescens</em> and <em>B. pendula</em>), the average
 tree height and tree diameter at breast height. The understorey vegetation
 data consists of the cover percentages from main plant functional types,
 deciduous dwarf shrubs, evergreen dwarf shrubs and herbs (the sum of forb
 and graminoid species). Most important soil physico-chemical properties
 include soil pH, carbon, nitrogen and organic matter stocks per area, soil
 organic matter% and isotopic enrichment of 15N and 13C, which was regarded
 as an index for historical animal fertilization of the sites. The database
 includes the tree and understorey vegetation values both per individual
 study plots (the name of the datafile: PlotLevelDataManninenStark) and per
 study site (DataFromManninenStark). 
description: Excel, R
description: # Data from: Historical reindeer corrals in northern boreal forests reveal
 divergent post-disturbance reorganization by forest type --- Field data
 was collected during June-August 2020. ## Description of the Data and file
 structure Data is structured according to the individual forest sites (N =
 26), using the same name as used for these historical sites in the
 archaeological databases in Finland. Each site contains two treatments,
 historical disturbance and an adjacent reference forest (historical
 reindeer corral = corral, reference forest = control) in two forest types
 (sub-xeric N = 18, mesic N = 8). In the datafile
 "PlotLevelDataManninenStark", we present raw data at a plot
 level (N = 4 for each treatment for each site). In the datafile
 "DataFromManninenStark", we present means for the two treatments
 per site; all statistical tests were conducted using this file.  In the
 datafiles, we present the numbers of the forest tree species per hectare,
 the average height and the breast height diameter of the forest trees, and
 cover of plant functional types in datasheet “bor_tree_veg”. Datasheet
 “bor_species”, which was used in the NMDS ordinations, includes all forest
 understorey plant species separately using a limit of a frequency of two
 or higher. Datasheet “bor_env” include environmental variables used as
 vectors in the NMDS ordination. All variables and their units are
 explained in “ReadMe” sheet in the Excel files. R codes used in general
 linear models, generalized linear models and NMDS analyses are provided in
 the data file "ManninenStark_scripts.R". The model that was used
 for each variable is indicated in each script.  ## Sharing/access
 Information Links to other publicly accessible locations of the data:
 None. Was data derived from another source? No.