DOI: 10.5061/dryad.6wwpzgnct
title: Characteristics of transplants, recruits and mother plants of <em>Minuartia smejkalii</em>

description: Many habitat-specialist plant species have been endangered by the
 fragmentation or destruction of their habitats. We evaluated two
 conservation methods to reinforce M. smejkalii populations: sowing seeds
 collected from natural populations and transplanting pre-grown individuals
 in three consecutive years to sites currently or recently occupied by the
 species. We checked for seed emergence (recruitment) and followed the
 survival and performance of the transplants and recruits to identify
 factors responsible for the establishment success for up to three years
 after transplantation. Recruitment from sown seeds was unsuccessful, but
 overall, 83% of transplants survived the first year and 49% until the
 third year. Survival depended on the year of transplantation, the size of
 the transplanted individual, and the mother plant's characteristics.
 Mother plant characteristics were important for growth and flowering in
 the first year, but not for survival. Across years, initial size and age
 were more important for the size and number of flowers than mother plant
 identity. Population differences had a larger effect on the size and
 number of flowers in the first year than across years. Seedlings
 established from seeds of the transplants in four of the five populations.
 This led, despite the mortality of transplants, to a four to six times
 larger population size after three years in two populations, compared to
 the number of transplanted individuals.
description: <strong>Measurements</strong><br> <br>
 The length, width, and the number of flowering and non-flowering stems of
 each mother plant (which served as seed source) were measured in June in
 natural sites, and mother plant size was calculated as the area of an
 ellipse (because <em>M. smejkalii</em> grows predominantly
 vertically in separate stems, area is a better fitness estimate than plant
 height). We also counted the number of flowers on ten randomly chosen
 stems with terminated growth (dichotomous stem division) and multiplied
 this by the number of flowering stems to calculate the total number of
 flowers for each flowering plant. The number of flowers per individual
 stem was averaged per population and year. Prior to transplantation, we
 measured the maximum length and width of each plant to calculate plant
 size as above and determined if the plant was flowering or not. Plant
 characteristics in the years after transplantation were evaluated likewise
 at the time of flowering during June and July. The data collection was
 done at two levels: whole site and transects (permanent plots).
 At the level of the whole site, we evaluated the status of each
 transplanted individual in the following years as flowering,
 non-flowering, dry, absent (but potentially still able to regenerate in
 the following years), and lost (when both plant and label could not be
 found). Survival was encoded as 0 or 1. Individuals were counted as alive
 (=1) if they could be found, even though they were dry at the time of
 observation. Individuals that were absent in one or two years but
 re-emerged in the next year were also counted as alive in the years they
 had been missing previously (0.26 % of total individuals). Absent
 individuals (no aboveground parts visible or disappeared for unknown
 reasons, including the tag) and did not re-grow later were considered dead
 (=0). Additionally, we counted the total number of newly recruited plants
 at the whole part of the site, where the transplantation had been
 done. Transects with a width of two meters passed
 through the area of newly transplanted individuals and covered the
 heterogeneity of the environment, and at least 50% of the transplanted
 individuals, to reduce sampling effort in the years following
 transplantations. The transect length and number of transects per
 population were dependent on population size and plant distribution in the
 terrain. In these transects, we measured and calculated the same
 parameters as above (size,  flowering, and non-flowering stems and
 flowers). Recruits within the transects in the years
 after transplantation were numbered and tagged, and similarly recorded and
 measured in consecutive years as the transplanted individuals.
 The relative growth rate (RGR) of individual plants was computed
 for each measurement time (tx, with x being 1, 2, or 3 years since
 transplantation) compared to the initial measurement before
 transplantation (t0) RGR = [ln(Size_tx) - ln(Size_t0)]
 / [tx-t0]
description: # Characteristics of transplants, recruits and mother plants of *Minuartia
 smejkalii* Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.6wwpzgnct](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6wwpzgnct) ##
 Description of the data and file structure We planted *M.
 smejkalii* individuals pre-grown *ex situ* at five sites (populations Z1,
 Z2, Z3, Z6, and Z7) from seeds collected in natural populations. We also
 recorded and recruited offspring in the following years.\ The dataset
 includes measurements of mother plants that were used as seed source, of
 transplants before and after transplantation (their survival, size, number
 of flowers, relative growth rate,) and of recruits in their second
 vegetation season. Seeds were collected from mother plants in populations
 Z1 to Z6 in 2016, 2017 and 2018 to be used in the transplant experiment.
 The extant populations Z1, Z2, Z3 and Z6 received transplants from local
 seeds. The extinct Z7 received transplants from Z2, Z3, Z4 and Z5 to
 maximize genetic variability. ### Files and variables
 Minuartia_data_characteristics.csv Variables:  * Year_transplantation:
 year in which transplantation was conducted (2017/2018/2019), recruits
 have NA here - Year_after_transplantation: number of years after the
 transplantation was conducted (2018/2019/2020) * Transplanted: was the
 individual transplanted? (Y/N) - Plant_ID: unique identifier of each
 transplant or recruit * Population: population, in which the transplant or
 recruit was recorded (D1/D2/D3/D6/D7) - Mother_ID: unique identifier of
 plant, from which the seeds for the transplants were obtained *
 Mother_size: size (ellipse area of length and width) of mother plant [cm
 ²] - Mother_flower_stems: number of flower-bearing stems of mother plant *
 InitialSize: size (ellipse area of length and width) before
 transplantation or at first recording of recruits [cm ²] - Size: size
 (ellipse area of length and width) at measurements after transplantation
 or in the second vegetation season of recruits [cm ²] * RGR: relative
 growth rate [cm ² yr ⁻¹], can be negative due to die back and regrowth the
 following year - Flowers: total number of flowers per individual (per
 population mean of flowers per stem determined by counting their number on
 ten stems with terminated growth per year then multiplied by number of
 stems per individual) * Survival: was the plant alive (= present, no
 matter if dry or green) or not in the year of recorded data (1/0) - NA
 indicates missing values ## Code/software Any text reader or any program
 that will open a spreadsheet, such as Excel is recommended.