DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1zcrjdg47
title: Phenology in winter-deciduous relict mediterranean forests as a tool to understand their adaptation to climatic seasonal cycles

description: This dataset contains observations and results of the phenological
 behaviour of deciduous forests in Mediterranean climates and in southern
 latitudes such as Sierra Nevada National Park (Granada-Spain) during the
 period of March 2019- February 2020. It provides data and results of
 annual sequencing of phenophases (phenocalendars), phenophase indexes, and
 determines the phenological functional groups (FG) of the eighteen
 selected species of this plant ecosystem. In addition, phenological
 patterns have been determined taking into account the winter functional
 reduction of most species, in contrast to the typically Mediterranean
 species better adapted to the prevailing macroclimate of the area and
 functionally active during most of their annual cycle. Data from these
 observations allowed the identification of four functional groups: FG1
 -early and prolonged foliation and fruiting; FG2 -very short foliation and
 fruiting; FG3 -very prolonged foliation and fruiting; and FG4 -prolonged
 fruiting. Data on climatic variables and results of bioclimatic indexes
 corresponding to the study area are also provided for analysis in terms of
 possible incidence at the phenological level.
description: # Phenology in winter-deciduous relict mediterranean forests as a tool to
 understand their adaptation to climatic seasonal cycles Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.1zcrjdg47](10.5061/dryad.1zcrjdg47) ## Description of the
 data and file structure The dataset presented here contains the numerical
 information necessary to reproduce the analyses obtained by Pavón-Núñez,
 Hidalgo-Triana, and Pérez-Latorre to demonstrate the functional and
 phenological behaviour of a winter deciduous forest sheltered in the
 Cuenca Alta del río Alhama de Lugros on the northern slopes of Sierra
 Nevada (Granada, Spain), living in a typical Mediterranean climate and in
 extremely southern latitudes of the European continent. Field data were
 recorded month by month, in the middle days of each month, and during a
 complete year (March 2019 to February 2020), corresponding to an annual
 cycle. Eighteen representative species of the forest were selected for
 data collection, mostly arboreal but also shrubby. All of them were
 deciduous species corresponding to the genera *Prunus, Fraxinus, Acer,
 Rosa, Sorbus, Quercus, Salix,* or *Berberis*. Only one evergreen species,
 *Taxus baccata*, was included among the selected species. Data on the
 presence or absence of phenophases and subphenophases are available in
 eighteen phenological calendars, which also provide numerical data on the
 percentages of key phenophases such as flowering, fruit growth, fruit
 color change, fruit ripening, presence of young or adult leaves, and
 leaves fallen on the ground. Numerical data are also provided on the
 dispersal phenophase in terms of the number of fruits per unit area and
 the vegetative growth phenophase in centimeters for each species studied.
 The analysis of the phenological data concluded that most of the studied
 taxa showed their highest phenophase activity concentrated in spring,
 whereas winter was generally a season without phenophase activity. This
 pattern functionally aligns this ecosystem more closely with Central
 European rather than Mediterranean forests. From the phenological
 calendars, data measured on a temporal scale in months were obtained. The
 analysis resulted in a total of 18 indices and phenological characters for
 the species studied, from which it was deduced that the reproductive
 phenophases predominate over the vegetative ones. Presence-absence data
 matrices are also provided for the phenophases measured on a daily time
 scale. The analysis of these matrices yielded reproducible results for the
 estimated start and end dates of each phenophase, the number of days per
 year with phenophase activity, and the intensity of the phenological event
 in percentage. The statistical analysis of these matrices allowed for the
 identification of four functional groups: FG1: Early and prolonged
 foliation and dispersal (e.g., *Fraxinus*) FG2: Very short dispersal and
 fructification (e.g., *Salix*) FG3: Very long-lasting foliation and
 fruiting (e.g., *Taxus*) FG4: Long foliation – other genera studied, such
 as *Prunus, Malus, Acer, Betula*, or *Sorbus* Additionally, numerical data
 are provided on climatic variables. The analysis of these variables led to
 the calculation of bioclimatic indices and the creation of unpublished
 ombrothermal diagrams. This analysis made it possible to determine the
 climatic characteristics of the territory and their impact on the
 phenological behaviour of the species studied. ### Files and variables
 #### File: Species\_Phenocalendars.xlsx **Description:** This file
 contains the phenological calendars for each of the 18 species studied.
 Phenophases and subphenophases (column A) have been measured over a time
 scale in months of the year (Row 1). Active phenophases are indicated by
 coloured cells and by adding the word ‘presence’ when no numerical data
 are added, only presence. In other phenophases, numerical data on
 percentages (%) or number of fruits per unit area and vegetative growth in
 centimetres have also been added. Inactive phenophases are represented
 with NA and without colour. ##### Variables FBF: (Flower bud formation),
 F: (% Flowering), FS: (Fruiting), FS: Fruit growth (%), FS: Colour change
 (%), FS: Ripe fruit (%), SD: (Fruits/m2), DVG: Dolichoblast Vegetative
 Growth (cm), BVG: Brachyblast Vegetative Growth (cm), LA: (Leaf Activity),
 LA: Young leaves (%), LA: Adult green leaves (%), LS: (% Leaf senescence),
 FLG: (% Fallen leaves on ground), FLG: (% Accumulated) #### File:
 INDEXES\_AND\_PHENOLOGICAL\_CHARACTERS.xlsx **Description:** This file
 contains the analysis and results of the data from the phenological
 calendars from the previous file (Species_Phenocalendars.xlsx), measured
 in months of the year with active phenophases for each species. The result
 yielded 18 reproducible phenological indexes and traits from the equations
 of each index. ##### Variables APS: Species Phenophase Activity, VA=DVG:
 Dolichoblast Vegetative Growth, F: Flowering, FS: fruit setting, RA: Index
 of reproductive Activity of the Species, RVA: Index of
 reproductive/vegetative Activity of the Species, PSI: Phenophase Sequence
 Index, Max.F(%): month(s) of the annual cycle with the highest flowering
 percentage, t(FS): period of time in months with the presence of fruiting
 phenophase, t(SD): period of time in months with presence of dispersal
 phenophase, Max.DVG(cm): month of the annual cycle with the maximum DVG in
 cm, LF=FLG: Fallen leaves on ground percentage, LS: Leaf senescence
 percentage, LF/LS: ratio between fallen and senescent leaves, PPTb: Basic
 phenophase pattern of species #### File: PHENOLOGICAL\_DATA\_MATRIXES.xlsx
 **Description:** This file contains the phenological data matrices for
 analysis and reproducible phenological results for each of the species
 studied. The ‘Species-Pheno index Matrix’ corresponds to the results of
 the analysis for the phenological indexes; the calculations are made on a
 time scale in months of the year. The ‘Typed species matrix’ contains
 numerical data of phenophases measured on a time scale in days of the
 year, typed, and the mean and variance are added. The ‘Day initiation
 matrix’ contains numerical data of the day of the year of initiation of
 important phenophases (DiLA: Day of initiation of Leaf Activity, DiF: Day
 of initiation of Flowering, and DiLS: Day of initiation of Leaf
 Senescence). The ‘Monthly Pheno-Index matrix’ provides average numerical
 data in months and in % of phenological indices for all 18 species
 studied. The ‘Simplified typified sps. matrix’ is the same matrix as the
 ‘Typified species matrix’, with only the phenophases with the highest
 variance. ##### Variables FBF: (Flower bud formation), F: (% Flowering),
 FS: (Fruiting), FS: Fruit growth (%), FS: Colour change (%), FS: Ripe
 fruit (%), SD: (Fruits/m2), DVG: Dolichoblast Vegetative Growth (cm), BVG:
 Brachyblast Vegetative Growth (cm), LA: (Leaf Activity ), LA: Young leaves
 (%), LA: Adult green leaves (%), LS: (% Leaf senescence), FLG: (% Fallen
 leaves on ground), FLG: (% Accumulated). FS: fruit setting, FSc: fruit
 colour change, SD: Seed dispersal (Nºfrut/m2), VG % bud formation, VG %
 formed stable buds, DVG elongation (cm), LF % young leaves DiLA: Day of
 initiation of Leaf Activity, DiF: Day of initiation of Flowering, and
 DiLS: Day of initiation of Leaf Senescence #### File: CLIMATE\_DATA.xlsx
 **Description:** The file ‘CLIMATE DATA’ contains reproducible results of
 climate variables and indices resulting from the analysis of data from the
 two meteorological Stations present in the study area provided by the
 Environmental Agency of the Junta de Andalucía (Andalusia Government).
 ##### Variables T: Annual Average Temperature (C); Tp: Annual Positive
 Temperature; Ts: Summer temperature; P: Annual precipitation; Pp: Annual
 Positive Precipitation; Itc: Compensated Thermicity Index; Ic:
 Continentality Index; Io: Ombrothermic Index; Io6 (June); Io7 (July); Io8
 (August): Monthly Ombrothermic Index; Submediterraneity Index (Isbm) Isbm
 = sum of the submediterraneity values of the summer monthly ombrothermic
 indexes Ios1, Ios2, Ios3, and Ios4. ## Code/software The free software
 used in the analysis of our data is PAST software (version 4.09, Hammer et
 al. 2022). ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations of
 the data: * There are no other publicly accessible locations of the data.
 Data was derived from the following sources: * Bioclimatic data from the
 two meteorological stations located in the study area were provided by the
 Environmental Delegation of the Andalusian Regional Government in Granada.