DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2v6wwq013
title: Primary saltmarsh succession on a tropical coral island in the south china sea: Human influences initiate and accelerate the process of succession

description: Saltmarsh represents a classic model of primary succession, yet the
 processes underlying its initiation and development, especially in
 response to human influences, remain poorly understood. We conducted
 annual vegetation surveys on a newly formed saltmarsh in the South China
 Sea and compared plant communities across tropical coral salt marshes
 exposed to varying levels of human influence. We also investigated the
 environmental factors and human activities shaping community compositions.
 Pioneer grass species rapidly colonized the site within one year following
 land reclamation, with a grass-to-shrub transition concurrently with dike
 construction, indicating a clear trajectory of species establishment and
 development. Land reclamation and biological invasion facilitated
 the early establishment of pioneer grasses, initiating primary saltmarsh
 succession. The accelerated transition to shrub-dominated communities was
 likely driven by dike construction and the introduction of stress-tolerant
 shrub species. Practical implication: Our results highlight the pivotal
 role of human activities in both initiating and accelerating primary
 saltmarsh succession. These insights are critical for informing effective
 restoration and land management strategies in tropical coral saltmarsh
 ecosystems.
description: We conducted annual vegetation surveys on a newly formed
 saltmarsh in the South China Sea and compared plant communities across
 tropical coral saltmarshes exposed to varying levels of human influence.
 We classified disturbance levels as high-disturbance (i.e., Yongshu
 Island), intermediate-disturbance (i.e., Chenhang Island and Guangjin
 Island), and low-disturbance (i.e., Dong Island).
description: # Primary saltmarsh succession on a tropical coral island in the south
 china sea: Human influences initiate and accelerate the process of
 succession Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.2v6wwq013
 ](10.5061/dryad.2v6wwq013) ## Description of the data and file structure A
 Plant species list on 8 sites of 4 islands that represent different levels
 of human disturbance is presented, where there are 38 plant species (i.e.,
 20 grass species and 18 shrub species) in total. ### Files and variables
 #### File: sp-site\_data.csv **Description:** The dataset consists of
 a sp-site_data.csv file. Each column name represents one site, e.g., YS
 represents Yongshu Island; CH is short for Chenhang Island; GJ-1, GJ-2,
 and GJ-3 represent 3 sites of Guangjin Island; DD-1, DD-2, and DD-3 are
 for 3 sites of Dong Island. The row names are different plant species.
 Specifically, for each of the six-letter species codes, the former 3
 letters represent the genus name, and the latter 3 letters represent the
 species name of each plant species.  The full latin names of the 38 plant
 speices in this dataset are as following: | *Ipomoea pescaprae* | |
 :--------------------------------------- | | *Thuarea involuta* | |
 *Cassytha filiformis* | | *Fimbristylisdichotoma* | | *Sesuvium
 portulacastrum* | | *Vigna marina* | | *Tridax procumbens* | |
 *Wollastonia biflora* | | *Portulaca pilosa* | | *Euphorbia atoto* | |
 *Vitex trifolia var. simplicifolia* | | *Canavalia rosea* | |
 *Stachytarpheta jamaicensis* | | *Cyperus rotundus* | | *Scaevola taccada*
 | | *Bruguiera gymnorrhiza* | | *Hibiscus tiliaceus* | | *Terminalia
 catappa* | | *Morinda citrifolia* | | *Guettarda speciosa* | | *Pemphis
 acidula* | | *Cocos nucifera* | | *Pittosporum pentandrum var. hainanense*
 | | *Pandanus tectorius* | | *Tournefortia arentea* | | *Cordia
 subcordata* | | *Sophora tomentosa* | | *Excoecaria agallocha* | |
 *Acrostichum aureum* | | *Premna Corrymbosa* | | *Casuarina equisetifolia*
 | | *Blutaparon vermiculare* | | \*Phyllanthus amarus \* | |
 *Launaea sarmentosa* | | *Lepturus repens* | | *Mariscus javanicus* | |
 *Suriana maritima* | Other publicly accessible locations of the data: * no
 Data was derived from the following sources: * no