DOI: 10.5061/dryad.p2ngf1w2c
title: Data from: The frequency, magnitude, and spatial distribution of heart rot in dominant temperate tree species in a forest dynamics plot

description: The composition, dynamics, and health of forest tree communities are
 governed by interactions with the abiotic and biotic environment. Fungi
 are critical biotic interactors that play an increasingly appreciated role
 in forest tree health, particularly with respect to mycorrhizal and
 pathogenic fungi. Heart rot fungi, while known to infect large fractions
 of the individuals in managed stands, have been considerably understudied
 in tree community ecology. Heart rot has been predicted to form hotspots
 in the forest due to crown or bole damage and/or soil moisture gradients,
 and is expected to vary across species due to life history
 differences. To address this knowledge gap, we quantified heart
 rot, the incidence, magnitude, and spatial distribution of heart rot in
 328 individuals with diameters greater than or equal to 10 cm across the
 six most dominant tree species in a mixed broadleaf temperate forest
 dynamics plot. The results show that 71% of individuals display
 some degree of heart rot in this natural community. The incidence of heart
 rot does not significantly vary across species despite their life history
 strategy differences, but one species had significantly more heart rot in
 infected individuals. Lastly, heart rot was spatially clustered across
 species, but heart rot incidence and magnitude were not related to soil
 moisture, indicating the importance of crown and bole breakage, likely
 promoted by severe weather. Summary: The present study conducted the first
 spatially explicit study of heart rot incidence and magnitude in a natural
 forest tree community. We demonstrate that over two-thirds of every large
 tree in the forest studied has some degree of heart rot, indicating their
 widespread, but underappreciated, role in tree communities. We demonstrate
 that heart rot is non-randomly distributed in this community and that
 spatial clustering of heart rot in forests is most likely due to hotspots
 of individual tree damage and not soil moisture.
description: # The frequency, magnitude, and spatial distribution of heart rot in
 dominant temperate tree species in a forest dynamics plot
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.p2ngf1w2c](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.p2ngf1w2c) ## Description of the data and file structure The data table contains the tag number, position of the individual tree in the plot, whether it has any rot, and the percentage of rot. These data are from the University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center Forest Dynamics Plot in Michigan, USA. ### Files and variables #### File: HeartRotDist.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * TreeNumber: This the tag number of the tree. * GlobalX: This is the x coordinate for the tree in the plot (meters). * GlobalY: This is the y coordinate for the tree in the plot (meters). * Rot: Whether the tree has heart rot (1) or no heart rot (0). * PercentRot: The percent of the stem at 130cm above ground that has heart rot. * Species: A six letter species code (ABIBAL-*Abies balsamea*, ACERUB- *Acer rubrum,* ACESUG*- Acer saccharum,* BETPAP*- Betula papyrifera,* POPGRA*- Populus grandifolia,* POPTRE*- Populus tremuloides,* PRUSER*-Prunus serotina)*