DOI: 10.5061/dryad.xksn02vqj
title: Data from: Quantifying seed rain patterns in a remnant and a chronosequence of restored tallgrass prairies in north central Missouri

description: Seed rain is an influential process related to plant community diversity,
 composition, and regeneration. However, knowledge of seed rain patterns is
 limited to those observed in forests and late-assembling grasslands, which
 might not reflect early-assembling communities such as newly restored
 grasslands. Resolving this gap in our understanding provides further
 insight into the role of seed dispersal.  Here, we measured seed
 rain in a remnant tallgrass prairie, which was the site of the
 foundational grassland seed rain study in 1978, and a nearby
 chronosequence of tallgrass prairie restorations. We sought to determine
 how the quantity, seed mass traits, timing, diversity, and composition of
 seed rain changed (1) long-term and (2) during community assembly. To do
 so, we deployed artificial turf grass seed traps into 2-year-old,
 5-6-year-old, and 15-year-old restored prairies and the remnant prairie,
 replacing traps every two weeks from May to December 2019. We captured
 over twice the density and richness of seed rain in the remnant prairie in
 2019 compared to 1978. We also found that seed rain patterns changed as
 prairies aged, with each prairie possessing a distinct community of
 dispersing species. Significantly more seeds, seed biomass, and species
 were captured in the youngest restored prairie. However, seed mass traits
 were similar in all prairies. Except for composition, all other seed rain
 metrics in the oldest restoration were eventually comparable to the
 remnant prairie. Synthesis and Applications: Our results revealed that
 grasslands, notably young prairies, produce larger quantities of seed rain
 than previously known (124,806 seeds m-2 year –1, 97.24 g m-2 year –1),
 and seed input in all sampled prairies far exceeded restoration broadcast
 seeding densities. We further found that decreases in seed rain quantity
 across the chronosequence did not correspond with increases in seed mass,
 suggesting a lack of tradeoffs between these metrics. Furthermore,
 tallgrass prairie restorations have not replicated the composition of seed
 rain seen in remnant systems. Increasing restoration seeding rates of
 desirable species may be needed to meet composition goals since current
 rates may not compete with the propagule pressure of undesirable species
 found in newly restored prairies.
description: # Quantifying seed rain patterns in a remnant and a chronosequence of
 restored tallgrass prairies in north central Missouri
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xksn02vqj](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xksn02vqj). ## Data Description Below is a description of the datasets contained in this package. Numbers correspond with dataset names and descriptions. Bullet points below each numbered dataset further explain the variables found within that dataset.  **1)** **Seed_Data_2019.xlsx** - contains seed rain data collected from Tucker Prairie and Prairie Fork Conservation Area in 2019. * Plot = Site code name (PFCA 1 = 2 YO restored prairie, PFCA 2 = 5-6 YO restored prairie, PFCA 3 = 15 YO restored prairie, and TP = remnant prairie in 2019).  * Transect = Corresponding transect number at a site (10 per site). * Sampling Date = day that traps at a transect were collected. * Week = Two-week interval that traps were collected ranging from 1 to 14. * SPP6 = Six letter species code. First three letters correspond to the first three letters of the genus and last three letters correspond to the first three letters of the specific epithet.  * Number = The number of seeds collected from traps. * Taxon = Scientific name of taxon captured. * Unknown = Identifier for seeds we were unable to identify.  **2) Seed_Rain_Date.xlsx** - contains lumped seed data quantities per week for each site sampled in 2019 and 1978 * Plot = Site code name (PFCA 1 = 2 YO restored prairie, PFCA 2 = 5-6 YO restored prairie, PFCA 3 = 15 YO restored prairie, TP_2019 = remnant prairie in 2019, and TP_1980). TP_1980 reports data from Rabinowitz & Rapp (1980). * Day = Day of the year seed traps were collected. * Number_J = Number of seeds. * Date = Sampling date for when seed traps were collected.  **3) Seed_Rain_Traits_Data.xlsx** - species list and associated trait data * SPP6 = Six letter species code. First three letters correspond to the first three letters of the genus and last three letters correspond to the first three letters of the specific epithet.  * Scientific_Name = Scientific name of taxon captured. * Common_Name = The common name of taxon captured.  * Genus_Level = Identifier for whether a species could be identified to species level (no) or only to genus level (yes). * SR = Identifier for whether species were captured in the seed rain study.  * Provenance = Identifier for whether species were native or introduced to our sites. Based on Ladd & Thomas (2015). * C value = Conservatism value for each species. Based on Ladd & Thomas (2015). * Family = Plant family of associated taxa. * Functional_Group = Life form of associated taxa (Forb, graminoid, legume, or woody).  * Life_History = Life history of associated taxa (annual, biennial, perennial, etc.)  * Mean_1_Seed_Mass_g = Average one seed mass in grams for associated taxa. 4\) **Rabinowitz_Rapp_1980_SR_Data.xlsx** = seed rain data reported in the Appendix of Rabinowitz & Rapp (1980). * Scientific_Name = Scientific name of taxon captured. We updated the nomenclature from Rabinowitz & Rapp (1980) to correspond with the data we collected in 2019.  * SPP6 = Six letter species code. First three letters correspond to the first three letters of the genus and last three letters correspond to the first three letters of the specific epithet.  * Number = Number of seeds collected. * Density = Density of seeds collected (per square meter) 5\) **Tucker_2019_fall_cover.xlsx** = aboveground plant community data at peak biomass in the remnant prairie (Tucker Prairie) in 2019.  * Site = Site data was collected from. Data only reported from Tucker Prairie (TP).  * Transect = Associated transect data was collected from. Same transects used to collect seed rain data.  * Plot = Refers to the sub-plot vegetative cover was measured in for each transect. Ranges from 1 to 5.  * SPP6 = Six letter species code. First three letters correspond to the first three letters of the genus and last three letters correspond to the first three letters of the specific epithet.  * Cover = Percent aerial cover of species (1 - 100%) in a one square meter area.  * Scientific_Name = Scientific name of taxon sampled. * Date = Year data was collected. 6\) **Tucker_Flora_1981.xlsx =** aboveground plant community data collected in the remnant prairie (Tucker Prairie) in 1981. Dataset provided by James Carrel.  * SPP6 = Six letter species code. First three letters correspond to the first three letters of the genus and last three letters correspond to the first three letters of the specific epithet.  * Scientific_Name = Scientific name of taxon. Names of unknown taxa were standardized (e.g., Unknown carex 1, unknown carex 2, etc.). Nomenclature updated to match data collected in 2019.  * Unknown Name = Unknown name provided by original data collectors.  * Stems = Number of stems per quadrat. * Mass = Biomass of species per quadrat (unknown units).  * Quadrat = Unique identifier for quadrat (one square meter sampling area). * Date_Specific = Date quadrats were sampled.  * Notes = Associated notes.  * Date = Year data was collected.  ## Sharing/Access information **Data and associated code can also be accessed on GitHub.** * [Wynnekat/SR-2019-Analysis (github.com)](https://github.com/Wynnekat/SR-2019-Analysis) **Data was derived from the following sources:** *Seed rain data from 1978 were obtained from:* * Rabinowitz, D., & Rapp, J. K. (1980). Seed rain in a North American tall grass prairie. *Journal of Applied Ecology*, *17*, 793–802. [https://doi.org/10.2307/2402656](https://doi.org/10.2307/2402656) *Provenance and C values were obtained from:* * Ladd, D. & Thomas, J. R. (2015). Ecological checklist of the Missouri flora for floristic quality assessment. Phytoneuron 2015-12: 1-274 *We obtained seed mass data from:* * Barak, R. S., Williams, E. W., Hipp, A. L., Bowles, M. L., Carr, G. M., Sherman, R., & Larkin, D. J. (2017). Restored tallgrass prairies have reduced phylogenetic diversity compared with remnants. *Journal of Applied Ecology*, *54*(4), 1080–1090. [https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12881](https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12881) * Society for Ecological Restoration, International Network for Seed Based Restoration and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. (2023). Seed Information Database (SID). Available from: [https://ser-sid.org/](https://ser-sid.org/) * Sullivan, L. L., Clark, A. T., Tilman, D., & Shaw, A. K. (2018). Mechanistically derived dispersal kernels explain species-level patterns of recruitment and succession. *Ecology*, *99 *(11), 2415–2420. [https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2498](https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2498) * Turner, M. D., & Rabinowitz, D. (1983). Factors affecting frequency distributions of plant mass: The absence of dominance and suppression in competing monocultures of *Festuca paradoxa*. *Ecology*, *64(3)*, 469-475. [https://doi.org/10.2307/1939966](https://doi.org/10.2307/1939966) * Zirbel, C. R., Bassett, T. Grman, E. & Brudvig, L. A. (2017). Plant functional traits and environmental conditions shape community assembly and ecosystem functioning during restoration. *Journal of Applied Ecology*, 54, 1070-1079. [https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12885](https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12885) ## Code/Software We conducted all analyses and visualizations using R (version 4.2.2) and RStudio (version 2023.06.1+524). Associated code files:  1\) Seed_Rain_Analysis.Rmd - code used to conduct all analyses of seed rain metrics found in the main manuscript. Uses the following datasets: Seed_Data_2019.xlsx, Seed_Rain_Date.xlsx, and Seed_Rain_Traits_Data.xlsx.  2\) SR_Composition_1978_2019.Rmd - code used to compare seed rain composition between 1978 and 2019. Results reported in Supporting Information. Uses the following datasets: Seed_Data_2019.xlsx and Rabinowitz_Rapp_1980_SR_Data.xlsx.  3\) Tucker_Prairie_Flora_Analysis.Rmd - code used to compare aboveground flora composition and diversity between 1981 and 2019. Results reported in Supporting Information. Uses the following datasets: Tucker_2019_fall_cover.xlsx and Tucker_Flora_1981.xlsx.