DOI: 10.5061/dryad.fn2z34v37
title: Herbivore spatio-temporal dynamics in BEF-China (2017-2022)

description: Insect herbivores moderate forest functioning under global environmental
 change, which makes understanding herbivore community dynamics a key
 challenge of ecological research. Plant-regulated bottom-up effects and
 climatic conditions determine herbivore fluctuations, but their role in
 driving herbivore community composition and stability over time and space
 remains understudied. We unravel the relative importance of tree species
 richness, functional diversity, trait composition, tree growth, and
 climate in driving herbivore spatio-temporal stability and the resulting
 patterns in abundance, richness, and phylogenetic diversity. Our results
 revealed strong positive bottom-up effects of tree species richness on
 herbivore abundance, richness, and phylogenetic diversity, moderated by
 herbivore community stability. Tree growth and microclimate had additional
 effects that were largely independent of tree richness. These patterns
 varied across seasons and years due to changes in environmental conditions
 and the turnover of herbivore species. Our study provides valuable
 insights into the mechanisms underlying herbivore dynamics and their
 contribution to ecosystem functioning.
description: # Herbivore spatio-temporal dynamics in BEF-China (2017-2022)
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fn2z34v37](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fn2z34v37) This is the data of herbivore caterpillars from BEF-China collected from 2017 to 2022. Please contact Ming-Qiang Wang (wangmq@cib.ac.cn) for any questions. ## Description of the data and file structure * mean_curve_all.csv: the data used for plotting the figure on herbivore fluctuations across years - mean_curve2.csv: the data used for analyzing the models of effects of macroclimate * mean_curve3.csv: the data used for plotting the figures on effects of macroclimate on herbivores - plot_env.csv: the data used for linear models and SEMs and their figures * season_effect_size.csv: the effects size table of overall herbivores - sep_effect_size_final2_split_tuli_without_direct.csv: the effect size table of seasonality (effect size was only kept by summing negative and positive effects) * sep_effect_size_final2_split.csv:the effect size table of seasonality The detailed description of the data files are as follows: mean_cure_all: the data used for plotting the figure on herbivore fluctuations across years columns explanation for "mean_cure_all": * Normalized values (standard_value: Normalized values caterpillar metrics - types: including caterpillar abundance, species richness and MPD of caterpillars and precipitation, temperature, winter temperature, winter precipitation * year: Data corresponding to the exact year. mean_curve2: the data used for analyzing tNormalized valuehe models of effects of macroclimate columns explanation for "mean_curve2": * year: Data corresponding to the exact year. - abun: Lepidoptera caterpillar abundance * rich: Lepidoptera caterpillar richness - mpd: Lepidoptera caterpillar phylogenetic mean pairwise distance * tmp_win: Mean value of winter temperature - pre_win: Mean value of winter precipitation * pre_s1: Mean value of overall precipitation across years - tmp_s1: Mean value of overall temperature across years mean_curve3: the data used for plotting the figures on effects of macroclimate on herbivores columns explanation for "mean_curve3": * year: Data corresponding to the exact year. - types: including caterpillar abundance, species richness and MPD * standard_value: Normalized values for caterpillar metrics - tmp_win: Mean value of winter temperature * pre_win: Mean value of winter precipitation - tmp_s1: Mean value of overall temperature across years * pre_s1 Mean value of overall precipitation across years - plot_env: the data used for linear models and SEMs and their figures columns explanation for "plot_env": * site_plot: study Site and plot - tree_rich: Tree species richness * tree_mpd: Tree MPD - cwm_sla: Community weighted specific leaf area * cwm_ldmc: Community weighted mean leaf dry matter content - cwm_cn: Community weighted mean carbon-to-nitrogen ratio * cwm_c: Community weighted mean leaf carbon content - cwm_mg: Community weighted mean magnesium content * cwm_k: Community weighted mean potassium content - cwm_p: Community weighted mean phosphorus content * cwm_leaftough: Community weighted mean leaf toughness - cwm_tannin: Community weighted mean leaf tannin content * cwm_ca: Community weighted mean calcium content - cwm_n: Community weighted mean nitrogen content * cwm_pheno: Community weighted mean phenology (e.g., leaf-out date) - cwm_lignin: Community weighted mean lignin content * cwm_cellulose: Community weighted mean cellulose content - abun_temstab: Herbivore abundance temporal stability * mean_abun: Mean herbivore abundance - richness_temstab: Herbivore richness temporal stability * mean_rich: Mean herbivore richness - abun_temstab_4: Herbivore abundance temporal stability in spring * mean_abun_4: Mean herbivore abundance in spring richness_temstab_4: Herbivore richness temporal stability in spring * mean_rich_4: Mean herbivore richness in spring - abun_temstab_6: Herbivore abundance temporal stability in summer * mean_abun_6: Mean herbivore abundance in summer - richness_temstab_6: Herbivore richness temporal stability in summer * mean_rich_6: Mean herbivore richness in summer - abun_temstab_9: Herbivore abundance temporal stability in autumn * mean_abun_9: Mean herbivore abundance in autumn - richness_temstab_9: Herbivore richness temporal stability in autumn * mean_rich_9: Mean herbivore richness in autumn - stab_mpd: Temporal stability of mean phylogenetic distance * mean_mpd: Mean phylogenetic distance - spa_mpd: Spatial stability in phylogenetic distance * spa_abun: Spatial stability in herbivore abundance - spa_rich: Spatial stability in herbivore richness * spa_abun_4: Spatial stability in herbivore abundance in spring - spa_rich_4: Spatial stability in herbivore richness in spring * spa_abun_6: Spatial stability in herbivore abundance in summer - spa_rich_6: Spatial stability in herbivore richness in summer * spa_abun_9: Spatial stability in herbivore abundance in autumn - spa_rich_9: Spatial stability in herbivore richness in autumn * micc_stab_tmp: Temporal stability of microclimatic temperature - micc_stab_tmp_spring: Temporal stability of microclimatic temperature in spring * micc_stab_tmp_summer: Temporal stability of microclimatic temperature in summer - micc_stab_tmp_fall: Temporal stability of microclimatic temperature in autumn * micc_stab_tmp_winter: Temporal stability of microclimatic temperature in winter - micc_mean_winter: Mean microclimatic temperature in winter * micc_mean_tmp: Mean microclimatic temperature - micc_stab_tmp_all: Temporal stability of microclimatic temperature across all seasons * micc_mean_tmp_all: Mean microclimatic temperature across all seasons - micc_stab_tmp_4: Microclimatic temperature stability in spring * micc_mean_tmp_4: Mean microclimatic temperature in spring - micc_stab_tmp_6: Microclimatic temperature stability in summer * micc_mean_tmp_6: Mean microclimatic temperature in summer - micc_stab_tmp_9: Microclimatic temperature stability in autumn * micc_mean_tmp_9: Mean microclimatic temperature in autumn - func_div_rao_new4: Functional diversity (Rao's quadratic entropy, updated version) * abun_temstab_stand: Standardized herbivore abundance temporal stability - mean_abun_stand: Standardized mean herbivore abundance * richness_temstab_stand: Standardized herbivore richness temporal stability - mean_rich_stand: Standardized mean herbivore richness * spa_abun_stand: Standardized spatial stability in herbivore abundance - spa_rich_stand: Standardized spatial stability in herbivore richness * abs_spa_stab: Spatial stability of absolute tree growth - abs_tem_stab: Temporal stability of absolute tree growth * abs_mean: Absolute mean of tree growth - mpd_temstab_4: Temporal stability of mean phylogenetic distance in spring * mean_mpd_4: Mean phylogenetic distance in spring - mpd_temstab_6: Temporal stability of mean phylogenetic distance in summer * mean_mpd_6: Mean phylogenetic distance in summer - mpd_temstab_9: Temporal stability of mean phylogenetic distance in autumn * mean_mpd_9: Mean phylogenetic distance in autumn - spa_mpd_4: Spatial stability in phylogenetic distance in spring * spa_mpd_6: Spatial stability in phylogenetic distance in summer - spa_mpd_9: Spatial stability in phylogenetic distance in autumn * PC1: Principal component 1 of tree functional composition - PC2: Principal component 2 of tree functional composition * stab_mpd_stand: Standardized temporal stability of mean phylogenetic distance - mean_mpd_stand: Standardized mean phylogenetic distance * spa_mpd_stand: Standardized spatial variability in phylogenetic distance - OTU_1_abun: One of the most abundant MOTUs * OTU_2_abun: One of the most abundant MOTUs - OTU_3_abun: One of the most abundant MOTUs * OTU_4_abun: One of the most abundant MOTUs - OTU_25_abun: One of the most abundant MOTUs * OTU_5: One of the most abundant MOTUs - OTU_7_abun: One of the most abundant MOTUs * OTU_6_abun: One of the most abundant MOTUs - OTU_8_abun: One of the most abundant MOTUs * OTU_9_abun: One of the most abundant MOTUs - All_OTUs: The top 10 most abundant MOTUs across all samples * tem_beta_spec_yr: temporal taxonomic beta diversity of herbivores - spa_beta_spec_yr: spatial taxonomic beta diversity of herbivores * tem_beta_phylo_yr: temporal phylogenetic beta diversity of herbivores - spa_beta_phylo_yr: spatial phylogenetic beta diversity of herbivores season_effect_size: the effects size table of overall herbivores columns explanation for "season_effect_size": Values in this column represent the effect size. All other columns indicate the corresponding variables. sep_effect_size_final2_split_tuli_without_direct: the effect size table of seasonality (effect size was only kept by summing negative and positive effects) season_effect_size: the effects size table of overall herbivores columns explanation for "season_effect_size": Values in this column represent the effect size. All other columns indicate the corresponding variables. sep_effect_size_final2_split:the effect size table of seasonality season_effect_size: the effects size table of overall herbivores Columns explanation for "season_effect_size": Values in this column represent the effect size. All other columns indicate the corresponding variables. ## Code/Software * R_code.txt: This R script is part of a **data analysis and visualization workflow** focused on ecological variables (e.g., abundance, species richness, temperature, precipitation, MPD).