DOI: 10.5061/dryad.tmpg4f52v
title: Data from: Multiple canopy opening effects on recruited saplings in a typhoon-disturbed tropical rainforest, Taiwan

description: Aim: To investigate the influence of multiple canopy openings on the
 composition and diversity of recruited saplings in a forest frequently
 disturbed by typhoons. Methods: We conducted tree-by-tree censuses
 (diameter at breast height ≥ 1 cm) and mapped gaps (canopy height &lt;
 5 m) in 1993, 2000, 2008, and 2013 in a tropical mountain zonal foothill
 evergreen broad-leaved forest in Nanjenshan Nature Reserve, Taiwan. We
 analysed the composition and diversity of recruited saplings within a 2.1
 ha plot (840 sampling quadrats (5 m × 5 m)) with variable numbers of
 canopy openings recorded during the study period. Results: Composition of
 recruited saplings was dissimilar between quadrats that stayed opened and
 those that stayed closed throughout the study period (pairwise similarity
 estimates C02 = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.38–0.66). The quadrats under closed
 canopy had high diversity when weighting rare species (species richness),
 whereas quadrats with one or two gap opening records during the past 20
 years had high diversity when weighting the abundance of species. Although
 canopy openings provided establishment conditions for saplings of some
 shade-intolerant species, due to the nature of small gap size, such
 habitats don’t favour the dominance of shade-intolerant species.
 Conclusions: Even in a frequently-disturbed forest, species composition
 and richness of recruited saplings were mainly contributed by
 shade-tolerant species. Although multiple canopy openings facilitated the
 establishment of shade-intolerant species, species diversity in the study
 forests is possibly mainly mediated by coexistence mechanisms of those
 shade-tolerant species rather than light-gap-related species strategies.
description: This dataset is the basal area (m<sup>2</sup>) of
 recruited saplings (diameter at breast height ≥ 1 cm) in the 2000, 2008,
 and 2013 censuses of a tropical mountain zonal foothill evergreen
 broad-leaved forest in Nanjenshan Nature Reserve, Taiwan. There are 840
 sampling quadrats (5 m × 5 m) within the 2.1 ha study plot. Many
 individuals had multiple stems, and some stems may die or recruit during
 the census period. Thus, we sum up the basal area (radius<sup>2
 </sup>× π) of the stems for each individual to indicate its survival
 status. The canopy opening history type of each sampling quadrats were
 also indicated in the column Type.9313. We also included a worksheet with
 species abbreviation and species photosynthetic capacity (Amax; μmol CO2
 m<sup>-2</sup> s<sup>-1</sup>) measured by Kuo and
 Yeh (2015) and Kuo et al. (2021).
description: # Data from: Multiple canopy opening effects on recruited saplings in a
 typhoon-disturbed tropical rainforest, Taiwan. ## Description of the Data
 and file structure This dataset is the basal area (m^2^) of recruited
 saplings (diameter at breast height ≥ 1 cm) in the 2000, 2008, and 2013
 census of a tropical mountain zonal foothill evergreen broad-leaved forest
 in Nanjenshan Nature Reserve, Taiwan. There are 840 sampling quadrats (5
 m × 5 m) within the 2.1 ha study plot (10X and 10Y are the coordinate
 system for the 10 m scale. 5X and 5Y are the coordinate system for the 5 m
 scale). Many individuals had multiple stems, and some stems may die or
 recruit during the census period. Thus, we sum up the basal area
 (radius^2^×π) of the stems for each individual to indicate its survival
 status. The canopy opening history type of each sampling quadrats were
 also indicated in the column Type.9313. We also included a worksheet with
 species abbreviation and species photosynthetic capacity (Amax; μmol CO2
 m^-2^ s^-1^) measured by Kuo and Yeh (2015) and Kuo et al. (2021). ###
 dt2013Alive_Biotropica20221206.xlsx #### Sheet dt2013Alive
 **Description**: newly recruited saplings (diameter at breast height &gt;=
 1 cm) after the 1993 census and still survived in the 2013 census
 **Variables:** | Heading | Explanation | | :-------- |
 :------------------------ | | Tag | tree tag | | Name | Species
 abbreviation | | 10X | quadrat 10m\* | | 10Y | quadrat 10m\* | | 5X |
 quadrat 5m\* | | 5Y | quadrat 5m\* | | BA\_1993 | basal area (m\^2) in
 1993 | | BA\_2000 | basal area (m\^2) in 2000 | | BA\_2008 | basal area
 (m\^2) in 2008 | | BA\_2013 | basal area (m\^2) in 2013 | | Type.9313 |
 Gap histroy category | 
 
 \* 10X, 10Y are the X and Y coordinates of the plots for a 10 m spacing.
 For example, 10X=0 and 10Y=7, indicates the coordinate point (0, 7). For
 the point (0, 8), it will be 10 m away to the east of the point (0, 7).5X,
 5Y are the coordinates of the subquadrats within the 10 m quadrat for a 5
 m spacing. A 10 m by 10 m quadrat can be divided into four subquadrats.
 #### Sheet SpeciesAmax **Description**: Species abbreviation and species
 photosynthetic capacity (Amax; μmol CO2 m^-2^ s^-1^) measured by Kuo and
 Yeh (2015) and Kuo et al. (2021) **Variables** | Heading | Explanation | |
 :-------- | :------------------------------------ | | Name | Species
 abbreviation | | Species | Species | | Genus | Genus | | Family | Family |
 | Amax | Amax value (μmol CO2 m\^-2\^ s\^-1\^) | | AmaxLevel | Amax based
 on which level | | AmaxClass | shade tolerance class | ## Sharing/access
 Information
 [https://forestgeo.si.edu/sites/asia/nanjenshan](https://forestgeo.si.edu/sites/asia/nanjenshan) Was data derived from another source? No