DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2rbnzs82h
title: Data from: Litter nutrient release and allelopathy jointly contribute to the diversity–invasibility relationship

description: This dataset accompanies a study testing Elton’s biotic resistance
 hypothesis by examining how native plant litter diversity influences the
 growth of the invasive plant Phytolacca americana through nutrient release
 and allelopathic effects in temperate forests of China. The dataset
 includes: (1) Aboveground biomass data of P. americana grown in
 pots with litter mixtures composed of 15 native plant species at five
 species-richness levels (1, 3, 6, 9, 15); (2) Initial chemical properties
 (C and N concentrations, C:N ratios, and total phenolics) of the 15 native
 plant litter types; (3) Mass, C concentration, and N concentration of 61
 litter mixtures measured before and after 10 weeks of decomposition to
 calculate litter C and N release; (4) soil fungal community data derived
 from high-throughput sequencing, including taxonomic profiles (from phylum
 to genus) and functional classifications assigned using FUNGuild (e.g.,
 saprotrophs, pathogens, symbionts); (5) Aboveground biomass data
 of P. americana from a litter-leachate experiment testing how
 leachates derived from litter mixtures of varying species richness
 affected the invader’s growth. These datasets support analyses of
 how litter species richness regulates nutrient dynamics, allelopathic
 effects, and invader performance, and are valuable for researchers
 studying invasion ecology, plant–soil interactions, and the role of
 biodiversity in ecosystem functioning.
description: # Data from: Litter nutrient release and allelopathy jointly contribute to
 the diversity–invasibility relationship Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.2rbnzs82h](10.5061/dryad.2rbnzs82h) ## Description of the
 data and file structure This dataset package contains five components
 associated with a study on how native plant litter diversity influences
 the growth of the invasive plant *Phytolacca americana* through nutrient
 release and allelopathic effects: 1.
 **Li_et_al._litter_experiment-biomass.xlsx** biomass data of *P.
 americana* from a pot experiment using litter mixtures with five species
 richness levels (1, 3, 6, 9, 15). 2. **Li_et_al.__Fungi.xlsx:** Soil
 fungal community data obtained by high-throughput sequencing, including
 taxonomic and functional classifications. 3.
 **Li_et_al.__Initial_litter_properties.xlsx:** Initial chemical properties
 (C and N concentrations, C:N ratio, and total phenolics) of 15 native
 plant litter species. 4. **Li_et_al.__litter_decomposition.xlsx:** Data on
 61 litter species combinations, including initial and post-decomposition
 mass, C and N concentrations. 5.
 **Li_et_al._litter_leachate_experiment-biomass.xlsx:** Aboveground biomass
 data of *P. americana* from a litter-leachate experiment testing the
 effects of leachates prepared from litter with different species richness
 levels. ### Files and variables #### **Li et al._litter
 experiment-biomass.xlsx** **Variables** ID: Row number for each data
 entry. Activated carbon: Activated carbon treatment, where 1 indicates no
 addition and 3 indicates addition. Diversity: The level of litter species
 richness in the treatment, with three levels: 1, 3, 6, 9, and 15 species.
 Composition: The identity of the litter species in the diversity‑1
 treatment and the specific species combinations in the diversity‑3,
 diversity‑6, diversity‑9, and diversity‑15 treatments. A total of 61
 unique litter mixtures were used. Aboveground biomass: The dry mass (in
 grams) of the aboveground parts of *Phytolacca americana* per pot,
 measured after oven-drying and weighing. Belowground biomass: The dry mass
 (in grams) of the belowground parts (roots) of *Phytolacca americana* per
 pot, measured after oven-drying and weighing. Total biomass: The sum of
 aboveground and belowground dry mass (in grams) of *Phytolacca americana*
 per pot. **Li et al.\_ Fungi.xlsx** **Variables** OTU: Operational
 Taxonomic Unit; a unique identifier for a cluster of similar fungal ITS
 sequences, typically approximating species-level resolution.
 Sample1–Sample61_5: Columns representing individual experimental soil
 samples. Each cell indicates the number of ITS sequence reads (i.e.,
 abundance) assigned to a particular OTU in a given sample. Taxonomy:
 Microbial taxonomic classification (e.g., phylum, class, order, family,
 genus) assigned to each OTU based on ITS sequence similarity. Taxon: The
 scientific name of the fungal taxon assigned to each OTU, based on ITS
 classification. Taxon Level: The taxonomic rank at which the OTU was
 assigned. Trophic Mode: The primary ecological strategy of the fungus
 (e.g., saprotroph, symbiotroph, pathotroph), as defined by the FUNGuild
 database. Guild: The predicted ecological role or function of the fungal
 taxon (e.g., saprotroph, pathogen, endophyte), assigned based on FUNGuild
 classification. Growth Morphology: The general growth form of the fungus.
 Trait: Functional or ecological traits associated with the fungal taxon,
 such as host specificity, substrate preference, or ecological niche.
 Confidence Ranking: A qualitative indicator of confidence in the
 trophic/guild assignment (e.g., “Probable”, “Highly Probable”, or
 “Possible”), as provided by FUNGuild or other sources. Notes: Additional
 notes or clarifications regarding specific OTUs or functional assignments.
 This may include manual annotations, classification uncertainties, or
 contextual ecological information. Citation/Source: The literature or
 database used as the source for taxonomic or functional annotation. Note:
 For all columns (except Notes), cells containing “–” indicate missing or
 unavailable data. This may be due to low sequence similarity, ambiguous
 taxonomy, or lack of functional annotation in reference databases. Cells
 containing “NULL” indicate that no data were generated for that entry
 (e.g., sequencing failure, sample loss, or other technical issues). **Li
 et al.\_ Initial litter properties.xlsx** **Variables** ID: Row number for
 each data entry. Species:Species: The 15 litter species included in the
 experiment.Species: The 15 litter species included in the experiment,
 coded as follows: 1 = Quercus glandulifera, 2 = Alnus hirsuta, 3 =
 Kalopanax septemlobus, 4 = Sorbus alnifolia, 5 = Quercus variabilis, 6 =
 Quercus acutissima, 7 = Ailanthus altissima, 8 = Pinus densiflora, 9 =
 Rhus chinensis, 10 = Grewia biloba, 11 = Lespedeza bicolor, 12 =
 Indigofera kirilowii, 13 = Prunus japonica, 14 = Celastrus orbiculatus, 15
 = Smilax china. N (mg/g): Initial nitrogen concentration of the litter.
 C（mg/g): Initial Carbon concentration of the litter. C:N ratio: The
 initial carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of the litter. Total phenolics (mg/g):
 Initial total phenolic content of the litter. **Li et al.\_ litter
 decomposition.xlsx** **Variables** ID: Row number for each data entry.
 Composition: The 61 litter species combinations used in the experiment.
 Initial mass (g): The initial dry mass of each litter mixture before
 decomposition. Remaining mass (g): The dry mass of each litter mixture
 after decomposition. Release mass (g): Mass loss of the litter mixture
 during decomposition. Identity: The 61 litter species combinations used in
 the experiment. Mean mass loss (g): The average mass loss per litter
 mixture combination during decomposition. Mean remaining mass (g): The
 average remaining mass per litter mixture combination after decomposition.
 Initial C concentration (mg/g): The carbon concentration of each litter
 mixture before decomposition. Post-decomposition C concentration (mg/g):
 The carbon concentration of each litter mixture after decomposition.
 Initial N concentration Initial N concentration (mg/g): The nitrogen
 concentration of each litter mixture before decomposition.: The nitrogen
 concentration of each litter mixture before decomposition.
 Post-decomposition N concentration (mg/g): The nitrogen concentration of
 each litter mixture after decomposition. Note: Columns "Initial mass
 (g)", "Remaining mass (g)", and "Release mass
 (g)" contain raw data with 305 rows. Columns "Mean mass loss
 (g)", "Mean remaining mass (g)", "Initial C
 concentration (mg/g)", "Post-decomposition C concentration
 (mg/g)", "Initial N concentration (mg/g)", and
 "Post-decomposition N concentration (mg/g)" contain summarized
 data with 65 rows. **Li et al._litter leachate experiment-biomass.xlsx**
 **Variables** ID: Row number for each data entry. Diversity: Species
 richness of litter used to prepare each leachate in the experiment.
 Composition: The species combinations used to prepare each leachate in the
 experiment. Aboveground biomass (g): The dry mass of the aboveground parts
 of Phytolacca americana (in grams) per pot, measured after oven-drying and
 weighing.