One-hectare fine-scale dataset of a fynbos plant community in the Cape Floristic RegionZenodo
Cape fynbos, which forms part of the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of South Africa, a global biodiversity hotspot, is renowned for its high levels of plant species endemism and diversity. This extraordinary ecosystem, characterised by nutrient-poor soils and fire-adapted vegetation, is a treasure trov...
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Elsevier
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Data in Brief |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340925000666 |
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| author | Jan-Hendrik Keet Cang Hui |
| author_facet | Jan-Hendrik Keet Cang Hui |
| author_sort | Jan-Hendrik Keet |
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| description | Cape fynbos, which forms part of the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of South Africa, a global biodiversity hotspot, is renowned for its high levels of plant species endemism and diversity. This extraordinary ecosystem, characterised by nutrient-poor soils and fire-adapted vegetation, is a treasure trove of endemic flora. However, this fragile system faces increasing threats from habitat loss, climate change, and invasive species. Pristine fynbos, naturally high in plant diversity and which forms a large part of the CFR, presents an ideal opportunity to gather fine-scale data on community assembly patterns. Most fynbos vegetation surveys use a plot size of about 100 m2, with no spatial structures within plots to demarcate individual subplots. Here, a groundbreaking dataset is presented that fully covers 1-hectare of pristine fynbos, systematically gridded into 50 × 50 subplots, each measuring 2 × 2 m, arranged evenly within a square-shaped survey site. Each plot was assigned a unique Y–X coordinate combination. For each plot, all plant species present were recorded, along with their total percentage covers and maximum height values. Total percentage covers were also recorded for bare soil, rock, and termite mounds. This dataset provides a valuable contribution to the field of fynbos ecology, as well as plant community ecology in general, and establishes a benchmark for future one-hectare surveys of similar fynbos vegetation types, delineating the fine-scale composition and structure of fynbos in the CFR. The dataset will be useful for a wide audience, including community and spatial ecologists, plant and environmental scientists, and biodiversity informaticians and statistical ecologists, offering ideal data for testing new metrics of diversity and compositional turnover. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3d5037a75404441496283235f03582c9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2352-3409 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Data in Brief |
| spelling | doaj-art-3d5037a75404441496283235f03582c92025-02-06T05:11:57ZengElsevierData in Brief2352-34092025-04-0159111334One-hectare fine-scale dataset of a fynbos plant community in the Cape Floristic RegionZenodoJan-Hendrik Keet0Cang Hui1EcoFloristix Specialist Botanical Surveys, Hillcrest Road, Somerset West 7130, South Africa; Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa; Corresponding author at: EcoFloristix Specialist Botanical Surveys, Hillcrest Road, Somerset West 7130, South Africa.Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa; Biodiversity Informatics Unit, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cape Town 7945, South Africa; National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences, Stellenbosch 7602, South AfricaCape fynbos, which forms part of the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) of South Africa, a global biodiversity hotspot, is renowned for its high levels of plant species endemism and diversity. This extraordinary ecosystem, characterised by nutrient-poor soils and fire-adapted vegetation, is a treasure trove of endemic flora. However, this fragile system faces increasing threats from habitat loss, climate change, and invasive species. Pristine fynbos, naturally high in plant diversity and which forms a large part of the CFR, presents an ideal opportunity to gather fine-scale data on community assembly patterns. Most fynbos vegetation surveys use a plot size of about 100 m2, with no spatial structures within plots to demarcate individual subplots. Here, a groundbreaking dataset is presented that fully covers 1-hectare of pristine fynbos, systematically gridded into 50 × 50 subplots, each measuring 2 × 2 m, arranged evenly within a square-shaped survey site. Each plot was assigned a unique Y–X coordinate combination. For each plot, all plant species present were recorded, along with their total percentage covers and maximum height values. Total percentage covers were also recorded for bare soil, rock, and termite mounds. This dataset provides a valuable contribution to the field of fynbos ecology, as well as plant community ecology in general, and establishes a benchmark for future one-hectare surveys of similar fynbos vegetation types, delineating the fine-scale composition and structure of fynbos in the CFR. The dataset will be useful for a wide audience, including community and spatial ecologists, plant and environmental scientists, and biodiversity informaticians and statistical ecologists, offering ideal data for testing new metrics of diversity and compositional turnover.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340925000666Species compositionSpatial distributionPlant communitiesBiodiversity hotspotVegetation surveys |
| spellingShingle | Jan-Hendrik Keet Cang Hui One-hectare fine-scale dataset of a fynbos plant community in the Cape Floristic RegionZenodo Data in Brief Species composition Spatial distribution Plant communities Biodiversity hotspot Vegetation surveys |
| title | One-hectare fine-scale dataset of a fynbos plant community in the Cape Floristic RegionZenodo |
| title_full | One-hectare fine-scale dataset of a fynbos plant community in the Cape Floristic RegionZenodo |
| title_fullStr | One-hectare fine-scale dataset of a fynbos plant community in the Cape Floristic RegionZenodo |
| title_full_unstemmed | One-hectare fine-scale dataset of a fynbos plant community in the Cape Floristic RegionZenodo |
| title_short | One-hectare fine-scale dataset of a fynbos plant community in the Cape Floristic RegionZenodo |
| title_sort | one hectare fine scale dataset of a fynbos plant community in the cape floristic regionzenodo |
| topic | Species composition Spatial distribution Plant communities Biodiversity hotspot Vegetation surveys |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340925000666 |
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