Biodiversity Data Journal :
Data Paper (Biosciences)
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Corresponding author: María Leticia Monge González (letymg17@gmail.com)
Academic editor: Anatoliy Khapugin
Received: 31 May 2021 | Accepted: 09 Aug 2021 | Published: 09 Sep 2021
© 2021 María Monge González, Patrick Weigelt, Nathaly Guerrero-Ramírez, Dylan Craven, Gonzalo Castillo-Campos, Thorsten Krömer, Holger Kreft
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Monge González ML, Weigelt P, Guerrero-Ramírez N, Craven D, Castillo-Campos G, Krömer T, Kreft H (2021) BIOVERA-Tree: tree diversity, community composition, forest structure and functional traits along gradients of forest-use intensity and elevation in Veracruz, Mexico. Biodiversity Data Journal 9: e69560. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e69560
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Here, we describe BIOVERA-Tree, a database on tree diversity, community composition, forest structure and functional traits collected in 120 forest plots, distributed along an extensive elevational gradient in Veracruz State, Mexico. BIOVERA-Tree includes information on forest structure from three levels of forest-use intensity, namely old-growth, degraded and secondary forest, replicated across eight elevations from sea-level to near the tree line at 3500 m and on size and location of 4549 tree individuals with a diameter at breast height ≥ 5 cm belonging to 216 species, 154 genera and 80 families. We also report measurements of eight functional traits, namely wood density for 143 species, maximum height for 216 species and leaf traits including: specific leaf area, lamina density, leaf thickness, chlorophyll content and leaf area for 148 species and leaf dry matter content for 145 species.
BIOVERA-Tree is a new database comprising data collected in a rigorous sampling design along forest-use intensity and elevational gradients, contributing to our understanding of how interactive effects of forest-use intensity and elevation affect tree diversity, community composition and functional traits in tropical forests.
Mountains are fascinating ecosystems and natural laboratories for evolutionary and ecological research as they encompass a wide variety of different climatic conditions over short distances (
Land-use change and intensification are occurring at rapid rates and are strongly impacting mountain ecosystems (
BIOVERA-Tree originated from the interdisciplinary research project BIOVERA, which aims at documenting and understanding biodiversity patterns along gradients of altitude, climate, soil and disturbance along an elevational transect at the Cofre de Perote in central Veracruz, Mexico (
The study area is located along an elevational gradient from sea level close to the Gulf of Mexico to near the tree line at 3545 m on the eastern slopes of the Cofre de Perote volcano, in the central part of the State of Veracruz, Mexico (Fig.
We selected eight sites along the elevational gradient, separated by about 500 m in elevation (Fig.
Old-growth forests were defined as mature forests with low forest-use intensity and showed no signs of recent human use. Degraded forests were classified as intermediate forest-use intensity which had been subjected to selective logging and grazing by cattle or goats at high elevations. Finally, secondary forests were defined as high forest-use intensity, having regenerated following clear-cutting 15-20 years prior or with cattle grazing (
In addition, we collected functional traits for the common tree species and we measured the following functional traits: maximum height, wood density, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, lamina density, leaf thickness, chlorophyll content and leaf area (Table
Number of individuals and species with measurements of eight functional traits.
Ecological relevance | Functional Trait | Unit | Measured individuals | Number of species |
Seed dispersion, competitive ability | Maximum height | m | 4549† | 216 |
Structure and mechanical support | Wood density | g cm-3 | 483 | 143 |
Leaf energy and water balance, physical strength | Specific leaf area | m2 kg-1 | 3148 | 148 |
Leaf dry matter content | g g-1 | 3081 | 145 | |
Leaf thickness | mm | 3299 | 148 | |
Lamina density | g cm-3 | 3194 | 148 | |
Photosynthesis | Leaf area | cm2 | 3214 | 148 |
Chlorophyll content | μg cm−2 | 3280 | 148 |
For wood density, we collected wood samples using an increment borer. We used the water-displacement method for measuring wood sample volume and oven-dried samples at 70°C for 48 to 72 hours until they reached a constant dry weight (
The BIOVERA elevational gradient is located close to the Gulf of Mexico and spans from close to sea level (
Taxonomic information on valid species, genus and family names was obtained from The Plant List version 1.1 (2013). Individuals were identified to the species level by specialists (Dr. Francisco Lorea-Hernández, M.Sc. Claudia Gallardo-Hernández and Biol. Carlos M. Durán-Espinosa, Instituto de Ecología, A. C.), while some individuals could only be identified to the family or genus level or could not be identified. Vouchers of specimens were deposited at the Herbarium XAL of Instituto de Ecología, A.C. at Xalapa, Mexico.
Tree diversity and community composition
The database contains information of 216 tree species (Suppl. material
Elevation (m) | Species (mean ± SD) | Individuals(mean ± SD) |
0 | 6.8 ± 4.16 | 17.46 ± 8.68 |
500 | 11.06 ± 3.63 | 36.4 ± 11.91 |
1000 | 13.33 ± 2.22 | 35.4 ± 12.7 |
1500 | 9.6 ± 4.56 | 44.73 ± 15.9 |
2000 | 13.13 ± 2.94 | 44.13 ± 10.4 |
2500 | 6.8 ± 2.99 | 42.20 ± 13.2 |
3000 | 3.06 ± 0.96 | 28.93 ± 10.5 |
3500 | 1.66 ± 0.72 | 51.4 ± 30.81 |
The number of individuals per plot ranged from 4 to 120 with a mean of 8.19 individuals (Table
Species-abundance distributions (n = 120 plots) using an empirical cumulative distribution function A for different levels of forest-use intensity and B for eight sites along the elevation gradient. Vertical axis shows each species from most to least abundant. Horizontal axis shows the relative abundance of the species on a logarithmic scale. Forest-use intensity levels are old-growth forest (OF), degraded forest (DF) and secondary forest (SF).
Forest structure
Across all plots, DBH ranged from 5 to 148 cm, with a mean of 14 ± 15.5 SD (Fig.
Diameter at breast height (DBH; n = 4127 individuals) for A different levels of forest-use intensity and for B eight sites along the elevation gradient. Vertical axis shows tree diameter at breast height (DBH) on a logarithmic scale. Forest-use intensity levels are old-growth forest (OF), degraded forest (DF) and secondary forest (SF). Boxes are second and third quartile, whiskers upper and lower quartile and horizontal lines indicate mean values.
Tree functional traits
This dataset contains eight functional traits (Table
Distribution of eight functional traits along elevation and forest-use intensity gradients in the BIOVERA-Tree. Points represent leaf-level data for specific leaf area (n = 3148), leaf dry matter content (n = 3081), lamina density (n= 3194), leaf area (n = 3214), leaf thickness (n = 3299), and chlorophyll content (n = 3280); individual-level data for wood density (n = 483); and species-level data for maximum height (n = 216). Boxes are second and third quartile, whiskers upper and lower quartile and horizontal lines indicate mean values.
Location of the 120 plots along the elevational gradient at the eastern slopes of Cofre de Perote in Veracruz, Mexico. Available as Suppl. material
Column label | Column description |
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locationID | An identifier for the set of location information (data associated with dcterms:Location). May be a global unique identifier or an identifier specific to the dataset. |
roundElevation | round metres above sea level |
verbatimElevation | The original description of the elevation (altitude, usually above sea level) of the Location. |
habitat | A category or description of the habitat in which the Event occurred. |
forestUseIntensity | Old growth forest (OF) a mature forest with low forest-use intensity, degraded forest (DF) classified as intermediate forest-use intensity and secondary forest (SF) high forest-use intensity |
verbatimLatitude | The verbatim original latitude of the Location. The coordinate ellipsoid, geodeticDatum or full Spatial Reference System (SRS) for these coordinates should be stored in verbatimSRS and the coordinate system should be stored in verbatimCoordinateSystem. |
verbatimLongitude | The verbatim original longitude of the Location. The coordinate ellipsoid, geodeticDatum or full Spatial Reference System (SRS) for these coordinates should be stored in verbatimSRS and the coordinate system should be stored in verbatimCoordinateSystem. |
temperature | Mean annual temperature (in degrees Celsius) |
precipitation | Mean annual precipitation (in millimetres) |
country | The name of the country or major administrative unit in which the Location occurs. |
eventDate | The date or interval during which an Event occurred. For occurrences, this is the date when the event was recorded. |
coordinateUncertaintyInMetres | The horizontal distance (in metres) from the given decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude describing the smallest circle containing the whole of the Location. |
geodeticDatum | The ellipsoid, geodetic datum or spatial reference system (SRS) upon which the geographic coordinates given in decimalLatitude and decimalLongitude are based. Here: WGS84 |
List of tree species along the elevational gradient and different levels of forest-use intensity. Available as Suppl. material
Column label | Column description |
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treeIdentificationID | An identifier for the nomenclatural (not taxonomic) details of a scientific name. |
treeIdentification | The full scientific name, with authorship and date information, if known. When forming part of an Identification, this should be the name in lowest level taxonomic rank that can be determined. |
family | The full scientific name of the family in which the taxon is classified |
Tree community matrix composition along eight elevational sites and three different forest-use intensity levels of 216 tree species (n = 5 plots per forest-use intensity within elevation). The numbers within the matrix are the number of individuals. Available as Suppl. material
Column label | Column description |
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locationID | Forest plot identifier from supplementary table 1 (rows) |
treeIdentificationID | Scientific name identifier from supplementary table 1 (columns) |
Diameter at breast height (DBH) > 5 cm and tree height (metres) for 216 species along the elevational gradient and different levels of forest-use intensity. Available as Suppl. material
Column label | Column description |
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locationID | An identifier for the set of location information (data associated with dcterms:Location). May be a global unique identifier or an identifier specific to the dataset. |
treeIdentificationID | An identifier for the nomenclatural (not taxonomic) details of a scientific name. |
organismID | An identifier for the Organism instance (as opposed to a particular digital record of the Organism). May be a globally unique identifier or an identifier specific to the dataset. |
variableName | name of the variable |
variableValue | value |
Plant functional traits measured along the elevational gradient and different levels of forest-use intensity; including leaf traits, wood density and maximum height. Available as Suppl. material
Column label | Column description |
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treeIdentificationID | An identifier for the nomenclatural (not taxonomic) details of a scientific name. |
organismID | An identifier for the Organism instance (as opposed to a particular digital record of the Organism). May be a globally unique identifier or an identifier specific to the dataset. |
leafID | An identifier for leaf |
heightGroup | It is the classification of trees into three groups: 1) species with more than 20 individuals, 2) species with between 5-19 individuals and 3) species with less than five individuals. |
resolution | Scale |
traitName | Functional trait |
traitValue | Functional trait value |
Definition and categories according with Darwin Core, Functional Diversity thesaurus and this research.
Column label | Column description |
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According | Type of terminological resource for plant characteristics. |
Concept | Term, name of the variable |
Definition | Explanation of concepts and variables |
The data underpinning the analysis reported in this paper are deposited in the Dryad Data Repository at https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.ngf1vhhvb.
We thank Alejandro Hernández-Sánchez, Miguel Hernández, Eder Martinez, Luis Tlaxcalteco, Giovanni Luna-Hernández, Gloria Monje, David Monje, Elazar Flores and Kim Gross for their valuable help during fieldwork and data entry. We would like to thank Francisco G. Lorea-Hernández, Claudia Gallardo-Hernández and Carlos M. Durán-Espinosa for their help with the tree species identification. We also thank Paola Barajas for help with the map. Thanks to the Instituto de Ecología, A. C. (INECOL) and Centro de Investigaciones Tropicales (CITRO) in Xalapa, Mexico for providing working facilities. Funding information: Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) grant number (239388 to MLMG) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) grant number (91599355 to MLMG). Nathaly R. Guerrero-Ramírez thank the Dorothea Schlözer Postdoctoral Programme of the Georg-August-Universität for their support. This publication was supported financially by the Open Access Grant Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Open Access Publication Fund of the University of Göttingen.
M.L.M-G, H.K. and T.K conceived the study; M.L.M-G collected data; P.W., D.C and N.G-R. contributed to data management and designed the database, M.L.M-G wrote the paper with contributions from H.K., P.W., N.G-R., G.C-C. and D.C. All the authors commented on the manuscript.
Tree community matrix with abundances
Definition and categories according with Darwin Core, Functional Diversity thesaurus and this research.