Plant data were collected nearly continuously from 1978-present. Sampling is ongoing and data will be added over time.
Quadrat data is collected in the winter and summer each year. However, due to gaps in funding and personnel, not all censuses have been conducted. Information on each census can be found in Portal_plant_census_dates.
An indicator of whether or not an individual quadrat was censused in each season can be found in Portal_plant_censuses. This can be used to differentiate between real zeros and missing data in the abundance data.
Several datanotes are used to indicate specific problems in data collection. In most cases, the data are still appropriate for use.
Portal_plant_quadrats includes data collected by counting all individuals on a 0.5 m x 0.5 m quadrat at each of 16 permanent locations on each plot. species and abundance are recorded. Starting in 2015, cover (visually estimated) and cf (used for unknown species) are also recorded for this data.
Portal_plant_species contains species codes used in Portal_plant_quadrats and transect data. The species list also contains a record of taxonomy changes over time (altgenus and altspecies), often illuminating why the species code doesn't match the current genus, species. While genus and/or species may change over time, speciescode remains consistent across the duration of the dataset. The Community column can be used to group species into broad ecological communities.
Portal_plant_transects_1989_2009 Species and point at which individual intersected the point-transect (in dm) are recorded.
Portal_plant_transects_2015_present Species, width intersecting the transect (start and stop, in mm), and greatest height (in cm) are recorded. Only shrub species are included (as indicated in Portal_plant_species).
Please refer to Methods.md for a complete description of how these data were collected.