Understory Plant Diversity in Broad-Leaved Plantations of Eastern China

A research dataset from a study investigating shrub and herb layer diversity in five broad-leaved plantation types in the subtropical–warm temperate transitional zone of eastern China. The dataset includes measurements of species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and environmental factors like topography and soil properties. It was authored by Zhiwei Ge and last updated on 2026-05 14.

Use Cases

• Modeling the relationship between stand type and understory diversity based on the described gradient from mixed to pioneer pure forests.
• Analyzing layer-specific drivers of biodiversity based on the described topographic filtering for shrubs and soil-latitude co-regulation for herbs.
• Investigating phylogenetic conservatism in plant communities based on the described metrics (Faith’s PD, NRI, NTI) and their regulation by stand type.

Strengths

• Data is structured around a clear ecological gradient across five distinct plantation stand types.
• Includes both species-level and phylogenetic diversity metrics, as described in the methodology.
• Licensed under CC-BY-4.0, permitting open sharing and adaptation.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The dataset is small (245.0 KB), indicating a limited scope of observations.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Grid-based nested plots were established across five core ecological zones in Jiangsu, with vegetation surveyed and environmental variables measured.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 09:33:47; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Subtropical–warm temperate transitional zone of eastern China, specifically Jiangsu province.