Data from: Widespread plant species temporal variation along environmental and microclimate gradients in Norwegian mountains ...

• Main Authors: Wehn, Sølvi, Isaksen, Ketil
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2024
• Subjects: Climate change; alpine vegetation change; microclimate; soil temperature; Salix herbacea; Phyllodoce caerulea; Carex bigelowii; Juncus trifidus; Vaccinium myrtillus; Avenella flexuosa; Empetrum nigrum; GLORIA Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments.; FOS Biological sciences
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7h44j102b; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.7h44j102b

The effect of climate change on mountain vegetation is influenced by environmental factors and site effects. To monitor the effect of climate change we therefore need to understand species sensitivity to microclimate and environmental gradients. The objective of this study is to study widespread plant species temporal and spatial variation along environmental and microclimate gradients in Norwegian mountains along a coast-inland gradient. Occurrence and abundance of plant species were surveyed in 110 study plots in four mountains at two points in time, seven years apart. Of the 222 plant species registered, Salix herbacea, Phyllodoce caerulea, Carex bigelowii, Juncus trifidus, Vaccinium myrtillus, Avenella flexuosa, and Empetrum nigrum were widespread across all mountains. These species responded differently to environmental and microclimate gradients, and abundance data was more sensitive than occurrence data. During the short time span we observed some indications of response which might support the ... : # Widespread plant species temporal variation along environmental and microclimate gradients in Norwegian mountains [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7h44j102b](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7h44j102b) **Description of the data and file structure** The dataset includes abundance data of seven widespread plant species across environmental and microclimate gradients in Norwegian mountains. The widespread species are *Salix herbacea*, *Phyllodoce caerulea, Carex bigelowii, Juncus trifidus, Vaccinium myrtillus, Avenella flexuosa*, and *Empetrum nigrum.* The environmental variables include altitude (meter above forest line (mafl)) and the coast-inland gradient. The microclimate variables include growing season temperature (average temperatures for the period where the mean soil temperature is > 5˚C), winter temperature (mean temperatures for the period December - February) and start of growing season (the period where mean daily soil temperature is > 5˚C). The data were sampled in permanent plots that were ...