Data from: The role of plant-soil feedbacks in stabilizing a reindeer-induced vegetation shift in subarctic tundra ...

• Main Authors: Egelkraut, Dagmar, Kardol, Paul, De Long, Jonathan R., Olofsson, Johan
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2019
• Subjects: legacy effects; alternative state; vegetation composition; Rangifer tarandus; reindeer husbandry; Betula nana ssp nana; Potentilla crantzii; Betula nana; Northern Sweden; Subarctic; Tundra
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.t0cs166; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.t0cs166

1.Herbivory can drive vegetation into different states of productivity and community composition, and these changes may be stable over time due to historical contingency effects. Interactions with abiotic and biotic soil components can contribute to such long‐term legacies in plant communities through stabilizing positive feedbacks. 2.We studied the role of plant‐soil feedbacks in maintaining vegetation changes caused by historical (~1350‐1900 AD) reindeer herding in northern Sweden. These historical milking grounds (HMGs) consist of meadow plant communities formed in naturally nutrient poor heath or naturally nutrient rich shrub‐dominated vegetation, and are still clearly visible in the landscape, a century after active use ceased. 3.We selected two phytometer species: the forb Potentilla crantzii as representative of HMG vegetation, and the dwarf shrub Betula nana, as representative of control vegetation. We grew both species under glasshouse conditions on soils derived from replicated HMG and paired ... : Data files_Egelkraut etal 2018_Functional EcologyThis data file provides the dry weights of two phytometer species, Betula nana and Potentilla crantzii, which were grown in different soils, under controlled conditions for 2,5-3 months. Next to above and below ground weight, we also assessed colonization of the roots by mycorrhizas; ectomycorrhiza on B. nana roots, and vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhiza in P. crantzii roots. Lastly, concentrations of mineral N and P are provided. ...