Data from: Litter nutrient release and allelopathy jointly contribute to the diversity–invasibility relationship
Data files
Sep 19, 2025 version files 1.18 MB
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Li_et_al.__Fungi.xlsx
1.07 MB
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Li_et_al.__Initial_litter_properties.xlsx
15.17 KB
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Li_et_al.__litter_decomposition.xlsx
29.35 KB
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Li_et_al._litter_experiment-biomass.xlsx
36.21 KB
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Li_et_al._litter_leachate_experiment-biomass.xlsx
15.80 KB
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README.md
7.27 KB
Abstract
This dataset accompanies a study testing Elton’s biotic resistance hypothesis by examining how native plant litter diversity influences the growth of the invasive plant Phytolacca americana through nutrient release and allelopathic effects in temperate forests of China. The dataset includes: (1) Aboveground biomass data of P. americana grown in pots with litter mixtures composed of 15 native plant species at five species-richness levels (1, 3, 6, 9, 15); (2) Initial chemical properties (C and N concentrations, C:N ratios, and total phenolics) of the 15 native plant litter types; (3) Mass, C concentration, and N concentration of 61 litter mixtures measured before and after 10 weeks of decomposition to calculate litter C and N release; (4) soil fungal community data derived from high-throughput sequencing, including taxonomic profiles (from phylum to genus) and functional classifications assigned using FUNGuild (e.g., saprotrophs, pathogens, symbionts); (5) Aboveground biomass data of P. americana from a litter-leachate experiment testing how leachates derived from litter mixtures of varying species richness affected the invader’s growth. These datasets support analyses of how litter species richness regulates nutrient dynamics, allelopathic effects, and invader performance, and are valuable for researchers studying invasion ecology, plant–soil interactions, and the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2rbnzs82h
Description of the data and file structure
This dataset package contains five components associated with a study on how native plant litter diversity influences the growth of the invasive plant Phytolacca americana through nutrient release and allelopathic effects:
- Li_et_al._litter_experiment-biomass.xlsx biomass data of P. americana from a pot experiment using litter mixtures with five species richness levels (1, 3, 6, 9, 15).
- Li_et_al.__Fungi.xlsx: Soil fungal community data obtained by high-throughput sequencing, including taxonomic and functional classifications.
- Li_et_al.__Initial_litter_properties.xlsx: Initial chemical properties (C and N concentrations, C:N ratio, and total phenolics) of 15 native plant litter species.
- Li_et_al.__litter_decomposition.xlsx: Data on 61 litter species combinations, including initial and post-decomposition mass, C and N concentrations.
- Li_et_al._litter_leachate_experiment-biomass.xlsx: Aboveground biomass data of P. americana from a litter-leachate experiment testing the effects of leachates prepared from litter with different species richness levels.
Files and variables
Li et al._litter experiment-biomass.xlsx
Variables
ID: Row number for each data entry.
Activated carbon: Activated carbon treatment, where 1 indicates no addition and 3 indicates addition.
Diversity: The level of litter species richness in the treatment, with three levels: 1, 3, 6, 9, and 15 species.
Composition: The identity of the litter species in the diversity‑1 treatment and the specific species combinations in the diversity‑3, diversity‑6, diversity‑9, and diversity‑15 treatments. A total of 61 unique litter mixtures were used.
Aboveground biomass: The dry mass (in grams) of the aboveground parts of Phytolacca americana per pot, measured after oven-drying and weighing.
Belowground biomass: The dry mass (in grams) of the belowground parts (roots) of Phytolacca americana per pot, measured after oven-drying and weighing.
Total biomass: The sum of aboveground and belowground dry mass (in grams) of Phytolacca americana per pot.
Li et al._ Fungi.xlsx
Variables
OTU: Operational Taxonomic Unit; a unique identifier for a cluster of similar fungal ITS sequences, typically approximating species-level resolution.
Sample1–Sample61_5: Columns representing individual experimental soil samples. Each cell indicates the number of ITS sequence reads (i.e., abundance) assigned to a particular OTU in a given sample.
Taxonomy: Microbial taxonomic classification (e.g., phylum, class, order, family, genus) assigned to each OTU based on ITS sequence similarity.
Taxon: The scientific name of the fungal taxon assigned to each OTU, based on ITS classification.
Taxon Level: The taxonomic rank at which the OTU was assigned.
Trophic Mode: The primary ecological strategy of the fungus (e.g., saprotroph, symbiotroph, pathotroph), as defined by the FUNGuild database.
Guild: The predicted ecological role or function of the fungal taxon (e.g., saprotroph, pathogen, endophyte), assigned based on FUNGuild classification.
Growth Morphology: The general growth form of the fungus.
Trait: Functional or ecological traits associated with the fungal taxon, such as host specificity, substrate preference, or ecological niche.
Confidence Ranking: A qualitative indicator of confidence in the trophic/guild assignment (e.g., “Probable”, “Highly Probable”, or “Possible”), as provided by FUNGuild or other sources.
Notes: Additional notes or clarifications regarding specific OTUs or functional assignments. This may include manual annotations, classification uncertainties, or contextual ecological information.
Citation/Source: The literature or database used as the source for taxonomic or functional annotation.
Note: For all columns (except Notes), cells containing “–” indicate missing or unavailable data. This may be due to low sequence similarity, ambiguous taxonomy, or lack of functional annotation in reference databases. Cells containing “NULL” indicate that no data were generated for that entry (e.g., sequencing failure, sample loss, or other technical issues).
Li et al._ Initial litter properties.xlsx
Variables
ID: Row number for each data entry.
Species:Species: The 15 litter species included in the experiment.Species: The 15 litter species included in the experiment, coded as follows: 1 = Quercus glandulifera, 2 = Alnus hirsuta, 3 = Kalopanax septemlobus, 4 = Sorbus alnifolia, 5 = Quercus variabilis, 6 = Quercus acutissima, 7 = Ailanthus altissima, 8 = Pinus densiflora, 9 = Rhus chinensis, 10 = Grewia biloba, 11 = Lespedeza bicolor, 12 = Indigofera kirilowii, 13 = Prunus japonica, 14 = Celastrus orbiculatus, 15 = Smilax china.
N (mg/g): Initial nitrogen concentration of the litter.
C（mg/g): Initial Carbon concentration of the litter.
C:N ratio: The initial carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of the litter.
Total phenolics (mg/g): Initial total phenolic content of the litter.
Li et al._ litter decomposition.xlsx
Variables
ID: Row number for each data entry.
Composition: The 61 litter species combinations used in the experiment.
Initial mass (g): The initial dry mass of each litter mixture before decomposition.
Remaining mass (g): The dry mass of each litter mixture after decomposition.
Release mass (g): Mass loss of the litter mixture during decomposition.
Identity: The 61 litter species combinations used in the experiment.
Mean mass loss (g): The average mass loss per litter mixture combination during decomposition.
Mean remaining mass (g): The average remaining mass per litter mixture combination after decomposition.
Initial C concentration (mg/g): The carbon concentration of each litter mixture before decomposition.
Post-decomposition C concentration (mg/g): The carbon concentration of each litter mixture after decomposition.
Initial N concentration Initial N concentration (mg/g): The nitrogen concentration of each litter mixture before decomposition.: The nitrogen concentration of each litter mixture before decomposition.
Post-decomposition N concentration (mg/g): The nitrogen concentration of each litter mixture after decomposition.
Note: Columns "Initial mass (g)", "Remaining mass (g)", and "Release mass (g)" contain raw data with 305 rows. Columns "Mean mass loss (g)", "Mean remaining mass (g)", "Initial C concentration (mg/g)", "Post-decomposition C concentration (mg/g)", "Initial N concentration (mg/g)", and "Post-decomposition N concentration (mg/g)" contain summarized data with 65 rows.
Li et al._litter leachate experiment-biomass.xlsx
Variables
ID: Row number for each data entry.
Diversity: Species richness of litter used to prepare each leachate in the experiment.
Composition: The species combinations used to prepare each leachate in the experiment.
Aboveground biomass (g): The dry mass of the aboveground parts of Phytolacca americana (in grams) per pot, measured after oven-drying and weighing.