Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.j0zpc86wf

Description of the data and file structure

This dataset contain the data we collected from a systematic review of experimental studies investigating the effects of seed priming techniques, seedling treatments, and biotic and abiotic modifiers on tree seedling recruitment in temperate and subtropical biomes. It includes data extracted from 266 peer-reviewed articles. From these 91 articles were included and used as the basis to conduct a systematic narrative synthesis of the modifiers effects on seedling recruitment (Bürli et al. 2026 published in Ecology and Evolution).

From each included paper, we extracted a range of variables and information, including research aims, study types (experimental, observational, review, or meta-analysis), reasons for exclusion, treatments and modifiers investigated along with their control treatments, levels (e.g., concentration) and effects, response variables examined, corresponding life stages (i.e., seed or seedling), reported co-variables influencing treatment effects, interaction effects of treatments and modifiers, taxa studied, and study locations.

Files and variables

File: Review_extracted_data_DRYAD.csv

Variables

• Paper: name of a published article. In our dataset, a "paper" refers to a published article, while a "study" denotes a research experiment within a paper, allowing for one paper to encompass multiple studies.
• Study: name of a research experiment within a given paper
• Paper_authors: name of the paper authors
• Paper_year: publication year of the paper
• Paper_title: title of the paper
• Paper_DOI: DOI of the paper
• Paper_type: whether the paper is experimental, observational, a review, or a meta-analysis
• Study_aim: research aim of the study
• Study_aim_category: the category of study aim, as defined in Bürli et al. (2026, published in Ecology and Evolution, see Table 2). Only seven categories are possible in this column: Abiotic climatic modifiers, Abiotic environmental modifiers, Biotic modifiers, Fertilization, Mixed biotic & abiotic modifiers, Seed priming techniques, Seedling treatments
• Treatment_category: the category of the treatment. Only the following categories, grouped within the seven study-aim categories, are possible in this column: 1) Abiotic climatic modifiers: drought, elevation, flooding (e.g., duration), latitude, precipitation, seasonality, snow cover, soil moisture, temperature (increase), temperature+precipitation, temperature regime; 2) Abiotic environmental modifiers: distance to seashore, gap size in forest, light, light regime, plantation date, pollution, salinity, shading, soil scarification, time (e.g., since plantation), wind protection; 3) Biotic modifiers: animal introduction, competition (i.e. intra- and/or inter-specific competition and plant density), herbivory (e.g., predation and defoliation, human-made simulated herbivory), mycorrhiza (inoculation or removal), nitrogen-fixing bacteria inoculation, pathogens inoculation, plant species richness; 4) Fertilization: liming, N fertilization, N-P fertilization, N-P-K fertilization, P fertilization, total soil amendment (ash, biochar or charcoal amendment); 5) Mixed biotic & abiotic modifiers: Allelopathic molecule, canopy age, plant litter addition, nurse species, soil (origin and/or type and soil sterilization), understorey treatment (e.g., removal or control of understorey vegetation and/or weeds); 6) Seed priming technics: fruit tissue removal, seed chemical treatment, seed moisture content, seed passage through animal gut, seed scarification, seed scarification + chemical treatment, seed sowing method (e.g., germination container type), seed storage (time and/or condition), seed stratification; 7) Seedling treatments: pot coating, pot size, seedling size, seedling transplantation method. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Treatment_sub-category: the detailed treatment category. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Treatment_levels: the specific levels or intensities of the treatment, for example, varying temperatures or chemical concentrations used to assess their impact. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Treatment_effect: the detailed effects of the treatment. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Treatment_effect_category: the effect category of the treatment. Only four effect category are possible in this column: positive, negative, non-significant or variable. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Control_in_experiment: information on the control treatment. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Experimental_OR_observational_study: whether the study is experimental, observational, meta-analytical or a review.
• Inclusion_in_review: whether the study has been included or excluded from our review.
• Reason_of_rejection: the reason of exclusion from our review.
• Species: the plant species investigated in the study
• Genus: the genus or geni of the investigated plant species
• Family : the family or families of the investigated plant species
• Gymno_Angio: whether the investigated plant species are Gymnosperms, Angiosperms or mix of both (in this case, it is written “mixed”).
• Evergreen_deciduous: whether the investigated plant species are evergreen, deciduous or mix of both (in this case, it is written “mixed”). If this is not know, NA is written. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Life_trait: information about the investigated plant species in terms of whether they are native, alien, invasive or endemic, late-, secondary-, mid- or early-successional, wetland species, salt-, flood-, drought- and shade-tolerance, overstorey or mangrove trees or wether it is a plant-species group of “mixed” characteristics. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Country: the country where the study was conducted. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Location: the specific study location (more detailed than the country). For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Climate: the climatic conditions where the study was conducted (e.g. temperate, subtropical, tropical, semi-dry). If the study was not conducted in outdoor, it is also specified if it was a garden or a greenhouse. If the climate is not know, NA is written. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Experiment_n°: if an experiment is conducted multiple times with different species or under different conditions, this variable indicates which specific experiment each data point corresponds to. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Life_stage_response: whether the study was conducted on seeds or seedlings. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Response_variable: the specific response variable as reported in the original study. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Response_variable_unit: the unit in which the response variable is measured. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Response_variable_category: the detailed category of response variable. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Broadest_response_variable_category: The most general grouping of response variables, based on life stage (seed or seedling) or response type, allowing cross-study comparison at a higher level. Only six categories are possible in this column: Biomass ratio, Germination, Germination time, Growth, Phenology, and Survival. Data were extracted only for the selected response variables (Table 1 in Bürli et al. 2026, published in Ecology and Evolution). This approach enables efficient comparison across studies but does not cover all response variables reported in the screened papers. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Sample_size_quality: whether the sample size of the study is considered by the authors as acceptable (in this case, it is written “ok”), or not (in this case, it is written “not_ok”).
• Covariable: name and type of covariable, if there are one/some, otherwise, it is written NA. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.
• Covariable_effect: effect of the covariable. For papers or studies that were excluded from our review (see “Inclusion_in_review” variable), NA is written.

Code/software

To open this dataset, we suggest to use Calc or Excel, specifying tab characters only as column separators.

To analyze this dataset, we suggest to use R.

Access information

Other publicly accessible locations of the data:

• There is not other location to access the data.

Data was derived from the following sources:

• The data have been collected by the authors of Bürli et al. (2026, published in Ecology and Evolution).