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Data from: Community-level canopy reflectance in grazed grasslands is linked to the habitat preferences of individual plant species

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May 17, 2023 version files 405.84 KB

Abstract

Spectral remote sensing provides tools for biological monitoring and can be used to characterize habitat quality in grasslands. These data have been used to study the relationships between plant community composition and remotely sensed canopy reflectance in grazed grasslands. The study area is located on the island of Öland, Sweden, and the data were collected in grazed grasslands that represent a succession from previously arable fields to old semi-natural pastures. All included grassland sites have been assigned to three different classes of grassland age, defined by the grazing continuity in years: young (5–14 years), intermediate-aged (15–49 years), and old (>50 years).

The plant community data consist of presences/absences for 100 vascular plant species in 104 (4 m × 4 m) sample plots positioned in open grassland vegetation. Information on species’ habitat preferences is included and has been used to explain the associations between plant species’ occurrences and the variation in community-level canopy reflectance.

The remote sensing data consist of 317 hyperspectral bands in the wavelength regions 414–1322 nm, 1496–1797 nm, and 2050–2351 nm, and show the mean reflectance in each spectral band for the 104 sample plots. The main gradient in the hyperspectral data is characterized by contrasting reflectance values between bands located in the NIR spectra and bands located in the red, blue, and SWIR spectra.

Grassland canopy reflectance was able to explain variation in the occurrences of individual plant species, particularly those with distinct habitat preferences. Species' habitat preferences indicated that vegetation reflectance in the red, blue, SWIR, and NIR spectra was linked to the plant-availability of mineral nitrogen. In contrast, species’ phosphorus preferences showed stronger associations with reflectance in the green and red-edge spectra.