Questions: One tenet of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research is the dependence of ecosystem functions on species-specific differences in traits. Community assembly theory predicts niche differentiation among the constituent species, for...

This is the 2008 CSP PLFA data from a subset of 12 CSPs representing the age gradient. Samples were analyzed over the depth profile of each CSP (see detailed methods below) and analyzed for phospholipid fatty acid profiles, which represent both th...

Characterization of the biotic and abiotic conditions give an insight into the structure of the habitat. The presence of dead wood or open soil can act as an indicator for disturbance as well as heterogenity. Therefore this data are indispensable...

This dataset provides a distance matrix wich gives the distances between the CSPs in the Gutianshan National Nature reserve (29º8'18" – 29º17'29" N, 118º2'14" – 118º11'12" E, Zhejiang Province Southeast China). The distances are based on the spati...

Soil chemical laboratory analyses of VIPs and selected plots on Site B. Cation exchange capacity, base saturation and soil fertility attributes of six depth increments per plot.

Reference list for tree names in the Comparative Study Plots (CSP) of the Biodiversity - Ecosystem Functioning Experiment (BEF-China) and the Main Experiment. This file includes the names of all tree and shrub species found in the CSP during the ...