Abiotic and biotic attributes of an old field community impacting colonization in response to nutrient addition, litter removal, and consumer exclusion

The data in this package were used to evaluate the direct and indirect impacts of soil nutrients, consumers (foliar fungal pathogens and insect herbivores), and leaf litter on seedling establishment in an old field in Duke Forest Research and Teaching Laboratory (Orange County, North Carolina, USA). Seeds were added to plots in spring 2013 and 2014 and seedling establishment and richness of seedling species were surveyed in both years. Several abiotic and biotic attributes of communities that could influence seedling success were also measured, including seasonal mean soil water availability, seasonal mean ground-level light availability, community-weighted mean percentage of leaf nitrogen, and community-weighted mean percentage of leaf area damaged by fungal diseases and insect herbivores.
Data were collected to understand the drivers of community assembly in early-successional old fields.
For more information about this study and these data, see Heckman (in press).