Seedling census and natural enemy survey data at a tropical understory forest warming experiment (TRACE) in Puerto Rico from 2015-2017

The data in this package were used to evaluate the effects of a natural drought and in situ experimental warming on density-dependent feedbacks on seedling demography at the Tropical Responses to Altered Climate Experiment (TRACE) in Luquillo, Puerto Rico from June 2015 through June 2017. The TRACE site consists of three control plots and three plots that are experimentally warmed using infrared heaters. Seedling surveys at each plot were conducted each year and data including seedling height, root collar diameter, leaf counts, mortality, etc. were measured. Aboveground natural enemy surveys were conducted annually during the seedling surveys. Leaves from each seedling were assessed for damage, and the number of unique damage morphotypes were counted for the following natural enemies: gall makers, grazers, endophytes, leaf miners, and pathogens. Additionally, Guarea guidonia seedlings from outside of each plot were collected in 2017 and root morphology data were collected using root scans.
The purpose of this study was to assess how experimental warming and drought affect density-dependent feedbacks on seedling demography in a tropical forest.
For more information about this study and these data, see Bachelot et al. (2020, https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15087).