Metadata for dataset: "plant_list.csv", "groundcover.csv", "flower_cover_season.csv", "peakbloom.csv", "pollinators.csv", "leaf_suction.csv" & "soil_fauna.csv" DOI for the dataset: https://doi.org/10.5878/001q-v042 Dataset name: 'Data for "Plant identity and traits determine pollinator, natural enemy, herbivore and decomposer abundances in flower plantings"' Data related to the manuscript "Plant identity and traits determine pollinator, natural enemy, herbivore and decomposer abundances in flower plantings - - - - - - - - - - - - - - We evaluated 27 candidate plant species for their ability to host functionally important above- and below-ground organisms — pollinators, natural enemies, herbivores, and decomposers — and assessed how the plant traits floral area, timing of peak bloom, life cycle, and plant cover affect these groups. The study was conducted during two years in two sites. Pollinators (hoverflies and wild bees - including bumblebees and solitary bees-) were surveyed with visual observations for 60s twice a week while the plot was in bloom. Leaf-dwelling arthropods (predators, parasitic wasps and herbivores) were collected using vacuum sampling (30s in a 1m by 1m quadrat) of the plots with open flowers. As below-ground organisms, nematodes (predators, herbivores and decomposers) were sampled at the end of each survey season taking a composite sample consisting on three samples per plot (2cm diameter, 15cm depth). All data were summed on the plot level per site and year. For the plant traits, floral area and plant cover surveys were recorded weekly in a 1m by 1m quadrat, within 2 days of sampling pollinators and leaf-dwelling arthropods. The timing of peak bloom for each plant species was defined as the average week number between the two consecutive weeks with the highest number of open floral units. The life cycles of the plant species were classified as annual or perennial (perennial and biennial). For further information, see methods in the manuscript Rodríguez-Gasol et al. ’Plant identity and traits determine pollinator, natural enemy, herbivore and decomposer abundances in flower plantings’. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - This dataset contains seven (7) individual files containing information on: (1) plant species in the plots (plant_list.csv; 4 columns, 31 rows) (2) the cover of the focal plant species across the whole season (groundcover.csv; 8 columns, 409 rows) (3) the flower cover of the focal plant species across the whole season (flower_cover_season.csv; 9 columns, 361 rows) (4) the timing of peak bloom as well as floral area and plant cover during peak bloom (peakbloom.csv; 10 columns, 310 rows) (5) pollinator observations (pollinators.csv; 10 columns, 349 rows) (6) leaf suction samples (leaf_suction.csv; 9 columns, 312 rows) (7) nematode densities in soil samples (soil_fauna.csv; 10 columns, 321 rows) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (1) plant_list.csv plot: ID of the sampled plot (i.e. plant species); factor, 30 levels plant_name: scientific name of the plant species family: scientific name of the plant family lifecycle: plant species life cycle (factor, 2 levels: 'annual' vs. 'perennial') ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (2) groundcover.csv year: year the data was gathered (factor, 2 levels: '2020' & '2021') site: field stations where the experiments where conducted (factor, 2 levels: 'Skane' & 'Uppsala') plot: ID of the sampled plot (i.e. plant species); factor, 30 levels block: replicate of the same 'plot' within each 'site' and 'year' (factor, 4 levels) observations: number of samples available per 'block' groundcover: plant cover of the focal plant species across the whole year (average) in percent exclude: logical value whether value should be excluded in the analyses (see main text for inclusion criteria) comment: comment ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (3) flower_cover_season.csv year: year the data was gathered (factor, 2 levels: '2020' & '2021') site: field stations where the experiments where conducted (factor, 2 levels: 'Skane' & 'Uppsala') plot: ID of the sampled plot (i.e. plant species); factor, 30 levels block: replicate of the same 'plot' within each 'site' and 'year' (factor, 4 levels) observations_is: number of samples available per 'block' observations_should: number of samples that should have been collected per 'block' floral_area: total floral area (sum) of the focal species in each 'block' across the whole season in square centimeters exclude: logical value whether value should be excluded in the analyses (see main text for inclusion criteria) comment: comment ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (4) peakbloom.csv year: year the data was gathered (factor, 2 levels: '2020' & '2021') site: field stations where the experiments where conducted (factor, 2 levels: 'Skane' & 'Uppsala') plot: ID of the sampled plot (i.e. plant species); factor, 30 levels block: replicate of the same 'plot' within each 'site' and 'year' (factor, 4 levels) peak_avg: average number of the week in the year when peak bloom occurred (see main text) observations: number of samples available per 'block' groundcover_species_avg_peak: plant cover of the focal plant species during peak bloom (average) in percent floral_area_peak: total floral area (sum) of the focal species in each 'block' during peak bloom in square centimeters exclude: logical value whether value should be excluded in the analyses (see main text for inclusion criteria) comment: comment ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (5) pollinators.csv year: year the data was gathered (factor, 2 levels: '2020' & '2021') site: field stations where the experiments where conducted (factor, 2 levels: 'Skane' & 'Uppsala') plot: ID of the sampled plot (i.e. plant species); factor, 30 levels block: replicate of the same 'plot' within each 'site' and 'year' (factor, 4 levels) observations_is: number of samples available per 'block' observations_should: number of samples that should have been collected per 'block' hoverflies: total number of hoverflies observed wild_bees: total number of wild bees observed exclude: logical value whether value should be excluded in the analyses (see main text for inclusion criteria) reason: comment ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (6) leaf_suction.csv year: year the data was gathered (factor, 2 levels: '2020' & '2021') site: field stations where the experiments where conducted (factor, 2 levels: 'Skane' & 'Uppsala') plot: ID of the sampled plot (i.e. plant species); factor, 30 levels block: replicate of the same 'plot' within each 'site' and 'year' (factor, 4 levels) observations: number of samples available per 'block' predators: total number of predatory arthropods observed herbivores: total number of herbivorous arthropods observed parasitoids: total number of parasitic wasps observed exclude: logical value whether value should be excluded in the analyses (see main text for inclusion criteria) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (7) soil_fauna.csv year: year the data was gathered (factor, 2 levels: '2020' & '2021') site: field stations where the experiments where conducted (factor, 2 levels: 'Skane' & 'Uppsala') plot: ID of the sampled plot (i.e. plant species); factor, 30 levels block: replicate of the same 'plot' within each 'site' and 'year' (factor, 4 levels) soil_weight_g: dry weight (g) of soil sample extracted plant_feeders: density of herbivorous nematodes in the soil sample in g decomposers: density of decomposer nematodes in the soil sample in g predators: density of predatory nematodes in the soil sample in g exclude: logical value whether value should be excluded in the analyses (see main text for inclusion criteria) reason: comment