Title of the dataset:
Data underlying article 'Towards effectively restoring agricultural landscapes in East African drylands: Linking plant functional traits with soil hydrology'

Creators:
Lotte Patty Mens	ORCID 0000-0002-6977-5635 Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research
Aida Bargues-Tobella	ORCID 0000-0001-5632-4061 Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Frank Sterck		ORCID 0000-0001-7559-6572 Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research
Tor-Gunnar Vågen	ORCID 0000-0002-8699-731X World Agroforestry (ICRAF)
Leigh Ann Winowiecki	ORCID 0000-0001-5572-1284 World Agroforestry (ICRAF)
Madelon	Lohbeck 	ORCID 0000-0002-3959-1800 Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research 
						  World Agroforestry (ICRAF)

Related publication: 
Mens, L. P., A. Bargues-Tobella, F. Sterck, T.-G. Vågen, L. A.  Winowiecki, M. Lohbeck. 2022. Towards effectively restoring agricultural landscapes in East African drylands: Linking plant functional traits with soil hydrology. Journal of applied ecology.


Keywords:
Kenya
East Africa
agricultural landscapes
degradation
restoration
functional traits
soil infiltration
soil organic carbon

Spatial coverage:
Muminji, Embu district, south-east of Mount Kenya, Kenya

Temporal coverage:
June - August 2019

This dataset contains the following files:
1. Plot_database_Muminji.csv

2. Trait_database.csv

3. Species_inventory_database_Muminji.csv

Description of files and variables:
We measured field-saturated soil hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) and soil organic carbon (SOC) in 38 plots across agricultural landscapes in Muminji, Kenya. Woody vegetation and land use inventories took place and species functional traits were measured on the 63 most important species. We systematically tested the effects of vegetation quantity (aboveground woody 
biomass and vegetation cover) and quality (functional properties and diversity) on soil health (Kfs as a proxy for soil infiltrability and SOC for soil fertility). 
This dataset contains the data that underlies the analysis and outcomes of this study, described for each dataset below.

1. Plot_database_Muminji.csv is the datafile underlying the LM's analysing the drivers of soil hydraulic conductivity (Kfs) and soil organic carbon (SOC). Some (sub)plots have missing data (NA) for the community weighted means of the traits, this is caused by the absence of woody vegetation in these (sub)plots.
It contains the following columns:
Country							Country of data collection
Site							LDSF-site of data collection
Cluster							LDSF-cluster of data collection
Plot							LDSF-plot of data collection
Latitude						Latitude of plot					
Longitude						Longitude of plot
Altitude						Altitude of plot (m)					
Aboveground.woody.biomass.kg.ha				Aboveground woody biomass of plot (kg/ha)
Aboveground.woody.biomass.Subplot.kg.ha			Aboveground woody biomass of subplot (kg/ha)
canopy.density.Subplot					Canopy density (%) of subplot
canopy.density.plot					Canopy density (%) of plot
herb.cover.plot						Herb cover (score) of plot 
herb.cover.Subplot					Herb cover (score) of subplot
Distance.nearest.tree.shrub				Distance nearest tree or shrub (m) from the middle of the (sub)plot where the field-saturated soil hydraulic conductivity was measured
Total.amount.of.species.plot				Total number of woody species present in plot
Total.amount.of.species.Subplot				Total number of woody species present in subplot
RaoQ							Rao’s quadratic entropy (functional diversity) of plot
Leaf.toughness.Kn.m					Community weighted mean leaf toughness (Kn/m) of plot
Leaf.dry.matter.content.mg.g				Community weighted mean leaf dry matter content (mg/g) of plot
Leaf.thickness.mm					Community weighted mean leaf thickness (mm) of plot
Leaf.chlorophyll.content				Community weighted mean leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD-unit) of plot
Deciduous						Community weighted mean deciduousness (score) of plot
Nitrogen.fixing						Community weighted mean nitrogen fixing (score) of plot
Wood.density.g.ml					Community weighted mean wood density (g/ml) of plot
Branch.water.content.g.ml				Community weighted mean branch water content (g/ml) of plot
Moisture.content.wood					Community weighted mean wood moisture content (%) of plot
Bark.water.holding.capacity				Community weighted mean bark water holding capacity (%) of plot
Bark.structure						Community weighted mean bark structure (score) of plot
Specific.leaf.area.mm2.mg				Community weighted mean specific leaf area (mm2/mg) of plot
Leaf.water.potential.midday.Mpa				Community weighted mean leaf water potential midday (Mpa) of plot
Leaf.water.potential.predawn.Mpa			Community weighted mean leaf water potential predawn (Mpa) of plot
RaoQ_SP							Rao’s quadratic entropy (functional diversity) of subplot
Leaf.toughness.kN.m.SP					Community weighted mean leaf toughness (Kn/m) of subplot
Leaf.dry.matter.content.mg.g.SP				Community weighted mean leaf dry matter content (mg/g) of subplot
Leaf.thickness.mm.SP					Community weighted mean leaf thickness (mm) of subplot
Leaf.chlorophyll.content.SP				Community weighted mean leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD-unit) of subplot
Deciduous.SP						Community weighted mean deciduousness (score) of subplot
Nitrogen.fixing.SP					Community weighted mean nitrogen fixing (score) of subplot
Wood.density.g.ml.SP					Community weighted mean wood density (g/ml) of subplot
Branch.water.content.g.ml.SP				Community weighted mean branch water content (g/ml) of subplot
Moisture.content.wood.SP				Community weighted mean wood moisture content (%) of subplot
Bark.water.holding.capacity.SP				Community weighted mean bark water holding capacity (%) of subplot
Bark.structure.SP					Community weighted mean bark structure (score) of subplot
Specific.leaf.area.mm2.mg.SP				Community weighted mean specific leaf area (mm2/mg) of subplot
Leaf.water.potential.midday.Mpa.SP			Community weighted mean leaf water potential midday (Mpa) of subplot
Leaf.water.potential.predawn.Mpa.SP			Community weighted mean leaf water potential predawn (Mpa) of subplot
Dim1_plot						Community weighted mean based on the species scores on the principal components 1 in plot
Dim2_plot						Community weighted mean based on the species scores on the principal components 2 in plot
Dim1_SP							Community weighted mean based on the species scores on the principal components 1 in subplot
Dim2_SP							Community weighted mean based on the species scores on the principal components 2 in subplot 

(Kfs-, SOC-, soil texture- and land use data is archived elsewhere:
Winowiecki, Leigh Ann; Vågen, Tor-Gunnar; Tobella-Bargues, Aida; Magaju, Christine; Muriuki, Justin; Mwaniki, Alex, 2021, "Biophysical baseline assessment within the KCEP-CRAL action areas in Kenya, using the LDSF", World Agroforestry (ICRAF), V1, UNF:6:yOb7hDKxCflV/SrDQyOgLw== [fileUNF]
https://doi.org/10.34725/DVN/CBHCKS)

2. Trait_database.csv is the datafile containing the values of the functional traits for each species, together with the species_inventory_database_Muminji.csv the trait community weighted means and functional diversity for each plot were calculated and used in the LDSF_Muminji.csv datafile
It contains the following columns:
Species							Plant species name
Leaf.dry.matter.content.mg.g				Leaf dry matter content (mg/g)
Specific.leaf.area.mm2.mg				Specific leaf area (mm2/mg)
Leaf.toughness.kN.m					Leaf toughness (Kn/m)
Leaf.thickness.mm					Leaf thickness (mm)
Leaf.chlorophyll.content				Leaf chlorophyll content (SPAD-unit)
Deciduous						Deciduousness (score: 0=evergreen, 0.5=semi-deciduous, 1=deciduous)
Nitrogen.fixing						Ability to fix nitrogen (score: 0=not nitrogen fixing, 1=nitrogen fixing)
Wood.density.g.ml					Wood density (g/ml)
Branch.water.content.g.ml				Branch water content (g/ml)
Moisture.content.wood					Wood moisture content (%)
Bark.water.holding.capacity				Bark water holding capacity (%)
Bark.structure						Bark structure (score: 1=smooth, 2=light relief, 3=relief, 4=rough and fissures, 5=rough and linear furrows)
Leaf.water.potential.predawn.Mpa			Leaf water potential predawn (Mpa)
Leaf.water.potential.midday.Mpa				Leaf water potential midday (Mpa)

3. Species_inventory_database_Muminji.csv is the datafile containing the woody species inventory for each plot, together with the trait_database.csv the trait community weighted means and functional diversity for each plot were calculated and used in the LDSF_Muminji.csv datafile
It contains the following columns:
Cluster, plot						Cluster number and plot number where individual is found
Species							Plant species name of individual
Subplot (y/n)						Plant individual present in subplot (y) or not present in subplot (n)
Traits measured y/n					Functional traits of plant species are measured (y) or not (n)
length (m)						Length of individual shrub in meters
width (m)						Width of individual shrub in meters
dbh (m)							Diameter at breast height of individual tree in meters
Height (m)						Height of individual tree in meters
wood density (g/ml)					Wood density of species (g/ml)
Biomass of individual tree (kg)				Biomass of individual tree in kg
biomass individual shrub (kg)				Biomass of individual shrub in kg


Methods, materials and software:
Statistical analyses were carried out using R version 4.0.1 (R Core Team 2020).
please find methods in manuscript and detailed methods in supplementary materials
https://doi.org/10.4121/19635243
Towards effectively restoring agricultural landscapes in East African drylands: Linking plant functional traits with soil hydrology. Journal of applied ecology.