HeadwaterstreamSNevada: Data on riparian vegetation
and water parameters of headwater streams in
Sierra Nevada, Spain

Año Publicación:  2023
detalles
Responsable: María J. Salinas-Bonillo, Alba Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Enrique Lopez-Carrique, Javier Cabello, J. Jesús Casas
Journal, Volumen y páginas:
Ecology. Ecological society of America

Autores

María J. Salinas-Bonillo, Alba Rodríguez-Rodríguez, Enrique Lopez-Carrique, Javier Cabello, J. Jesús Casas

Abstract
Providing historical data on riparian plant biodiversity and physico-chemical
parameters of stream water in Mediterranean mountains helps to assess the effects
of climate change and other human stressors on these sensitive and critical ecosystems. This database collects data from the main natural headwater streams of the
Sierra Nevada (southeastern Spain), a high mountain (up to 3479 m above sea level
[m asl]) recognized as a biodiversity super hotspot in the Mediterranean basin. On
this mountain, rivers and landscapes depend on snowmelt water, representing an
excellent scenario for evaluating global change’s impacts. This dataset covers firstto third-order headwater streams at 41 sites from 832 to 1997 m asl, collected from
December 2006 to July 2007. Our goal is to supply information on the vegetation
associated with streambanks, the essential physico-chemical parameters of stream
water, and the physiographic features of the subwatersheds. Riparian vegetation
data correspond to six plots sampled at each site, including total canopy, individual
number, height and DBH (diameter at breast height) in woody species, and cover
percentage for herbs. Physico-chemical parameters were measured in situ (electric
conductivity, pH, dissolved O2 concentration, stream discharge) and determined
in the laboratory (alkalinity, soluble reactive phosphate-phosphorus [SRP], total
phosphorus [TP], nitrate-nitrogen [NO−
3 –N], ammonium-nitrogen [NH+
4 –N],
total nitrogen [TN]). Watershed physiographic variables comprise drainage
area, minimum altitude, maximum altitude, mean slope, orientation, stream
order, stream length, and land cover surface percentage. We recorded 197 plant
taxa (67 species, 28 subspecies, and 2 hybrids), representing 8.4% of the Sierra
Nevada vascular flora. Due to the botanical nomenclature used, the database
can be linked to FloraSNevada database, contributing to Sierra Nevada (Spain)
as a laboratory of global processes. This data set can be freely used for
non-commercial purposes. Users of these data should cite this data paper in
any publications resulting from its use.

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