This work was funded (1) by Proyecto FEDER SUMHAL-Sustainability for Mediterraean Hospost in Andalusia integrating LifeWatch ERIC [Work Package 5. Task 5.1.2. Development of the data standard. Repository development.] [Work Package 9. Task 9.3.2. Model impact of land use change] (LifeWatch ERIC – FEDER, POPE 2014-2020; Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain); (2) Proyecto COEXMED I: Coexistence of woody plants in Mediterranena forests: intransitive interactions and negative density dependence in recruitment dynamics (CGL2012-36776, FEDER y Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain); (4) Proyecto COEXMED II: Especificidad de las interacciones adulto-juvenil durante el reclutamiento de plantas leñosas: complementariedad de caracteres funcionales e interacciones plant-antagonista (CGL2015-69118-C2-1-P, FEDER y Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad, Spain); (5) Proyecto REPNETS-Redes de reemplazamiento en bosques: variación ecogeográfica e influencia de las comunidades de hongos de la filosfera y de las interacciones planta-suelo (PGC2018-100966-B-I00, FEDER - Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Spain); (5) thanks to Parque Natural Montes Málaga, Parque Natural Sierra de las Nieves, Parque Natural Sierras Subbéticas, Parque Natural Sierra Norte, Parque Natural Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche, Parque Natural Sierra de Grazalema and Finca La Almoraima for facilitating access and scientific work permits; (6) CSIC is acknowledged for supporting Open Access publication.

[Description of methods used for collection/generation of data] Woody plant communities included in the Directive Habitats 92/43/CEE were sampled across the Andalusian Red Natura 2000. We focused mainly on shrub and tree species with the capacity to act as nurse plants. Each plant community was sampled throughout plots (16, 25 x 25 m) or transects (20, 10 x 50 m); each transect was divided into 5 [10 x 10 m] squares (100 squares per plant community). In total the sampled area per plant community was 10000 m^2. Complete descriptions of the methodological procedures can be found in Alcántara et al. (2019) and Verdú et al. (2022). In each square, the list of canopy plant species, with the capacity to act as nurses, and the number of recruiting plant species within it was recorded. The squares were randomly distributed, trying to cover the largest possible area within each locality to avoid sampling bias. References: - Directiva 92/43/CEE del Consejo, de 21 de mayo de 1992, relativa a la conservación de los hábitats naturales y de la fauna y flora silvestres. - Alcántara, J. M., Garrido, J. L., Montesinos‐Navarro, A., Rey, P. J., Valiente‐Banuet, A., & Verdú, M. (2019). Unifying facilitation and recruitment networks. Journal of Vegetation Science, 30(6), 1239-1249. DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12795 - Verdú, M., Garrido, J. L., Alcántara, J. M., Montesinos‐Navarro, A., Aguilar, S., Aizen, M. A., et al. (2022). RecruitNet: A global database of plant recruitment networks. Ecology, e3923. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3923

Our aim was to register the frequency of plant-plant interactions, between canopy and recruiting species, in plant communities across the Andalusian Red Natura 2000. The study was developed in 38 plant communities across 19 protected areas in the Andalusian RedNatura 2000. The present dataset can help to assess plant community dynamics of Mediterranean woody species through recruitment networks. Here, we stress the importance of recording ecological interactions, not just individual records, as key elements in assessing the state of ecosystems.

Canopy-Recruit_Interactions_REDNATURA_2000.csv [shows the list of plant species canopy paired with plant recruit species per sampled plant community with the information of the observed frequency of interaction] Plant_community_&_sampling_info.csv [has information about sampled plant communities and sampling methods] Metadata.csv [records information about the meaning of columns in Canopy-Recruit_Interactions_REDNATURA_2000.csv' and 'Plant_community_&_sampling_info.csv' files]

Peer reviewed