Abstract
Scientists have studied prairie remnants for decades to understand and conserve them. However, plant species data for these remnants are scattered across a variety of resources—often inaccessible without asking habitat managers. RELIX is a data set of nearly 37,000 vascular plant species records from 353 prairie remnants in eight states in the midwestern United States, overlapping with the core historical extent of the tallgrass prairie. Species lists were collated from a variety of recent (post-2020) and historical sources, including academic publications, managers' species lists, and floristic quality surveys. Remnant species lists are complemented with metadata for each remnant, including site location, environmental and ecological information, and characteristics about the data source. As a demonstration of the utility of data, and to advance knowledge about prairie remnants, we characterized prairie remnants using three common metrics: plant species richness, indicator species, and most frequent species. We found that well-sampled prairie remnants in RELIX typically had 100–250 species. The three most frequent species were the C4 grasses Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Sorghastrum nutans, followed by the forbs Euphorbia corollata and Rudbeckia hirta. We identified indicator species for dry and wet prairies, and for those with sandy soils. Based on these data, we list 915 species that occurred in at least eight prairie remnants in the tallgrass prairie region. We invite researchers and managers to build on these data to advance research in prairie conservation and management. The data can be accessed at the Illinois Data Bank: https://doi.org/10.13012/B2IDB-5653911_V1.
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Claims 11
Claim · model-written summary
RELIX provides nearly 37,000 vascular plant species records from 353 remnants in eight midwestern states.
Verbatim
e0“RELIX is a data set of nearly 37,000 vascular plant species records from 353 prairie remnants in eight states in the midwestern United States, overlapping with the core historical extent of the tallgrass prairie.”
Claim · model-written summary
Species lists are complemented with remnant location, environmental and ecological information, and source metadata.
Not reportedComparatorValue
Verbatim
e0“Remnant species lists are complemented with metadata for each remnant, including site location, environmental and ecological information, and characteristics about the data source.”
e1“RELIX is a data set of nearly 37,000 vascular plant species records”
Claim · model-written summary
Well-sampled RELIX remnants typically contained 100–250 species.
Verbatim
e0“We found that well-sampled prairie remnants in RELIX typically had 100–250 species.”
e1“RELIX is a data set of nearly 37,000 vascular plant species records”
Claim · model-written summary
Andropogon gerardii was among the three most frequent prairie species.
- Taxon
- Andropogon gerardii
Andropogon gerardie0 - Outcome
- most frequent speciese0
- Direction
- most frequente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The three most frequent species were the C4 grasses Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Sorghastrum nutans”
Claim · model-written summary
Schizachyrium scoparium was among the three most frequent prairie species.
- Taxon
- Schizachyrium scoparium
Schizachyrium scopariume0 - Outcome
- most frequent speciese0
- Direction
- most frequente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The three most frequent species were the C4 grasses Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Sorghastrum nutans”
Claim · model-written summary
Sorghastrum nutans was among the three most frequent prairie species.
- Taxon
- Sorghastrum nutans
Sorghastrum nutanse0 - Outcome
- most frequent speciese0
- Direction
- most frequente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The three most frequent species were the C4 grasses Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Sorghastrum nutans”
Claim · model-written summary
Euphorbia corollata followed the three most frequent grasses in frequency.
- Taxon
- Euphorbia corollata
Euphorbia corollatae0 - Outcome
- followed by the forbse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The three most frequent species were the C4 grasses Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Sorghastrum nutans, followed by the forbs Euphorbia corollata and Rudbeckia hirta.”
Claim · model-written summary
Rudbeckia hirta followed the three most frequent grasses in frequency.
- Taxon
- Rudbeckia hirta
Rudbeckia hirtae0 - Outcome
- followed by the forbse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The three most frequent species were the C4 grasses Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, and Sorghastrum nutans, followed by the forbs Euphorbia corollata and Rudbeckia hirta.”
Claim · model-written summary
Indicator species were identified for dry and wet prairies and sandy soils.
Verbatim
e0“We identified indicator species for dry and wet prairies, and for those with sandy soils.”
e1“RELIX is a data set of nearly 37,000 vascular plant species records”
Claim · model-written summary
915 species occurred in at least eight remnants in the tallgrass prairie region.
Verbatim
e0“Based on these data, we list 915 species that occurred in at least eight prairie remnants in the tallgrass prairie region.”
e1“RELIX is a data set of nearly 37,000 vascular plant species records”
Claim · model-written summary
Researchers and managers are invited to use RELIX for prairie conservation and management research.
Verbatim
e0“We invite researchers and managers to build on these data to advance research in prairie conservation and management.”
e1“RELIX is a data set of nearly 37,000 vascular plant species records”