Data on terrestrial ferns species richness, abundance, and functional traits in Mashpi Rainforest Biodiversity Reserve in the Ecuadorian Chocó.

This data paper summarizes the data of a first survey of terrestrial ferns at Mashpi Biodiversity Reserve, an Ecuadorian Chocó forest relict, one of the most biodiverse areas in the world. We established 10 permanent plots of 400 m2 distributed in two elevational levels (800 and 1000 m a.s.l.) to register all species per plot and the abundance per species. In addition, we measured two morphological leaf functional traits of the species. We include a file with three tables, the first one includes a species list with scientific names and vouchers. The second one includes the abundance of each species per plot. The third one contains measurements of the leaf length and leaf thickness of several leaf samples of 28 species, representing the leaf functional traits of the species. This article also includes a table with coordinates and elevations of the plots and five figures with information about the number of genus and species per family, geographic location of plots and, the methodology for data collection. These data can be useful for plant ecologists to assess future changes of fern species composition and leaf functional traits of ferns caused by climate change and other threats at the study area.

Dataset of permanent plots of trees with dbh >10cm in Mashpi rainforest biodiversity reserve, a remnant of the Chocó forest in Northern Ecuador.

This data reports a list of all trees DBH > 10 cm in four 50 × 50 m (0.25 ha) permanent plots at Mashpi Rainforest Biodiversity Reserve in the Ecuadorian Chocó forest. Plots were established within an altitudinal gradient from 800 to 1200 m. We collected, labelled, measure and identify all trees found within the plots. All voucher specimens are available at the herbarium of Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica (HUTI) in Quito, Ecuador. We found a total 133 stems representing 93 species and 36 families. Each plot had between 27 and 40 trees. Our list of species includes four threatened species under IUCN criteria. We also report the number of individuals of each species and its diameter at breast height (DBH) and height. This information is a baseline for further studies to contribute to the conservation of the Chocó, one of the 35 biodiversity hotspots is the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena. Even though this area is one of the most biodiverse in the planet, the botanical composition of the Chocó is still poorly known.