SPRUCE Aboveground Vegetation Coverage in Root Ingrowth Core Plots, Marcell Experimental Forest, Minnesota, August 2022

This dataset contains vegetation survey measurements from root ingrowth core plots (Määttä et al. 2025) inside SPRUCE Experiment plots at the Marcell Experimental Forest in northern Minnesota. Vegetation surveys were conducted in 0.25 meter2 plots containing root ingrowth cores on August 8th and 9th, 2022 (2022-08-08 to 2022-08-09). The warming and elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) treatments in the dataset include the full treatment gradient: +0 degrees Celsius (C) (+0 and +500 parts per million (ppm) elevated CO2), +2.25 degrees C (+0 and +500 ppm), +4.5 degrees C (+0 and +500 ppm elevated CO2), +6.75 degrees C (+0 and +500 ppm) and +9 degrees C (+0 and +500 ppm elevated CO2) for both hummocks and hollows. This dataset includes measurements of the height and absolute coverage (%) for each vascular plant and moss species, as well as organic litter and dead overstory vascular plants, and the distance from the grid center to the nearest tree and the species of the nearest tree. These data were used as species-specific aboveground plant metadata for assessing the warming and elevated CO2 response of fine roots across different peatland microtopographical features (hummocks and hollows) and plant functional types (shrub, spruce and larch). This dataset contains one data file in comma separate (.csv) format. Additional metadata are provided: one data dictionary and a file-level metadata file in comma separate (.csv) format and a user guide in PDF (*.pdf) format.