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GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (releves) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001;... 1,000 m(2)) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetationplot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database " sPlot". Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale-and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board.
African savannas are primarily used as pastures and are subject to changes in climate and management strategies. For sustainable management of these landscapes ecological knowledge on seasonal and long-term variability in plant community composition and the availability of green biomass is essential. In this study, we assessed the effects of dry and wet season on species richness and beta diversity for three sites along a gradient of increasing vegetation cover and precipitation in northwest Namibia. A hexagonal systematic sampling design was used to record floristic data. The Simple Matching, Soerensen, and multi-plot similarity coefficient and distance decay analyses were applied for examining beta diversity. Analyses were repeated while separating the plots according to the presence of woody vegetation. Species richness nearly doubled from dry to wet season; compositional similarity increased from dry to wet season and with increasing aridity of the study sites: distance decay was more pronounced in the dry season without any link to the precipitation gradient. Woody elements in the landscape, which occur along drainage lines or as tree islands, govern spatial and seasonal plant diversity fluctuations. Monitoring them is important for conservation strategies and for establishing grazing rules that ensure a sustainable use of savanna ecosystems.