{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T12:45:09Z","timestamp":1776084309196,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,15]],"date-time":"2026-03-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773532800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":14,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,1]],"date-time":"2026-03-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1772323200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100005825","name":"National Institute of Food and Agriculture","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["006531"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["006531"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100005825","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"National Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["#1920908"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["#1920908"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100025425","name":"Lyndhurst Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100025425","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Ecology"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]},"abstract":"Abstract<\/jats:title>\n \n We present the initial woody stem census for the 20\u2010ha Paint Rock Forest Dynamics Plot in 2019\u20132021 in north Alabama, USA. Our objectives were to improve our understanding of the ecology of the forest ecosystem, provide hands\u2010on research experience to undergraduate students, create opportunities for collaboration with other disciplines, and monitor the dynamics of the forest. From its origin at the south corner (latitude: 34.769521\u00b0, longitude: \u221286.306079\u00b0), our plot is a rectangle of 400\u2009m\u2009\u00d7\u2009500\u2009m, having its long side at 313\u00b0 azimuth. The plot is in a mature mixed deciduous forest within the mountain district of the Cumberland Plateau physiographic region. It is within the Nature Conservancy Sharp Bingham Mountain Preserve (1600\u2009ha). The Preserve is protected from broad anthropogenic disturbance, but allows limited hunting outside of the plot. The plot's climate is humid subtropical, with hot, humid summers and cool, wet winters. The plot is on a deeply dissected karst landscape with a sandstone cap overlaying several layers of limestone. The majority of the plot (95%) is limestone rockland rough soils that are well\u2010drained with a parent material of residuum weathered from limestone. The remainder of the plot (5%) is Huntington silt loam, which occurs in the floodplains and toe slopes. The variable geology and topography offer a broad range of water availability, from dry benches to moist bottomland sinks, with steep to moderate slopes in between. Elevation ranges from 226 to 323\u2009m above sea level. A 20\u2009m \u00d7\u200920\u2009m grid was professionally surveyed and installed across the 20\u2009ha. Using this grid, we mapped and inventoried all living stems of woody plants (excluding vines) with a diameter of at least 1\u2009cm at breast height. Trees with multiple stems were defined as those with aboveground forks off the main trunk, below breast height, at an angle <45\u00b0 from the main stem, and having a diameter at least one\u2010third of the main stem. Clonal trunks that were clearly connected below ground were also recorded as multiple\u2010stemmed. Trees were mapped using a laser rangefinder with an internal digital compass, which measured the distance and azimuth from true north to the base of each tree from one corner of the 20\u2009m \u00d7\u200920\u2009m survey grid. These were converted to\n x<\/jats:italic>\n \u2013\n y<\/jats:italic>\n coordinates. Our taxonomic nomenclature follows that of the PLANTS database online, the Flora of the Southeastern United States, and the Alabama Plant Atlas. The initial census enumerated 29,280 free\u2010standing living stems from 27,418 woody individuals, including 79 species from 35 families. Among those were three gymnosperm and 46 angiosperm canopy stature trees (species that could potentially reach the canopy as free\u2010standing trees), and 30 species of mid\u2010 or understory tree species and shrubs. Canopy stature tree species made up 74.5% of the stems. Dominant canopy trees include white oak (\n Quercus alba<\/jats:italic>\n ), yellow\u2010poplar (\n Liriodendron tulipifera<\/jats:italic>\n ), sugar maple (\n Acer saccharum<\/jats:italic>\n ), white ash (\n Fraxinus americana<\/jats:italic>\n ), southern shagbark hickory (\n Carya carolinae\u2010septentrionalis<\/jats:italic>\n ), and American beech (\n Fagus grandifolia<\/jats:italic>\n ). This data set can be freely used for non\u2010commercial purposes. We request that users of these data cite this data paper in all publications resulting from the use of this data set.\n <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/ecy.70348","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,16]],"date-time":"2026-03-16T02:58:56Z","timestamp":1773629936000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Initial tree census for the Paint Rock Forest Dynamics Plot, Alabama,\n USA<\/scp>"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"107","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3712-3536","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dawn","family":"Lemke","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Alabama A&M University Normal Alabama USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3148-6050","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luben","family":"Dimov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources University of Vermont Burlington Vermont USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-2558-3468","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bill","family":"Finch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Paint Rock Forest Research Center Paint Rock Alabama USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-6525-6679","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patience","family":"Knight","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Alabama A&M University Normal Alabama USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-7414-8605","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Helen","family":"Czech","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Alabama A&M University Normal Alabama USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-5915-117X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Loretta","family":"Weninegar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Alabama A&M University Normal Alabama USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4191-1495","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Richard","family":"Condit","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Independent Researcher Chicago Illinois USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,15]]},"container-title":["Ecology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/ecy.70348","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1002\/ecy.70348","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/ecy.70348","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T11:49:13Z","timestamp":1776080953000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/ecy.70348"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1002\/ecy.70348"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/ecy.70348","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["0012-9658","1939-9170"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0012-9658","type":"print"},{"value":"1939-9170","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-06-30","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-01-06","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-03-15","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e70348"}}