Presence-absence of plant habitat specialists in 15 patches of dry calcareous grassland.

Abstract

Dry grasslands on calcareous bedrock in warm climates around the Oslo Fjord are naturally fragmented biodiversity hotspots. This habitat geographically coincides with the most densely populated area of Norway. Many habitat specialists, along with the habitat itself, are red-listed because of land-use change, forest encroachment, and invasive species that cause habitat loss and greater isolation of remaining patches. To ensure effective conservation, data on species presences and absences are necessary to quantify states, changes, and extinction risks in specific populations and habitat patches. We present presence-absence data of 49 vascular plant species in 15 patches of dry calcareous grassland habitat, surveyed in 2009, 2019, and in 2020. The species are considered to be habitat specialists and, thus, unlikely to occur between the patches.