Data and R-scripts for: “Misreading or living in denial? Reindeer overstocking and long-term effects on vegetation: an experimental approach”

Our study assessed ground-lichen responses, measured at plots of ca. one m² in size, to reindeer grazing pressure. Our study area is ca. 14 000 km² in size and is in Finnmark, Northern Norway. The study was initiated in 1998, and the same plots were re-visited in 2005, 2010, 2013, and 2018. This study is part of a long-term monitoring program of the lichen pastures in Norway. The data sets include information about ground-lichen biomass (g per m²), volume (L per m²), cover (%), and height (mm), which were our responses. The key predictors consisted of experimental manipulation, reindeer density (individuals per km²), initial conditions (i.e., the observed values for a given response in 1998), and habitat (Forest- and leeward-heath vs. exposed ridges mountain heaths). The experimental manipulation allowed us to compare plots exposed to grazing and trampling by reindeer and other larger herbivores (control) to fenced (treatment) areas. In addition, we included several spatial and temporal variables acting as potential random effects in our mixed effects models: district, transect, block and year (we provide additional information about the data and the analyses in the published article).