This is the dataset used in the Landscape Ecology publication of the same name. This dataset consists of the following files:

NWCA_Int_Veg.txt
NWCA_Reg_Veg.txt
NWCA_Site_Attributes.txt

NWCA_Int_Veg.txt is a site and plot by species matrix. Column labeled SITES consists of site IDs. Column labeled Plots consist of Plot ID numbers. All other columns represent species abundances (estimates of percent cover, summed across five plots).

NWCA_Reg_Veg.txt is a site by species matrix of species abundances. Column labeled SITES consist of site IDs. All other columns represent species abundances (estimates of percent cover within individual plots).

NWCA_Site_Attributes.txt is a matrix of site attributes. Column labeled SITES consist of site IDs. Column labeled AA_CENTER_LAT consist of latitudinal coordinates for the Assessment Area center point in decimal degrees. Column labeled AA_CENTER_LONG consist of longitudinal coordinates for the Assessment Area center point in decimal degrees. Column REFPLUS_NWCA represents disturbance gradient classes including MIN (minimally disturbed), L (least disturbed), I (intermediate), M (most disturbed). Column REFPLUS_NWCA2 represents revised disturbance gradient classes based on protocols described in the article. These revised classes were used for analysis. Column labeled STRESS_HEAVYMETAL represents heavy metal stressor classes, used to ascertain which wetlands were missing soil data. Classes in the STRESS_HEAVYMETAL column include Low, Moderate, High, and Missing. Sites with Missing STRESS_HEAVYMETAL classes were removed from analysis.
More information about this dataset: All of the data used in this analysis was gathered from the National Wetlands Condition Assessment. Wetland surveys were conducted from 4/4/2011 to 11/2/2011. The entire National Wetlands Condition Assessment Dataset, which includes 3640 unique taxonomic identities of plants, can be found at: https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/data-national-aquatic-resource-surveys