2026-10-14T12:45:57Z https://www.scidb.cn/oai

10.57760/sciencedb.ecodb.00229 2026-08-03T10:26:47Z

2026-08-03 A dataset on grassland species composition along the corridor of the China Railway Express (Xinjiang section) doi:10.57760/sciencedb.ecodb.00229 en  Transport corridors are a key factor shaping the spatial distribution of species. As a prominent trade artery connecting Asia and Europe, the China-Europe Railway Express (CRE) potentially serves as a corridor for the spread of invasive alien plants while promoting economic development , posing a latent threat to ecosystems along the route. Xinjiang, as an important pastoral region in China, occupies a hub position of the CRE corridor, , and thus its grasslands deserve particular attention with respect to ecological security.. In 2024, our team systematically established 294 quadrats (1 or 9 m²) across 95 transects within a 10-Km survey zone along approximately 1,300-Km railways of the CRE (Xinjiang section, from the Alatau-Pass/Horgos Ports to Hami),. Using standardized phytosociological survey methods, we recorded the distribution of all herbaceous plant species (including both invasive alien species and native species) within each quadrat. This dataset contains geographical locations for the 294 sample plots, a presence/absence matrix of 182 plant species encountered, as well as taxonomic, life-form, and provenance (i.e., alien or native species) information of these species. It provides high-resolution, large-scale baseline data for in-depth analyses of the“corridor effect”of the CRE, distribution patterns of invasive weeds, and species assembly in grassland communities. The dataset holds significant scientific values for assessing the ecological consequences of the Belt and Road Initiative and promoting local biodiversity conservation.Key words: China Railway Express; exotic invasive weeds; species composition; plant community; Desert grassland; ecological security China–Europe Railway Express; alien invasive weeds; species composition; plant communities; desert grasslands; ecological security Simin Zheng Liting He Xuemin Zhou Xiaolong Zou Chunjing Yang Xiaodong Yan Enrong He, Dong PUBLIC https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ dataset Science Data Bank