2.4 Mortality record
At the beginning of the experiment on 31 May 2018, there were 6
individuals for each treatment in each sub-sub-plot (Fig. S2). During
the experiment period, one plant out of the 6 individuals in each
sub-sub-plot was destructively harvested on each sampling date of 1
October 2018 and 2 April 2019 (Fig. S2). Thus, each species had,
theoretically, 4 individuals (= 6 – 2) left in each sub-sub-plot (Fig.
S2), and each species had 12 individuals (4 x 3 blocks = 12) for each
treatment across the three blocks available at the end of the recovery
season 2019. However, in some sub-sub-plots all the 4 plants died by the
end of 2019. Therefore, it was not possible to statistically analyze the
treatment effects on the mortality. Instead, we recorded the total dead
individuals (A) that did not sprout new leaves or shoots from any part
of a plant during the recovery season across the three blocks, and
calculated the total mortality rate with (A / 12) x 100%.