This data documents the tree growth parameters in 2013 for site A, belonging to the annual inventory taking place for both site A and site B. Individual-tree growth is a function of stand attributes, local neighbors, plant size, plant damage, genotype, and local abiotic site conditions. Given a certain time phase (combing further data along the timeline), the following scientific questions will be investigated: a) How does the within-plot individual-tree growth vary within and among species as a function of species richness? b) Wheather diversity reduces competition by quantifying local neighbour interactions in terms of growth rates and branch demography? c) What are the ecological importance of phenotypic plasticity of tree individuals in relation to competition, species richenss, and local terrain conditions? d) How the individual-tree growth is affected by soil feed-backs (mycorrhiza, pedogenetic processes,soil chemistry and nutrient cycle)? The overall objective with the data to be achieved is to test the hypothesis that the diversity effect at the plot level is the overall result of the diversity effects at the local neighbourhood level. This data as a basis can also be linked to other abiotic and biotic factors for investigating the interactions between the tree growth performance and abiotic and biotic factors. Measurement for this data took place in October 2010. Measurements were conducted in the central part (extended core area) of all 1mu-plots in site A. Extended core area is the central 6 * 6 trees in the monoculture and 2-species mixtures ( total 36 tree positions per 1mu-plot), the central 12 * 12 trees in the 4-,8-,16-,24-species mixtures (total 144 tree positions per 1 mu-plot). By applying the conventional measuring methods direct in the field, tree position, tree species, total height, stem diameter 5 cm above ground height (gd), the diameter at breast height (dbh), the distance up to the first branch, the distance up to the longest branch, the diameter, the length, the azimuth and the angle of the longest branch, the crown diameters (N-S and E-W) were measured and the number of branches were counted.

All tree positions in the so called extended core area for each 1mu-plot were surveyed. The extended core area is the central 6 * 6 tree positions in the monocultres and 2-species mixtures (36 tree positions per 1mu-plot) and the central 12 * 12 tree positions in the 4-, 8-, 16- or 24- species mixtures (144 tree positions per 1mu-plot).

This data was collected from site A within the BEF-China experiment, which is located in a hilly subtropical region near Xingangshan Township, Jiangxi Province (29.08-29.11 N, 117.90- 117.93 E), China.

During the end of growing season of deciduous tree species

Castanea henryi Pinus massoniana Schima superba Choerospondia axillaris Liquidambar formosana Quercus serrata Cyclobalanopsis myrsinifolia Castanopsis carlesii Cyclobalanopsis glauca Lithocarpus glaber Castanopsis eyrei Castanopsis sclerophylla Diospyros japonica Daphniphyllus oldhamii Cinnamomum camphora Koelreuteria bipinnata Sapindus mukorossi Nyssa sinensis Triadica sebifera Triadica cochinchinensis Rhus chinensis Quercus fabri Quercus acutissima Melia azedarach Acer davidii Cunninghamia lanceolata Castanopsis fargesii