A dataset on grassland species composition along the corridor of the China Railway Express (Xinjiang section)

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.