Data from: Recolonization after habitat restoration leads to decreased genetic variation in populations of a terrestrial orchid

Colonization is crucial to habitat restoration projects that rely on the spontaneous regeneration of the original vegetation. However, as a previously declining plant species spreads again, the likelihood of founder effects increases through recurrent population founding and associated serial bottlenecks. We related AFLP genetic variation and fitness of all extant populations of the outcrossing terrestrial orchid Dactylorhiza incarnata in an isolated coastal dune complex to colonization history. Around 1970, D. incarnata suffered a severe bottleneck yet eventually persisted and gradually spread throughout the spatially segregated dune slacks, aided by the restoration of an open vegetation. …