Data from: Seasonal dynamics in terrestrial insect communities after the impact of the Brumadinho Tailings Dam Disaster

This dataset contains species richness, Sorensen dissimilarity and its components of species turnover (total and proportional) and nestedness-resultant (total and proportional) data for five groups of insects (ants, bees, butterflies, dung beetles, and termites) sampled in 20 sites across three habitat categories: legally protected areas (PRO), reference sites (REF), and forest fragments adjacent to the mudflow (MUD), conducted in the municipality of Brumadinho, Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil. The region gained international attention following the collapse of a tailings dam on 25 January 2019, owned by the Brazilian mining company Vale S.A. The original vegetation of the region was predominantly Atlantic Forest, mainly composed of semideciduous forests, with patches of savanna and rocky-shrubby vegetation at higher altitudes, owing to its location near the transition zone between the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado biomes. Eight sites were in legally protected areas (PRO), with which we aimed at understanding the best possible background scenario in the region: three in Special Protection Area of Rio Manso (which sources water to Belo Horizonte Metropolitan region), three in Inhotim Private Reserve, and two in Rola Moça State Park. Six additional sites were classified as reference areas (REF), consisting of secondary forest patches within the landscape unaffected by the tailings but potentially subject to other disturbances.