This dataset contains the vegetation surveys from a monitoring of the calcareous grassland of the nature reserve 'Garchinger Heide'. These surveys should discover species composition changes in the second-oldest nature reserve of Bavaria. Two different studies were resurveyed in 2018. The first dataset is based on plots of Briemle (1973), was first surveyed in 40 plots in 1984 (Pfadenhauer & Liebermann 1986) and resurveyed in 1993 (Höngdobler 1995). The second dataset of 42 different plots is from 2003 (Röder 2003). All surveys were conducted in June, but the methods were different: the first study used the frequency method (Raunkiaer 1918) and the second study coverage estimations (Braun-Blanquet 1964; doi:10.1007/978-3-7091-8110-2) with the Londo scale (Londo 1976; doi:10.1007/BF00055300). Following variables were surveyed: species composition of spermatophyta, vegetation height, vegetation cover, moss cover, bare soil cover. Based on the species composition, community-weighted means for Ellenberg indicator values, specific leaf area, seed mass, canopy height were calculated, and the functional dispersion of these three functional plant traits.