DOI: 10.5061/dryad.zgmsbccmr
title: Data from: Leaf functional traits predict timing of nutrient resorption and carbon depletion in deciduous subarctic plants

description: Resorption of key elements promotes their conservation in plants in
 nutrient-poor ecosystems. In seasonal environments, the timing of
 resorption is expected to influence resorption efficiency and plant
 fitness due to the trade-off between maximizing photosynthetic carbon gain
 by late resorption and minimizing frost risks and nutrient loss by early
 resorption. Here, we hypothesize that (1) these alternative strategies
 with respect to the timing of element resorption both occur among
 summergreen species; (2) deciduous woody plants favour delayed resorption
 while herbaceous species benefit from gradual, early-onset resorption; (3)
 this pattern is part of a more general relationship in which species with
 conservative resource economic traits have more delayed resorption. We
 measured nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and carbon (C) contents of mature,
 senescing and senesced leaves of 22 predominant plant species across four
 types of ecosystems in a subarctic region. We then calculated timing of
 resorption as the Julian calendar day of 50% of element resorption (T50),
 and examined its relationship with plant functional types and leaf
 resource economic traits (leaf mass per area [LMA], leaf C, N and P
 contents). The timing of N resorption in subarctic plants ranged from day
 213 to 254, while the timing of P resorption ranged from day 211 to 261
 and of C from day 214 to 260 across species. On average, the resorption of
 N and P and depletion of C were 13, 12 and 19 days respectively earlier in
 herbaceous plants than in woody ones. For all the three elements, T50 of
 plants decreased significantly with increasing acquisitive economic
 traits. Synthesis As hypothesized, we found that (1) both
 “steady-and-slow” and “late-and-fast” strategies of resorption timing
 co-occurred in a subarctic flora; consistent with these two strategies,
 herbaceous plants resorbed nutrients and carbon earlier than deciduous
 woody species; (2) relevant functional traits representing resource
 conservation were positively and linearly related to the timing of
 nutrient resorption and carbon depletion. These findings for element
 resorption timing have important implications for functional changes in
 the vegetation composition of seasonal regions in response to temperature
 fluctuations in a changing climate.
description: # Data from: Leaf functional traits predict timing of nutrient resorption
 and carbon depletion in deciduous subarctic plants
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zgmsbccmr](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zgmsbccmr) This dataset consists of two data files and R code for analysis. The data files contain the data of leaf nutrients and traits for 22 predominant plant species during leaf senscence in a subarctic region (Abisko, Sweden). ## Description of the data and file structure ### File list File 1: Hu_et_al_2024_Data_analysis.R File 2: Hu_et_al_2024_Raw_leaf_nutrients.csv File 3: Hu_et_al_2024_Resorption_timing_and_traits.csv ### File description File 1: Hu_et_al_2024_Data_analysis.R Description: This file includes all the R script used to perform data analysis in this study. File 2: Hu_et_al_2024_Raw_leaf_nutrients.csv Description: This file includes all the raw data used in this study. They are leaf mass per area, leaf carbon content, leaf nitrogen content and leaf phosphorus content for 22 predominant plant species across five sampling campaigns from July to September in Abisko, Sweden. We measured leaf length instead of leaf area for the species with long leaves due to inaccurate area measurement. Thus, leaf area or leaf mass per area (LMA) of these species is not available, which was filled with NA. File 3: Hu_et_al_2024_Resorption_timing_and_traits.csv Description: This file includes the species-ecosystem combination data for resorption timing and leaf traits. Leaf area or leaf mass per area (LMA) for the species with long leaves was not available, which was filled with NA. ### Abbreviations File 1: Hu_et_al_2024_Data_analysis.R N/A; not applicable File 2: Hu_et_al_2024_Raw_leaf_nutrients.csv Abbreviations: FT, functional type (herbaceous, woody) DOY, day of year LMA, leaf mass per area (g m-2) C_area_length, carbon content on leaf area basis (mg cm-2) or on leaf length basis (ug mm-1) N_area_length, nitrogen content on leaf area basis (mg cm-2) or on leaf length basis (ug mm-1) P_area_length, phosphorus content on leaf area basis (mg cm-2) or on leaf length basis (ug mm-1) StdC_all, standardized values of leaf carbon content StdN_all, standardized values of leaf nitrogen content StdP_all, standardized values of leaf phosphorus content File 3: Hu_et_al_2024_Resorption_timing_and_traits.csv Abbreviations: FT, functional type (herbaceous, woody) P_T50, resorption timing for phosphorus N_T50, resorption timing for nitrogen C_T50, resorption timing for carbon LMA, leaf mass per area (g m-2) se_mean, standard error for LMA across five sampling campaigns sd_T0, standard deviation for LMA at the first sampling campaign (T0) se_T0, standard error for LMA at the first sampling campaign (T0) ci_T0, confidence interval for LMA at first sampling campaign (T0) NP.mean, mean values for the ratio of nitrogen content to phosphorus content NP.T0, the ratio of nitrogen content to phosphorus content for plants at the first sampling campaign NP.T1, the ratio of nitrogen content to phosphorus content for plants at the second sampling campaign ## Code/Software Statistical analyses were conducted, and figures were created in RStudio version 1.2.5019 in combination with R version 3.6.1 (R Core Team, 2019).