DOI: 10.5061/dryad.4rv4v
title: Data from: How are the phenologies of ripening and seed release affected by species' ecology and evolution?

description: The phenology of seed ripening and release are important for dispersal,
 reproductive success and survival of plants. Most phenological studies,
 however, consider early phenological phases. Here, we examined the
 ecological and evolutionary basis of ripening and seed release phenology.
 We monitored single flower phenology for 104 plant species from 30
 families and three life forms from central Europe. Further, we undertook
 an associate monitoring study along an elevational gradient over two
 years. We calculated temperature demands (as growing degree days) for
 ripening and seed release and examined them with respect to the
 species' seed mass, life form, dispersal mode and phylogeny. We found
 a strong correlation between species' seed mass and temperature
 demands for ripening. For both variables seed mass and temperature demands
 for seed ripening, we found a strong effect of the species phylogeny.
 These phylogenetic signals strongly indicate that the evolutionary history
 of the species' lineage affects its seed mass and the temperature
 demands for seed ripening. Among the studied life forms, shrub species
 showed the most efficient ripening process. Anemochorous species showed
 lower relative humidity during seed release than epizoochorous species.
 For anemochorous species, the synchronisation of release timing with
 periods that show favourable environmental conditions for wind dispersal
 could be interpreted as a phenological adaptation to increase dispersal
 distances. According to the monitoring along the elevational gradient,
 individuals from higher altitudes showed lower temperature demands for
 ripening than individuals from lower altitudes. This might tentatively
 indicate physiological adaptations to lower temperature demands for
 locations with a shorter growing season. Our study provides basic insights
 into the ecological, environmental and evolutionary constraints that shape
 the ripening and seed release phenology of plants. We introduce data that
 can be used to advance existing models of ripening phenology, seed release
 and plant spread.
description: Supplementary material
 Appendix_1Appendix 1 Table A 1:
 Topographical characterisation of study sites and weather stations of the
 German Meteorological Service.Supplementary material
 Appendix_2Appendix 2 Table A 2:
 Definition of phenological monitoring based on the stage of flower and
 seed development.Supplementary material
 Appendix_3Appendix 3 Table A 3:
 Mean weight of the morphological structures germinule, diaspore and flower
 head.Supplementary material
 Appendix_4Appendix 4 Table A 4:
 Seed terminal velocity (Vterm) and diaspore morphology of species obtained
 from Hintze et al. (2013).Supplementary material
 Appendix_5Appendix 5 Table A 5:
 Species number for each dispersal mode, differentiated by the life form of
 the species.Supplementary material
 Appendix_6Appendix 6 Table A6:
 Calculated mean values for date, duration and growing degree days for
 species’ phenological phases flowering, ripening and seed
 release.Supplementary material
 Appendix_7Appendix 7 Figure A 1:
 Mean temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation during periods of
 diaspore release differentiated by the dispersal mode of the
 species.Supplementary material
 Appendix_8Appendix 8 Table A 7:
 Environmental data for temperature and relative humidity (both measured as
 daily averages), and precipitation as daily sum for three sites and two
 years (2009 and 2010).Supplementary material
 Appendix_9Appendix 9 Figure A 2:
 Ripening growing degree days for 18 species, differentiated by the three
 sites ‘Frankfurt’, ‘Lower Vogelsberg Mts.’ and ‘Higher Vogelsberg Mts.’
 and two years ‘2009’ and ‘2010’.