DOI: 10.5061/dryad.k0p2ngfjd
title: The hidden half of ontogeny and seasonal dynamics in perennial herbs

description: The life strategy of perennial herbs is dependent on coarse belowground
 organs, such as rhizomes, bulbs, tubers, and storage roots, necessary for
 repeated seasonal regrowth and often invaluable for vegetative
 reproduction. Yet, the development of these organs in early life and its
 links to the dynamics of aboveground parts is generally unknown. To
 unravel the ontogeny and seasonal dynamics of belowground coarse organs in
 perennial plants, we conducted a three-year experimental study with twenty
 species differing by rhizome type. We confirmed that the ontogeny of
 aboveground and belowground plant parts differ, that belowground ontogeny
 is partly driven by species phenological strategy, and that there are
 differences in ontogeny between belowground organ types. The costs of
 coarse belowground organ constructions along with morphological
 constraints occurring during ontogeny may govern species'
 reproductive and carbohydrate storage strategies. Synthesis: We show that
 to fully understand plant strategies, plants need to be studied as
 integrated bodies consisting of aboveground and belowground organs
 reciprocally influencing each other.
description: # The hidden half of ontogeny and seasonal dynamics in perennial herbs
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k0p2ngfjd](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k0p2ngfjd) ## Description of the data and file structure Data for a three-year experimental study with ten pairs of phylogenetically closely related plant species differing by rhizome type. The study was performed in open unheated open-side greenhouse without artificial light at the Institute of Botany, Třeboň, Czech Republic (49.006 N, 14.772 E). Seeds for the study were available from the commercial supplier Planta Naturalis (Markvartice u Sobotky, Czech Republic, 50.428 N, 15.198 E) Contact Jana Martínková (mailto:[jana.martinkova@ibot.cas.cz](mailto:jana.martinkova@ibot.cas.cz)) with any questions. This manuscript has been accepted for publication in Journal of Ecology (12/17/2024): Martínková, J., Klimeš, A., Marešová, I., and Klimešová, J. The hidden half of ontogeny and seasonal dynamics in perennial herbs. Journal of Ecology (accepted) Data files include: ## rhizome\_ontogeny.csv This file contains values of traits and chemical data on ten pairs of phylogenetically closely related plant species differing by rhizome type All data were collected by the authors. NA cells represent not applicable data. | Variables | units | Description | | :------------------------------- | :-------------: | :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Treatment | categorical | Treatment identification - time of experimental plants harvest - spring/autumn, 2019/2020/2021 | | Species | categorical | Species name | | Species\_code | number | Numerical code for each species | | Rhizome type | categorical | Idetification if rhizome type - hypo: hypogeogenous rhizome, epi:epigeogenous rhizome | | Flowering | categorical 0/1 | 0- individual did not flower, 1 - individual flowered at the time of harvest | | Maximum\_height | cm | Maximum plant height, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Ramet\_number | number | Rament number, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Rhizome\_DMC | number | Rhizome dry matter content, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Fine\_root\_DMC | number | Fine root dry matter content, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Rhizome\_weight\_dry | g | Weight of dry rhizome biomass, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Above\_biomass\_dry | g | Weight of dry aboveground biomass, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | N | % | Concentration of nitrogen in fine roots, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | C | % | Concentration of carbon in fine roots, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | P | % | Concentration of phosphorus in fine roots, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Transport\_sugars\_concentration | % | Concentration of transport sugars in rhizome, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Starch\_concentration | % | Concentration of starch in rhizome, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Other\_sugars\_concentration | % | Concentration of other sugars in rhizome, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Total\_sugars\_concentration | % | Total sugar concentration in rhizome, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Transport\_sugars\_content | mg | Content of transport sugars in rhizome, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Starch\_content | mg | Content of starch in rhizome, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Other\_sugars\_content | mg | Content of other sugars in rhizome, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Total\_sugars\_content | mg | Total sugar content in rhizome, transformed using natural logarithm and standardized to have mean 0 and standard deviation 1 | | Survival | categorical | Dead/Alive at the time of harvest | ## spec\_traits.csv This file contains data on species environmental preferencies (for moisture, disturbance frequency and disturance severity) and on species lateral spread and phenology. Data on lateral spread were taken from the Clo-Pla database ([https://clopla.butbn.cas.cz](https://clopla.butbn.cas.cz) [accessed on NOV 3rd, 2022]; Klimešová et al., 2017b). In the case of multiple inputs or a range of values, the mean for species was calculated. Data on phenology were taken from a key to the Flora of the Czech Republic (Kaplan et al., 2019) as a month marking the midpoint of each species’ flowering season. Data on Ellenberg indicator value for moisture and data on herb-layer disturbance frequency and severity indicator values were obtained from the PLADIAS database ([www.pladias.cz](http://www.pladias.cz) [accessed on NOV 3rd, 2022]; Chytrý et al., 2021). Klimešová, J., Danihelka, J., Chrtek, J., de Bello, F. & Herben, T. (2017b) CLO-PLA: a database of clonal and bud-bank traits of the Central European flora. Ecology, 98, 1179-1179. [https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1745](https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1745) Kaplan, Z., Danihelka, J., Chrtek, J.., Kirschner, J., Kubát, K., Štech, M. & Štěpánek J. (eds) (2019): Klíč ke květeně České republiky [Key to the flora of the Czech Republic]. Edition 2., Academia, Praha. Chytrý, M., Danihelka, J., Kaplan, Z., Wild, J., Holubová, D., Novotný, P. et al. (2021) Pladias database of the Czech flora and vegetation. Preslia, 93, 1-87. [https://doi.org/10.23855/preslia.2021.001](https://doi.org/10.23855/preslia.2021.001) | Variables | units | Description | | | :--------------------- | :---------: | :------------------------------------------------------------------ | :- | | Species | categorical | Species name | | | Lateral\_spread | m/year | Lateral spread - distance from mother to daughter attained per year | | | Phenology | month | A month marking the midpoint of each species’ flowering season | | | Ellenberg\_Moisture | categorical | Ellenberg indicator value for moisture | | | Disturbance\_frequency | number | Herb-layer disturbance frequency indicator | | | Disturbance\_severity | number | Herb-layer disturbance severity indicator | | | | | | |