DOI: 10.5061/dryad.0zpc8679x
title: Data from: Whole-seedling trait adjustments of mountain birch under contrasting environmental conditions

description: This dataset is associated with an article researching how functional
 traits of mountain birch (Betula pubescens subsp. czerepanovii) seedlings
 are influenced by warming in the context of different soil properties and
 presence of a neighbour, Empetrum nigrum subsp. hermaphroditum. All
 functional traits (shoot height, root/shoot ratio, total leaf area,
 specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, N content per leaf area, C/N
 ratio in leaves, stems and roots, root/shoot ratio, fine root proportion
 in the root system, main root length, CO2 assimilation rate and
 mycorrhizal colonisation of roots) were measured on mountain birch
 seedlings grown in a pot experiment for 12 weeks. The majority of the
 values were calculated as means from three sub-replicates (physical pots),
 with some exceptions (please see the article, including its supporting
 information, for more details on the used methods and design of the
 experiment). The results of the study revealed that warming significantly
 increased seedling growth, and growth rates were positively associated
 with several above- and belowground traits indicating resource
 acquisition. Growth rates were not correlated with leaf traits such as
 specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content. Soil origin and the
 presence of neighbour did not affect the growth rate responses to warming,
 although seedlings grown in high-elevation soils generally grew faster and
 had higher CO2 assimilation rates. These seedlings also expressed traits
 commonly associated with conservative growth strategy.
description: # Data from: Whole-seedling trait adjustments of mountain birch under
 contrasting environmental conditions Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.0zpc8679x](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0zpc8679x) ##
 Description of the data and file structure The dataset contains
 measurements of mountain birch seedling functional traits. The data is
 associated with a research article and originates from a growth chamber
 experiment. ### Files and variables #### File:
 Mountain_birch_traits_Kutakova_et_al_data.xlsx **Description:** 
 **Treatment information** * no - number of a replicate * replicate_ID -
 specific code of the individual replicate * temperature - temperature
 treatment the replicate was exposed to (cold vs. warm) * soil origin -
 origin of soil used for the specific replicate (low vs. high elevation) *
 neighbour - presence (1) or absence (0) of a neighbour, Empterum nigrum,
 within the pot ##### Variables * Total dry weight [g] * Leaf dry weight
 [g] * Stem dry weight [g] * Root dry weight [g] * Root/shoot ratio *
 Growth rate [%] * CO2 assimilation rate [µmol/cm2/s] * Mycorrhizal
 colonisation [%] * Stem height [cm] * Root length [cm] - the length of the
 main root * Fine root proportion [%] * Specific leaf area (SLA) [cm2/g] *
 Leaf dry matter content (LDMC) [%] * Total leaf area [cm2] * Leaf C/N
 ratio * Leaf N per area [g/cm2] * Leaf N per dry weight [%] * Root C/N
 ratio * Stem C/N ratio For all variables, missing values are indicated as
 'NA'. ## Code/software The file is in .xlsx format and can be
 opened with free web-based options like Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel
 Online, or by downloading free desktop software such as LibreOffice, WPS
 Office, or Apache OpenOffice.