DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bnzs7h46q
title: Data from: Trait-environment interactions affect plant establishment success during restoration

description: Establishment and persistence are central to community assembly and are
 determined by how traits interact with the environment to determine
 performance ('trait-environment interactions'). Community
 assembly studies have rarely considered such trait-environment
 interactions, however, which can lead to incorrect inferences about how
 traits affect assembly. We evaluated how functional traits, environmental
 conditions, and trait-environment interactions structure plant
 establishment, as a measure of performance. Within 12 prairie restorations
 created by sowing 70 species, we quantified environmental conditions and
 counted individuals of each seeded species to quantify first year
 establishment. Three trait-environment interactions structured
 establishment. Leaf nitrogen interacted with herbivore pressure, as low
 leaf nitrogen species established relatively better under higher herbivory
 than species with high leaf nitrogen. Soil moisture interacted with root
 mass fraction (RMF), with low RMF species establishing better with low
 soil moisture and higher RMF species better on wetter soils. Specific leaf
 area (SLA) interacted with light availability, as low SLA species
 established better under high light conditions and high SLA species under
 low light conditions. Our work illustrates how community assembly can be
 better described by trait-environment interactions than correlating traits
 or environment with performance. This knowledge can assist species
 selection to maximize restoration success.Establishment and persistence
 are central to community assembly and are determined by how traits
 interact with the environment to determine performance
 ('trait-environment interactions'). Community assembly studies
 have rarely considered such trait-environment interactions, however, which
 can lead to incorrect inferences about how traits affect assembly. We
 evaluated how functional traits, environmental conditions, and
 trait-environment interactions structure plant establishment, as a measure
 of performance. Within 12 prairie restorations created by sowing 70
 species, we quantified environmental conditions and counted individuals of
 each seeded species to quantify first year establishment. Three
 trait-environment interactions structured establishment. Leaf nitrogen
 interacted with herbivore pressure, as low leaf nitrogen species
 established relatively better under higher herbivory than species with
 high leaf nitrogen. Soil moisture interacted with root mass fraction
 (RMF), with low RMF species establishing better with low soil moisture and
 higher RMF species better on wetter soils. Specific leaf area (SLA)
 interacted with light availability, as low SLA species established better
 under high light conditions and high SLA species under low light
 conditions. Our work illustrates how community assembly can be better
 described by trait-environment interactions than correlating traits or
 environment with performance. This knowledge can assist species selection
 to maximize restoration success.
description: Methods can be found in Zirbel, C. R. and L. A. Brudvig. 2020.
 Trait-environment interactions affect plant establishment success during
 restoration. Ecology.
description: Descriptions of the data and R code can be found in the
 readme_Zirbel_Brudvig_2020_dryad.txt file.