DOI: 10.5061/dryad.80gb5mkzk
title: Slope position affects growth and allometry of the endangered conifer Calocedrus macrolepis by mediating soil properties and microbial communities

description: Premise: The allometric relationships among growth traits are highly
 relevant for a tree’s fitness, however, the mechanism of how the slope
 position affects the plant growth and allometry remains poorly understood,
 hindering our understanding of the variation in allometry of trees along
 slope position in mountainous areas. Methods: A typical slope of
 Calocedrus macrolepis plantation in southwest China was chosen to measure
 growth traits and their allometric relationships. In addition, spatial
 variations in soil properties and microbial communities were also
 investigated. Results: Slope position altered the allometric growth
 pattern with the larger allometric exponents of the tree height, diameter
 and wood volume relative to the crown size and height under the branch for
 the downslope. Additionally, most of soil nutrients, microbial diversity
 and abundances were greater at mesoslope and downslope, especially at the
 surface soil layer. The relative abundance both in Chloroflexi and
 Actinobacteria differed significantly among slope positions, while fungal
 dominant phyla abundances varied little across slope positions, indicating
 that bacterial community was more sensitive to slope position than fungal
 community. The growth traits and allometry were affected by the slope
 position, which is mainly caused by the variations of soil properties and
 microbial communities, and bacteria were more important than fungi in
 their relationships to growth traits and allometry. Conclusions: Together,
 results emphasized that slope position indirectly influences the growth
 traits and allometry of C. macrolepis by regulating soil nutrients and
 microbial communities, which will provide important theoretical basis for
 the plantation management of C. macrolepis.
description: We measured growth traits of <em>C. macrolepis</em>
 and their allometric relationships along the slope position. In addition,
 spatial variations in soil properties and microbial communities in soil
 depths of 0-20 cm, 20-40 cm and 40- 60 cm at upper, middle and down slope
 positions were investigated. We focused on the variations in growth and
 allometry along the slope position, and the effects of soil properties and
 microbial communities mediated by slope position on growth and
 allometry.
description: # Slope position affects growth and allometry of the endangered conifer
 Calocedrus macrolepis by mediating soil properties and microbial
 communities
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.80gb5mkzk](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.80gb5mkzk) Give a brief summary of dataset contents, contextualized in experimental procedures and results. ## Description of the data and file structure We present the data of the study by Gao et al. (2024): Slope position affects growth and allometry of the endangered conifer *Calocedrus macrolepis* by mediating soil properties and microbial communities. The excel file (Raw Data) includes the following sheets: 1- Variables: Details on all the variables. 2- Tree growth data. 3- Allomitric growth exponents. 4- Soil properties data. 5- The relative abundances of major taxonomic groups at the phylum level for bacteria and fungi.