DOI: 10.5061/dryad.05qfttf8d
title: Shortgrass prairie (Colorado, USA) and northern mixedgrass prairie (Wyoming, USA) species traits

description: These data support Mueller et al. 2023, entitled "Coordination of
 leaf, root, and seed traits shows the importance of whole plant economics
 in two semiarid grasslands." Uncertainty persists within trait-based
 ecology, partly because few studies assess multiple axes of functional
 variation and their effect on plant performance. For 55 species from two
 semiarid grasslands, we quantified: i) covariation between economic traits
 of leaves and absorptive roots, ii) covariation among economic traits,
 plant height, leaf size, and seed mass, and iii) relationships between
 these traits and species’ abundance. Pairs of analogous leaf and root
 traits were at least weakly positively correlated (e.g., SLA and SRL). Two
 pairs of such traits, N content and DMC of leaves and roots, were at least
 moderately correlated (r&gt;0.5) whether species were grouped by site,
 taxonomic group and growth form, or life history.  Root diameter
 was positively correlated with seed mass for all groups of species except
 annuals and monocots.  Species with higher LDMC tended to be more
 abundant (r=0.63). Annuals with larger seeds were more abundant (r=0.69).
 Compared to global-scale syntheses with many observations from mesic
 ecosystems, we observed stronger correlations between analogous leaf and
 root traits, weaker correlations between SLA and leaf N, and stronger
 correlations between SRL and root N.  In dry grasslands, plant
 persistence may require coordination of above- and belowground traits, and
 dense tissues may facilitate dominance.
description: We typically sampled 5-10 replicate individuals per species,
 depending upon the trait. For most traits, we sampled during flowering,
 thereby standardizing each measurement by plant developmental stage. For
 leaf osmotic potential, which can vary as water availability changes
 within a growing season, we constrained our sampling campaigns to 3-4 week
 periods of favorable soil moisture conditions when species diversity was
 at its seasonal maximum. The majority of traits were measured in
 mixedgrass in 2013 and shortgrass in 2014. Exceptions were plant height
 (measured in 2015 at both sites), leaf osmotic potential (measured in
 mixedgrass in 2015 and shortgrass in 2017), seed mass (measured in 2014-15
 and 2017 at both sites), and absorptive root traits (measured in
 mixedgrass in 2016 and shortgrass in 2018). For all root traits, we
 subsampled absorptive root tissues as intact, mature root branches from
 field-harvested plant root systems. Absorptive root branches were
 subsampled using the following criteria: a. Roots &lt; 2 mm diameter;
 b. Roots &lt; 5th order. 1st and 2nd order roots will always be
 included. 3rd order roots will generally be included, unless they are
 clearly for transport or structure. 4th order roots will sometimes be
 included if (i) color or texture indicates that they are primarily
 absorptive and/or (ii) they have many lateral branches.
description: ## Title of Dataset: Shortgrass prairie (Colorado, USA) and northern
 mixedgrass prairie (Wyoming, USA) species traits --- Uncertainty persists
 within trait-based ecology, partly because few studies assess multiple
 axes of functional variation and their effect on plant performance. For 55
 species from two semiarid grasslands, we quantified: i) covariation
 between economic traits of leaves and absorptive roots, ii) covariation
 among economic traits, plant height, leaf size, and seed mass, and iii)
 relationships between these traits and species abundance. Pairs of
 analogous leaf and root traits were at least weakly positively correlated
 (e.g., SLA and SRL). Two pairs of such traits, N content and DMC of leaves
 and roots, were at least moderately correlated (r&gt;0.5) whether species
 were grouped by site, taxonomic group and growth form, or life history.
 Root diameter was positively correlated with seed mass for all groups of
 species except annuals and monocots. Species with higher LDMC tended to be
 more abundant (r=0.63). Annuals with larger seeds were more abundant
 (r=0.69). Compared to global-scale syntheses with many observations from
 mesic ecosystems, we observed stronger correlations between analogous leaf
 and root traits, weaker correlations between SLA and leaf N, and stronger
 correlations between SRL and root N. In dry grasslands, plant persistence
 may require coordination of above- and belowground traits, and dense
 tissues may facilitate dominance. ## Description of the Data and file
 structure: This dataset and data dictionary are available in
 comma-delimited format. They are supplement to: Mueller et al. 2023.
 Coordination of leaf, root, and seed traits shows the importance of whole
 plant economics in two semiarid grasslands. New Phytologist. The locations
 of trait data collections are from two sites: 1. Shortgrass steppe
 (Colorado, USA): Latitude 41.183333, Longitude -104.9 2. Northern
 mixedgrass prairie (Wyoming, USA): Latitude 40.1083333, Longitude
 -104.71667 Detailed information on collections of measurements and
 statistical analysis can be found in the manuscript. The dataset is
 accompanied by a data dictionary. Unavailable data flag: NA indicates (1)
 Sampling date not recorded; (2) Trait was not measured; or (3) Trait value
 was identified as an extreme statistical outlier or otherwise deemed
 unreliable due to methodological error. ## Sharing/access Information This
 work is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain
 Dedication license. These data are related to: Blumenthal, Dana; Kray,
 Julie; Mueller, Kevin; Ocheltree, Troy (2020), Shortgrass steppe and
 northern mixedgrass prairie plant species traits, Dryad Dataset,
 Note that this dataset
 also includes additional traits and species beyond those presented in the
 Blumenthal et al. 2020 reference.