DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17671912
title: Plant Isoprene Dataset

description: This dataset documents isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) emission capacity by more than 1,800 plant species. Isoprene is the most abundant volatile organic compound (VOC) emitted by terrestrial plants and plays a central role in plant biology and biosphere –atmosphere interactions. The dataset is intended to serve as a reference for studies regarding isoprene emission and its multifaceted impacts spanning  agronomy, biology, ecology and environmental science, air-quality assessment, urban vegetation management, and more.

Dataset legend:



ipni_id: a unique identifier for each plant name registered in the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), providing a standardized reference for scientific names and enabling precise access to authorship and bibliographic information.

full_name_plain: the full scientific name of a plant, presented as plain text without typographic formatting. It typically includes the genus, species, and author citation, providing a standardized and unambiguous reference for use in datasets, tables, and metadata.

full_name_no_authors_plain: the full scientific name of a plant in plain text, excluding the author citation. It typically includes the genus and species, providing a standardized reference suitable for analyses, dataset comparisons, and metadata where authorship information is not required.

name: the base name of a plant, typically representing only the specific epithet or a simplified form of the species name. It provides a concise reference useful for dataset filtering, joins, and quick identification when the full scientific name or author information is not required.

family: the botanical family to which a plant belongs, representing the taxonomic rank above genus. It enables grouping of species with shared evolutionary or morphological characteristics and supports comparative, phylogenetic, and ecological analyses, as well as standardized metadata classification.

genus: the botanical genus of a plant, representing the taxonomic rank directly above species. It groups together related species that share morphological and genetic characteristics, supporting taxonomic standardization, comparative studies, and phylogenetic analyses.

species: the botanical species of a plant, representing the fundamental taxonomic unit composed of the genus and specific epithet. It identifies groups of individuals that share common genetic and morphological characteristics, supporting precise plant identification, taxonomic standardization, and ecological or phylogenetic analyses.

nomenclature_status: indicates whether the plant name is recognized as valid according to botanical nomenclature. In this dataset, values include valid (officially recognized name) and notvalid (name considered invalid or obsolete). This field supports dataset standardization, data cleaning, and analyses based on valid taxonomic names.

rank: the taxonomic rank of a plant name, indicating its hierarchical level in botanical classification, below the species level. in this dataset, ranks include species (the fundamental taxonomic unit), subspecies (a distinct population within a species with morphological or geographic differences), variety (a naturally occurring variant within a species), hybrid (a cross between two species), and form (a minor morphological variant). This field enables precise classification, supports taxonomic analyses, and facilitates dataset organization and aggregation across hierarchical levels.

leaf_habitus: the leaf habit of a plant, indicating its foliage strategy. In this dataset, values include evergreen (perennial plants retaining leaves throughout the year) and deciduous (perennial plants shedding leaves seasonally). This field supports ecological, environmental, and biodiversity analyses, and enables standardized morphological comparisons across datasets.

synonyms: a list of alternative scientific names previously or additionally used for a plant species. These names are not accepted as the primary name but provide historical references, support literature searches, and enable integration across botanical databases. Synonyms help trace nomenclatural changes and ensure comprehensive referencing of a species.

isoprene_emission: indicates whether a plant species emits isoprene, based on literature and experimental data. Values include IE (isoprene emitter) and NE (isoprene non-emitter). The threshold at which a given species is considered an emitter has been set to 1 mg of isoprene mg-1 of dry weight s-1. Some species were reported as IE or NE in different experiments and studies. In such cases, the species is informally classified as "mixed". A species may appear multiple times as IE or NE if the emission type was confirmed in different experiments.

doi: the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) associated with a publication or dataset providing the source of information. It serves as a permanent and unambiguous reference, enabling accurate citation, data traceability, and access to the original study or dataset. Empty records indicate that the DOI information is currently being compiled and will be included in future versions of the dataset, or that the information was retrieved in the database of Loreto and Fineschi (2015), in turn referring to earlier databases, primarily the Lancaster University database (1997),  or Kesselmeier and Staudt (1999).

url: a web link pointing to the species page in the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), providing additional taxonomic information and resources. Empty records indicate that the URL is currently being compiled and will be added in future versions of the dataset.