DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mw6m90654
title: Data from: Trade-offs among restored ecosystem functions are context-dependent in Mediterranean-type regions

description: Global biodiversity hotspots, including Mediterranean-type ecosystems
 worldwide, are highly threatened by global change that alters
 biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and services. Some restoration
 activities enhance ecosystem functions by reintroducing plant species
 based on known relationships between plant traits and ecosystem processes.
 Achieving multiple functions across different site conditions, however,
 requires understanding how abiotic factors like climate and soil, along
 with plant assemblages, influence ecosystem functions, including their
 trade-offs and synergies. We used the ModEST ecosystem simulation model,
 which integrates carbon, water, and nutrient processes with plant traits,
 to assess the relationships between restored plant assemblages and
 ecosystem functions in Mediterranean-type climates and soils. We
 investigated whether maximised carbon increment, water use efficiency, and
 nitrogen use efficiency, along with their trade-offs and synergies, varied
 across different abiotic contexts. Further, we asked whether assemblages
 that maximised functions varied across environments and among these
 functions. We found that maximised ecosystem carbon increment and nitrogen
 use efficiency occurred under moist, warm conditions, while water use
 efficiency peaked under drier conditions. Generally, the assemblage that
 maximised one function differed from those for other maximised functions.
 Synergies were rare, except between water and nitrogen use efficiencies in
 loam soils across most climates. Trade-offs among maximised functions were
 common, varying in strength with abiotic context and plant assemblages,
 and were more pronounced in sandy loam soils compared to clay-rich soils.
 Our findings suggest that due to variation in abiotic conditions within
 and across Mediterranean-type regions at the global scale, site-specific
 plant assemblages are required to maximise ecosystem functions. Thus,
 lessons from a single site cannot be transferred to another site, even
 where the same plant functional types are available for restoration. Our
 simulation results offer valuable insights into potential ecosystem
 performance under specific abiotic conditions following restoration with
 particular plant functional types, thereby informing local restoration
 efforts.
description: # Trade-offs among restored ecosystem functions are context-dependent in
 Mediterranean-type regions The dataset includes species lists and trait
 data (Species List.txt), simulated data from the ModEST model
 (**Simulation Data_FunctionsTraits.RData**, **Simulation
 Data_PFTBiomass.RDat**a), and R scripts for data evaluation (Fig-4.R,
 Fig-5.R, Fig-6.R). Details on the simulated data and its evaluation can be
 found in the main text. The simulated data header meanings are: *
 **PFTs**: Restoration scenario * **MAP**: Mean annual precipitation (mm) *
 **MAT**: Mean annual temperature (°C) * **LAT**: Solar radiation (1/deg) *
 **ST**: Soil texture * **EWU**: Water-use efficiency (g L⁻¹ year⁻¹) *
 **ENU**: Nitrogen-use efficiency (kg NPP m⁻² g N⁻¹ m⁻³) * **ECI**:
 Ecosystem carbon increment (t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹) * **CNleaf**: Carbon to
 nitrogen ratio of the leaves (-) * **kStore**: Constant for maximum N
 storage differing between deciduuous and evergreen species (-) *
 **maxCA**: Maximum possible crown area (m²) * **SLA**: Specific leaf area
 (m² kg⁻¹) * **WD**: Wood density (kgC m⁻³) * **rootsL2**: Fraction of
 roots between 0-50cm of the soil horizon (-) * **PFT**: Plant functional
 type * **Biomass [kg/m²]**: Biomass (kg m⁻²) For the species list data
 header, refer to Table S3 in the Supplementary. "Original"
 refers to the aggregated data from databases in Table S3, and
 "imputed" data is gap-filled as described in the Supplementary
 section "Identification and Parameterisation of Plant Functional
 Types."