DOI: 10.5061/dryad.djh9w0w8x
title: Data from: Parental environment nitrogen and phosphorus availability affects offspring traits of eight annual plant species

description: The rates in which nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are entering natural
 plant communities have reached unprecedented levels, resulting in
 increasingly imbalanced N:P ratios potentially aggravating both plant
 invasions and plant extinctions. Plants may cope with changing
 environments via phenotypic plasticity, which may occur within one
 generation or between generations (transgenerational plasticity, TGP).
 Here, we investigated TGP in plant traits in response to variation in N
 and P availabilities, in eight annual plant species comprising endangered,
 nonendangered and invasive species. We hypothesized that adaptive effects
 would be evident when parental and offspring environments match. We also
 expected endangered species to exhibit the lowest, and invasive species
 the highest, adaptive TGP-potential. A parental generation was raised
 under N-limitation, balanced nutrient supply and P-limitation, from which
 an offspring generation was grown under either the same or another option
 of these nutrient conditions. Across all species, offspring plants of
 N-stressed parents showed thin roots, i.e. low average root diameter,
 which is advantageous under N-limitation when repeatedly exposed to
 N-limitation, and offspring of P-stressed parents showed highest levels of
 phosphomonoesterase activity (PME activity), associated with P-uptake,
 when repeatedly grown under P-limitation. Contrary to our expectation,
 endangered species with P-stressed parents performed better than
 nonendangered or invasive species especially when grown under P-limitation
 in the offspring generation, probably due to a higher PME activity and
 longer and thicker roots. Our results demonstrate that the parental
 nutrient environment can have profound effects on offspring fitness and
 trait expressions, especially when parental and offspring environments
 match. There, TGP in response to parental nutrient limitation pre-adapts
 the offspring generation, resulting in individuals exhibiting traits
 associated with higher nutrient uptake under nutrient deficient
 conditions. Overall, our findings indicate that TGP may play a significant
 role in the realised niches of plant species in general, and specifically
 in endangered species.
description: # Parental environment nitrogen and phosphorus availability affects
 offspring traits of eight annual plant species
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.djh9w0w8x](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.djh9w0w8x) ## Description of the data and file structure This dataset relates to the article “Parental environment nitrogen and phosphorus availability affects offspring traits of eight annual plant species” accepted for publication in Oikos (doi: 10.1111/oik.10993), by Vanessa Minden, Koen J.F. Verhoeven and Harry Olde Venterink. Corresponding author Vanessa Minden, email: [vanessa.minden@vub.be](mailto:vanessa.minden@vub.be) The dataset contains plant trait information of 8 annual species (grasses and non legume-forbs).  A parental generation was raised under N (nitrogen) limitation, balanced nutrient supply and P (phosphorus) limitation, from which an offspring generation was grown under either the same or another option of these nutrient conditions. Plants of both the parental and offspring generation were raised in a greenhouse. Plants of the offspring generation were harvested after eight weeks and traits were measured.  General information: Species (species name), Family (Poaceae, Onagraceae), Maturity (all plants mature at time of harvest), Status (plant species considered either invasive, endangered or non-endangered in central Europe), Plant Growth Form (grasses and non legume-forbs), Life Span (annual), Start experiment (start date for each individual), End experiment (date of harvest for each individual), Treatment Parental Generation (N limitation, balanced nutrient supply, P limitation), Treatment Offspring Generation (N limitation, balanced nutrient supply, P limitation), total.supply.rate.N.mg.Offspring.generation (total amount of N supplied to each individual in the offspring generation in the course of the experiment, i.e. 13.5mg, 40.5mg, 121.5mg), total.supply.rate.P.mg.Offspring.generation (total amount of P supplied to each individual in the offspring generation in the course of the experiment, i.e. 8.1mg, 2.7mg, 0.9mg), repeats.per.trt (number of repetitions per trt and species, 1-10). Plant species: Avena sterilis, Bromus secalinus, Epilobium anagallidifolium, Epilobium ciliatum, Epilobium fleischeri, Hordeum jubatum, Hordeum murinum, Lolium temulentum Plant traits include: Total Biomass (mg), Relative Growth Rate (mg/mg*day), Total leaf area (mm²), Specific leaf area (SLA, mm²/mg), Leaf dry matter content (LDMC, mg/g), SPAD (measure of chlorophyll content, dimensionless), Root mass ratio (RMR, mg/mg), Total root length (m), Specific root length (SRL, m/mg), Root surface area (cm²), Average root diameter (mm), Root phosphomonoesterase activity (PME, µmol pNPP /g*h). Measurement for most traits followed Pérez-Harguindeguy, N., et al. (2013). "New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide." Australian Journal of Botany 61: 167-234. ### Files and variables #### File: VMinden\_Dryad-Data\_FWO-paper2.xlsx **Description:** The dataset contains plant trait information of 8 annual species (grasses and non legume-forbs).  A parental generation was raised under N (nitrogen) limitation, balanced nutrient supply and P (phosphorus) limitation, from which an offspring generation was grown under either the same or another option of these nutrient conditions. Plants of both the parental and offspring generation were raised in a greenhouse. Plants of the offspring generation were harvested after eight weeks and traits were measured.  ##### Variables * Plant species (Avena sterilis, Bromus secalinus, Epilobium anagallidifolium, Epilobium ciliatum, Epilobium fleischeri, Hordeum jubatum, Hordeum murinum, Lolium temulentum) * Family (Poaceae, Onagraceae) * Maturity (all plants mature at time of harvest) * Status (plant species considered either invasive, endangered or non-endangered in central Europe) * Plant Growth Form (grasses and non legume-forbs) * Life Span (annual) * Start experiment (start date for each individual) * End experiment (date of harvest for each individual) * Treatment Parental Generation (N limitation, balanced nutrient supply, P limitation) * Treatment Offspring Generation (N limitation, balanced nutrient supply, P limitation) * total.supply.rate.N.mg.Offspring.generation (total amount of N supplied to each individual in the offspring generation in the course of the experiment, i.e. 13.5mg, 40.5mg, 121.5mg) * total.supply.rate.P.mg.Offspring.generation (total amount of P supplied to each individual in the offspring generation in the course of the experiment, i.e. 8.1mg, 2.7mg, 0.9mg) * repeats.per.trt (number of repetitions per trt and species, 1-8). * Total Biomass (mg) * Relative Growth Rate (mg/mg*day) * Total leaf area, measured without petiole, (mm²) * Specific leaf area, measured without petiole,  (SLA, mm²/mg) * Leaf dry matter content, measured without petiole, (LDMC, mg/g) * SPAD (measure of chlorophyll content, dimensionless) * Root mass ratio (RMR, mg/mg) * Total root length (m) * Specific root length (SRL, m/mg) * Root surface area (cm²) * Average root diameter (mm) * Root phosphomonoesterase activity (PME, µmol pNPP /g*h) missing values are indicated by 'NA' ## Code/software Data are provided in an Excel sheet