DOI: 10.5061/dryad.05qfttf90
title: Data for: Phenotypic variation of hydraulic traits for woody species

description: Hydraulic traits are major determinants of plant fitness, thus exerting
 control over vegetation structure, function and distribution. Yet it
 remains unclear whether and how hydraulic traits respond to environmental
 stimuli (i.e., phenotypic variation of hydraulic traits; PVHT), and if the
 coordination between different hydraulic traits and the trait-climate
 relationship are affected by PVHT. Here, we synthesized data of PVHT
 (maximum hydraulic conductivity and water potential inducing 50% loss of
 hydraulic conductivity) as well as potentially related morphological and
 anatomical traits (e.g. sapwood density, branch Huber value, mean and
 hydraulic weighted conduit diameter). We analyzed the magnitude, direction
 and source of variation of the plastic response, as well as the influence
 of environmental factors on trait coordination. Additionally, we compared
 the intra- and inter- specific variation between key hydraulic traits and
 climate metrics (mean annual precipitation and mean annual temperature) at
 the site of growth, as well as across the population range. PVHT was
 highly variable in both magnitude and direction, which was contingent on
 the environmental factor. The variation in PVHT mainly occurred at high
 taxonomic levels (i.e., family and genus), whereas phenology explained
 little variation for PVHT. Despite the high variability, trait correlation
 remained robust in the presence of environmental stimuli. Moreover,
 trait-climate relationships differed at inter-specific and intra-specific
 levels. The intra-specific variation of hydraulic traits in most species
 showed no correlation with climate metrics compared with the high
 correlation of hydraulic traits with climate metrics across species. Our
 findings suggest that the high variability of PVHT does not affect the
 trait correlation which may be valuable in predicting vegetation dynamics
 under varying environments. The distinct trait-climate relationships
 highlight the need to unravel the driving force of PVHT, as well as the
 adaptive strategy across populations.
description: # Phenotypic variation of hydraulic traits for woody species
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.05qfttf90](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.05qfttf90) The comparative dataset contains the responses of key hydraulic traits and related anatomical, morphological and physiological traits to different environmental stimuli. Plant traits incorporated in the dataset include water potential threshold triggering 12%, 50% and 88% loss of xylem hydraulic conductivity (P12, P50 and P88, respectively; -MPa), maximum hydraulic conductivity (K, kg m-2 s-1 MPa-1), leaf turgor loss point (tlp, -MPa), minimum water potential (WPmin, -MPa), predawn and midday leaf water potential (predawn and midday, respectively; -MPa), water potential threshold triggering stomatal closure (Pgs, -MPa), organ hydraulic capacitance (Cs, units can vary depending on method), specific leaf area (SLA, m2 kg-1), gs (maximum stomatal conductance, mol m-2 s-1), maximum leaf carbon assimilation rate (μmol m-2 s-1), sapwood density (WD, g cm-3), average vessel diameter and hydraulic weighted vessel diameter (D and Dh, respectively; μm), vessel density (VD, n mm-2), branch huber value (m2 m-2), pit membrane thickness (Tm, nm) and pit diameter (PD, nm). Note that traits names followed by capital letter "T" stand for traits value recorded after exposure to environmental stimuli (type of which may vary), including water potential threshold triggering 50% and 88% loss of xylem hydraulic conductivity (P50Tand P88T, respectively; -MPa), maximum hydraulic conductivity (KT, kg m-2 s-1 MPa-1), leaf turgor loss point (tlpT, -MPa), minimum water potential (WPminT, -MPa), predawn and midday leaf water potential (predawnT and middayT, respectively; -MPa), water potential threshold triggering stomatal closure (PgsT, -MPa), organ hydraulic capacitance (CsT, units can vary depending on method) and specific leaf area (SLAT, m2 kg-1). Climatic variables include mean annual temperature (MAT, degree celsius), mean annual precipitation (MAP, mm), maximum temperature of the warmest month (Tmax.warm, degree celsius), minimum temperature of the coldest month (Tmin.cold, degree celsius), precipitation of the wettest month (P.wet, mm) and precipitation of the driest month (P.dry, mm). Also incorporated are the taxonomical classification of species (e.g. clade, family, genus or specific cultivar), plant growth form (i.e. tree, shrub or liana), phenology (i.e. deciduous or evergreen), type of study (i.e. field study, control environment or reciprocal transplant), growth condition (i.e. field or pot), plant organ from where the xylem vulnerability curve is measured (i.e. stem, root or leaf), method for generating xylem vulnerability curves (i.e. centrifuge [CF], cavitron [CV], bench dehydration [BD], air injection [AI], acoustic emission [AE], pneumatic emission [PE], rehydration kinetics [RK] and optical visualization [OV]), age of plants and duration of exposure. The transect study dataset includes the variation of the abovementioned traits across populations or provenances, and the corresponding climatic variables, including MAP, MAT, Tmax.warm, Tmin.cold, P.wet and P.dry. Also given are the coordinates and altitudes of field sites for transect study or of species provenance for common garden experiment. Cell filled with "n/a" indicate that tratis value or other relevant information is currently not available. ## Description of the data and file structure The comparative dataset allow for quantifying the magnitude, direction and source of variation for the plastic response of traits. Also, the dataset enable the user to test the the response of traits coordination to environmental factors. While the transect study dataset can be used to analyze the traits-climate relationship within species, which may offer insights into the effects of gene and environment on the variation in plants phenotype. Please refer to the definition file for traits information, including full name and units.