Linking leaf economic traits with forage quality across temperate grasslands under ambient and drought conditions
Data files
Jul 04, 2025 version files 10.99 KB
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README.md
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Trait_ForageQuality_Muraina_et_al.csv
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Abstract
Intensifying droughts may disrupt grassland services, including the forage provision for herbivores. However, less is known about drought impacts on forage quality. While previous studies have shown that leaf economic traits reflect drought effects on plant communities, whether leaf traits can predict forage quality pattern under drought remains unclear. So, we simulated early- and late-season droughts in three grasslands in the Swiss Jura Mountains over two growing seasons. Early-season drought involved a 70% reduction in ambient precipitation during the first two-month growth cycle of a six-month growing season, while late-season drought reduced same precipitation during the second two-month growth cycle. We collected data on forage quality parameters (protein, minerals, water-soluble carbohydrates, neutral detergent fibre, and acid detergent fibre) and leaf traits [community-weighted mean (CWM) specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC)]. We used these data to address three questions: (1) how do forage quality parameters and leaf economic traits [community-weighted (cwm) SLA and LDMC] changed from early to late periods of the season under ambient conditions; (2) how do forage quality parameters and leaf traits respond to early- and late-season droughts; and (3) how do community-weighted leaf traits and forage quality parameters relate under early- and late-season ambient and drought conditions.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.3xsj3txtd
Description of the data and file structure
Study Overview
This study examined how early- and late-season extreme droughts affect forage quality and community-weighted leaf traits across three grassland sites in the Swiss Jura Mountains—Chéserex (Site A; N 46°24’, E 6°10’), Saint-George (Site B; N 46°30’, E 6°15’), and Trois Chalets (Site C; N 46°53’, E 6°21’)—during the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons.
Experimental Design
- Treatments:
- Control (normal precipitation all season)
- Early-season drought (first 2 months of growing season)
- Late-season drought (next 2 months)
- Plot Setup:
- Each of the three sites had 5 blocks (12 m × 6 m each)
- Each block contained 3 plots (4 m × 0.9 m each), one per treatment, spaced 80 cm apart
Rainout Shelter System
- All plots (control and drought) were covered by transparent rainout shelters (12 m × 6.4 m × 3 m), transmitting over 90% of photosynthetically active radiation.
- Water was added manually using metered sprinkler bars.
- Control plots: received site-specific 30-year average monthly precipitation (11 rainy days/month)
- Drought plots: received 30% of control water during their designated drought period, applied at reduced frequency (4–5 day intervals)
- Non-drought periods: drought plots received the same watering as the control
Watering Schedule (based on historical data)
- Early-season precipitation (mm):
- Site A: 143
- Site B: 234
- Site C: 240
- Late-season precipitation (mm):
- Site A: 154
- Site B: 213
- Site C: 272
Measured Variables
- Forage quality:
- Readily digestible cell constituents: protein, ash, water-soluble carbohydrates (WSC, g/kg)
- Cell wall components: neutral detergent fibre (NDF, g/kg), acid detergent fibre (ADF, g/kg)
- Community-weighted leaf traits: specific leaf area (cwmSLA, cm2/g), leaf dry matter content (cwmLDMC, mg/g)
Files and variables
File: Trait_ForageQuality_Muraina_et_al.csv
Description:
Variables
- Year: Numeric identity of the year the experiment was conducted (i.e., 2015 or 2016)
- Yr: Categorial identity of the year the experiment was conducted
- Time: The period of the season during which the data were collected
- Site: Location of each experimental site; Chéserex (CH; N 46°24’, E 6°10’), Saint-George (SG; N 46°30’, E 6°15’), and Trois Chalets (TC; N 46°53’, E 6°21’)
- Block: Spatial replication of the treatments in each site
- Drought: Types of drought (Early season drought or Late season drought)
- Drought.Time: Treatment combinations with the time of the season
- cwmLDMC (mg/g): community-weighted leaf dry matter content and its SI unit
- cwmSLA (cm2/g): community-weighted specific leaf area and its SI unit
- Ash (g/kg): forage ash content and its SI unit
- Protein_content (g/kg): forage crude protein and its SI unit
- ADF (g/kg): forage acid detergent fibre and its SI unit
- NDF (g/kg): forage neutral detergent fibre and its SI unit
- WSC (g/kg): forage water soluble carbohydrate and its SI unit
Note: The control plot data for Block III at site CH in 2015 were excluded due to several weeks of flooding.