Native herbivore browsing alters plant physical and chemical traits in a eucalypt forest understory
Data files
Nov 23, 2023 version files 88.32 KB
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FieldMeasurements_TraitData.csv
37.66 KB
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FreshWeightCalibrationModel.csv
14.98 KB
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IndividualSpeciesCover.csv
2.90 KB
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NutrientTraitData.csv
3.90 KB
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README.md
3.52 KB
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SLA_MC_TraitData.csv
25.35 KB
Abstract
Macropods exhibit selective herbivory on plant traits within and between species and hence can alter plant trait variation. In this study we asked, what are the effects of macropod herbivory on intraspecific variation in plant traits of forest understorey species? We tested the effects of herbivory by macropods on eight plant traits, in nine understorey species using a herbivore exclusion experiment. Generalised linear mixed models were used to test for differences between herbivory treatments in trait means as well as variation within species and at the community level. Macropod herbivory resulted in differences in either the mean trait value or trait variance within a species for seven of the eight tested plant traits. Macropod exclusion resulted in larger dimensions of size for most species, as well as changes in specific leaf area, moisture content, and carbon content of leaves. Further, community-weighted means of specific leaf area, moisture content, and leaf nitrogen were lower in the presence of macropods. Plant trait variance was altered for three of the seven community weighted traits. This study demonstrates a mechanism through which macropods can drive changes in the traits of understorey plant species. Plant traits have been linked to various larger scale ecological processes including ecosystem flammability, nutrient cycling, response to global change and habitat suitability for other organisms. Therefore, herbivore-induced changes in plant trait variation and community composition could have important flow on effects for other environmental processes and hence should be considered in management decisions regarding fire-prone ecosystems.
Dataset contains six excel files containing raw data used for calculations of trait values for nine species in an open eucalypt understorey under two herbivory treatments. Data is also used to calculate community weighted means of those traits.
All data required to generate manuscript tables and figures as well as those in supplementary documents are included and detailed below.
Size: 83kb
Format: .csv (5 files)
Description of the data and file structure
Each csv file is described below along with a description of any column headers.
NutrientTraitData –> contains raw carbon and nitrogen nutrient data for all species at each site.
Dimensions: 96 rows x 4 columns
Column headings:
Species = the species for which the data was measured.
Treatment = which treatment the species was under, open (accessible to Macropods) or exclosure (fenced off to Macropods).
C (%) = carbon as a percentage of dried plant material.
N (%) = nitrogen as a percentage of dried plant material.
FieldMeasurements_TraitData –> the raw trait data recorded for each individual plant in the field.
Dimensions: 459 rows x 14 columns
Column headings:
Site = designated site name.
Species = the species for which the data was measured.
PlantNo = the plant number at each site (within a maximum of 5 individuals of a species at each site).
Height = plant height in metres.
Width = plant width in metres.
CanopyDepth = canopy depth in metres.
Thickness = for columns 7-12 leaf thickness is included for each plant. Five leaves were measured for each plant and each individual recording is included in the row.
ThicknessAverage = the average leaf thickness for an individual plant in millimetres.
Date collected = the date the data was collected.
Treatment = which treatment the species was under, open (accessible to Macropods) or exclosure (fenced off to Macropods).
FreshWeightCalibrationModel –> raw fresh weight data recorded in the field and in the lab for analysis of time to measurement effects on fresh weight.
Dimensions: 651 rows x 4 columns
Column headings:
Site no. = designated site name.
Species name = the species for which the data was measured.
Fresh Weight = fresh weight of leaves
Time = a classification of time periods as either T1 or T2 where T1 is field measurements and T2 is post-fieldwork measurements.
IndividualSpeciesCover –> percentage cover of each individual species found at each site.
Dimensions: 13 rows x 41 columns
Column headings:
Site = designated site name.
Treatment = which treatment the species was under, open (accessible to Macropods) or exclosure (fenced off to Macropods).
Columns 3-41 = species names.
Data: The data in this spreadsheet contains either numerical values indicating species cover or a n/a value indicating that species was not detected at that site.
SLA_MC_TraitData –> raw moisture content and specific leaf area measurements for each plant.
Dimensions: 456 rows x 5 columns
Column headings:
Site = designated site name.
Species = the species for which the data was measured.
Treatment = which treatment the species was under, open (accessible to Macropods) or exclosure (fenced off to Macropods).
SLA = specific leaf area of an individual.
MC = moisture content of an individual.
Manuscript figures and tables were generated using R version 4.1.0.
See published paper for further details.
Sharing/Access Information
Not applicable.
Please review the attached README document and the accompanying publication under the same title as the dataset.
Requires microsoft excel.