Data from: Variations in root functional traits facilitate the adaptation of pioneer plants to rare earth element mine tailings
Data files
Nov 03, 2025 version files 39.49 KB
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1_Plant_info.csv
1.37 KB
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2_Soil_properties.csv
2.85 KB
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3_Plant_functional_traits.csv
29.21 KB
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README.md
6.06 KB
Abstract
The trade-offs in plant root traits significantly influence the adaptation and community dynamics in heterogeneous habitats. However, the role of inter- and intraspecific root trait variation in the adaptation of pioneer plants in stressed mine tailings is poorly understood. We assessed root morphological and chemical traits of 16 dominant species from unexploited forest sites adjacent to rare earth elements (REEs) mine tailings, and three pioneer species (Miscanthus sinensis, Dicranopteris linearis, Pinus massoniana) across a gradient of soil stress—including REEs toxicity, nutrient deficiency, and compaction—from forest to REEs tailings. In the two-dimensional root economics space (RES), the contents of cellulose, hemicellulose, and silicon were coaxial with the collaboration gradients (“do-it-yourself” – “outsourcing”) and inversely related to fine root diameter. Meanwhile, root REEs content aligned with conservation gradients (“fast” – “slow”), indicating a slow strategy. Interspecific variations did not show a distinct strategy preference for pioneer species compared to non-pioneer plants. However, notable intraspecific variations were observed, particularly in stress-related traits such as root N content, C: N ratio, and REEs content, which exceeded interspecific variations. All three pioneer species exhibited a shift toward “slow” strategies, while P. massoniana also transitioned toward “do-it-yourself” strategies, driven by increased soil bulk density, elevated bioavailable REEs content, and reduced soil carbon and nutrient levels in the tailings. Our findings highlight the pivotal role of root chemical traits and intraspecific plasticity in facilitating the adaptation of pioneer plants to extreme REE tailing environments. The observed shifts toward stress-tolerant “slow” strategies and “do-it-yourself” nutrient acquisition provide a trait-based framework for advancing phytoremediation in the ecological restoration of degraded mine tailings, such as informing plant species selection.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.f4qrfj77m
Description of the data and file structure
These datasets are derived from a field study investigating the role of root functional traits in facilitating the adaptation of pioneer plant species to rare earth element (REE) mine tailing environments. We measured root morphological and chemical traits for 16 dominant species in unmined forest habitats and three pioneer species (Miscanthus sinensis, Dicranopteris linearis, and Pinus massoniana) across a gradient of increasing edaphic stress, including REE toxicity, nutrient depletion, and compaction. The dataset supports analyses of inter- and intraspecific variation in root traits and their alignment with root economics strategies. For further details, please refer to the associated publication by Zhu et al. (titled “Variations in root functional traits facilitate the adaptation of pioneer plants to rare earth element mine tailings”) or contact the corresponding author.
Files and variables
File: 1_Plant_info.csv
Description: The plant information in this study
Variables
- Species: Scientific name (binomial) of the plant species sampled.
- Family: Taxonomic family to which the species belongs.
- Genus: Genus name of the plant.
- Functional_group: Functional group classification used in trait-based analyses. Includes: tree, shrub, fern, and grass. Pioneer species are included in their respective growth forms.
- Abbr.: Abbreviated species code used in trait datasets and figures.
- Sampling_site: Habitat/site type where the species was sampled. Site codes include: Aband_REE (A) = abandoned REE tailings, Remed_REE (R) = remediated REE tailings, Forest (F) = unmined forest.
File: 2_Soil_properties.csv
Description: Physicochemical properties of bulk soil in three types of sampling sites.
Variables
- sample ID: Unique identifier for each soil sample. Format: [Site Type] [Plot Number]-[Sample Number] bulk. Site types include: A = abandoned REE mine tailings, R = remediated REE mine tailings, F = unmined forest reference. Plot number and sample number distinguish spatial replicates within each site.
- Moisture content: Gravimetric soil moisture content (%), calculated as the difference between fresh and oven-dried weight, divided by the oven-dried weight. Samples were oven-dried for 72 hours to a constant weight.
- BulkDensity: Bulk density of soil (g/cm3), calculated by dividing the oven-dried weight by the volume of the soil cylinder (100 cm3), following USDA-NRCS (2001) protocol.
- pH: Soil pH measured in a 1:2.5 (w/v) soil-to-water suspension using a calibrated pH meter (Mettler Toledo LE438, Germany).
- CaCl2_Al: Exchangeable aluminum (Al) concentration (mg/kg), extracted using 0.01 M CaCl2 solution and measured with ICP-OES (Perkin Elmer, Avio 500). Reflects bioavailable Al.
- Available_N: Available nitrogen (mg/kg), determined by the alkali diffusion method. Represents plant-available nitrogen in soil.
- Available_P: Available phosphorus (mg/kg), determined by the Mo-Sb colorimetric method (antimony-molybdenum blue spectrophotometry).
- Available_K: Available potassium (mg/kg), measured using flame atomic absorption spectrometry after extraction.
- CaCl2_Mg: · Exchangeable magnesium (Mg) concentration (mg/kg), extracted with 0.01 M CaCl2 solution and quantified via ICP-OES. Reflects bioavailable Mg.
- TOC: Total organic carbon (g/kg), determined by K2Cr2O7 heating oxidation-volumetric method.
- Total_N: Total nitrogen content (g/kg), measured using the Kjeldahl distillation–titration method.
- CN_ratio: Soil carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C: N), calculated as the mass ratio of total organic carbon to total nitrogen.
- CaCl2_REEs: Bioavailable rare earth element (REE) concentration (mg/kg), determined as the total concentration of 15 REEs (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Y) extracted by 0.01 M CaCl2 and measured using ICP-MS (Perkin Elmer, NexION 350D).
File: 3_Plant_functional_traits.csv
Description:
Variables
- Sample ID: Unique identifier for each root sample. Format: [Site code]-[Species code]-[Individual number], where site codes are A (abandoned), R (remediated), and F (forest). Species codes follow abbreviations in the Plant_info.csv file.
- Specific root length: Root length per unit dry mass (cm g-1)
- Specific root area: Root surface area per unit dry mass (cm2 g-1)
- Fine root diameter: Average diameter of fine roots per sample (mm)
- Root tissue density: Root dry mass per root volume (g cm-3)
- Root dry matter content: Root dry mass per fresh mass (mg g-1)
- Root nitrogen content: Nitrogen content in root tissue (%)
- Root carbon content: Carbon content in root tissue (%)
- Root carbon: nitrogen ratio: Ratio of RCC to RNC
- Root phosphorus content: Phosphorus content in root tissue (mg kg-1)
- Root cellulose content: Cellulose content in root tissue (mg g-1)
- Root hemicellulose content: Hemicellulose content in root tissue (mg g-1)
- Root lignin content: Lignin content in root tissue (mg g-1)
- Root pectin content: Pectin content in root tissue (μmol g-1)
- Root aluminium content: Aluminium content in root tissue (mg kg-1)
- Root calcium content: Calcium content in root tissue (mg kg-1)
- Root potassium content: Potassium content in root tissue (mg kg-1)
- Root magnesium content: Magnesium content in root tissue (mg kg-1)
- Root sodium content: Sodium content in root tissue (mg kg-1)
- Root silicon content: Silicon content in root tissue (mg kg-1)
- Root rare earth elements (REEs) content: Total REEs content in root tissue (mg kg-1)
Code/software
Microsoft Excel can be used to view the files
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- None
Data was derived from the following sources:
- None