Tree functional trait variation along the vertical canopy profile in central Amazonian forests
Data files
Oct 21, 2025 version files 26.56 KB
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README.md
3.55 KB
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Ziccardi_et_al_FE_2025.csv
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Abstract
We quantified annual growth rates in terms of above-ground biomass (AGB), the maximum efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) and six tree functional traits related to water transport (xylem density and Huber value), leaf morphology (leaf size, angle, and stomatal density), and photosynthesis (specific leaf area) along the vertical forest profile in an old-growth central Amazonian forest. To investigate the influence of canopy environments and ontogenetic stages on the variation of these traits, we divided the forest into three vertical strata defined by height from the ground (S1: 0-20 m; S2: 20-40 m; S3: >40 m). We sampled 162 branches and 486 leaves from 54 trees of 10 species, encompassing at least five of the most abundant species per stratum. Path analysis and correlation matrices were used to explore the links between canopy environments, traits and the “fast-slow” plant economics spectrum.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.g79cnp635
Description of the data and file structure
This README.txt file was generated on 2025-08-10 by Leonardo Ziccardi
GENERAL INFORMATION
1. Title of Dataset: Trait coordination reveals the fast-slow plant economics spectrum along the vertical canopy profile in central Amazonian forests
2. Author Information
A. Principal Investigator Contact Information
Name: Scott Stark
Institution: Michigan State University (MSU)
Email:scott.c.stark@gmail.com@gmail.com
B. Associate or Co-investigator Contact Information
Name: Leonardo Ziccardi
Institution: Michigan State University (MSU)
Email: leonardo.g.ziccardi@gmail.com
3. Date of data collection: Between August and November (dry season months) of 2019 and 2021.
4. Geographic location of data collection: The data were collected at the Tapajós National Forest (TNF) site, located near km 67 (K67, 02°51′S, 54°58′W) of the Santarém-Cuiabá highway, south of the city of Santarém (Pará, Brazil).
5. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data:
NASA FINESST grant (80NSSC24K0020) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) awards (grant numbers 1754357 and 1950080).
SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION
1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: The data provided here is freely available and we encourage its use. Please acknowledge the data source through a citation or in the acknowledgments.
2. Links to publications that cite or use the data:
"Trait coordination reveals the fast-slow plant economics spectrum along the vertical canopy profile in central Amazonian forests" - Ziccardi et al., 2025
METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION
1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data:
See in "Trait coordination reveals the fast-slow plant economics spectrum along the vertical canopy profile in central Amazonian forests" - Ziccardi et al., 2025
2. Methods for processing the data:
Data were pre-processed from the collected dataset using R.
3. People involved with sample collection, processing, analysis and/or submission:
- Leonardo Ziccardi
- Scott Stark
Files and variables
File: Ziccardi_et_al_FE_2025.csv
Description:
1. Number of variables: 16
2. Number of cases/rows: 162
Variables
- Tree: Individual tree ID
- Branch: Position of sampled branch in the crown (A = lower; B = middle; C = upper)
- Scientific_name: Scientific name
- Canopy_strata: Canopy strata define by height above ground level (S1 = 0 - 20 m; S2 = 20 - 40 m; S3 = > 40 m)
- SLA: Specific leaf area (leaf area per unit leaf dry mass, m² kg-1)
- Leaf_angle: Leaf angle (º)
- Leaf_size: Leaf size in area terms (cm²)
- Xylem_density: Xylem density measured at each 1-m long collected branch (g cm-³)
- Huber_value: Huber value measured at each 1-m long collected branch (m² m-²)
- Stomatal_density: Stomatal density (stomata cm-²)
- Stomatal_lenght: Stomatal pore length (excluding guard cells) (µm)
- Fv_Fm: Quantum efficiency of photosystem II
- Annual_growth_AGB: The annual increments of above-ground biomass (AGB) (% AGB year-1)
- DBH: Diameter at the breast height (cm)
- Canopy_openness: Fraction of canopy openness (%)
- Height: Height above the ground level (m)
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- None
Data was derived from the following sources:
- None
The research was conducted at an old-growth forest site located in the Tapajós National Forest (TNF), known as K67 (02°51′S, 54°58′W), south of the city of Santarém (Pará, Brazil). It is an evergreen tropical forest on a well-drained infertile oxisol plateau with an average canopy height of ~40 m (Hutyra et al., 2007). At this field site, where the mean canopy height ranges from approximately 40 to 45 m and a sub-canopy layer spans 15 to 30 m (mean ≈ 28 m) (Hutyra et al., 2007; Hunter et al., 2015), 20 ha of permanent plots have been surveyed in most years since 1999 (Pyle et al., 2008).
Individual leaf-level sampling approach employed advanced tree climbing techniques to access different canopy levels and measure functional traits, including leaf-chlorophyll fluorescence with the MultispeQ.