Find research datasets worth reusing
Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.
106
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
106 results for “plant functional diversity”
Figure 6 in Hundred years of Botany at the NWU: contributions towards understanding plant and algae function, diversity and restoration in a changing environment
Figure 6. Stateoftheart open top chambers for research in ecophysiology (Photo: Jacques Berner).
Data from: Plant diversity and density predict belowground diversity and function in an early successional alpine ecosystem
Despite decades of interest, few studies have provided evidence supporting theoretical expectations for coupled relationships between aboveground and belowground diversity and ecosystem functioning in non-manipulated naturalecosystems. We characterized plant species richness and density, soil bacterial, fungal and eukaryotic species richness and phylogenetic diversity (using 16S, ITS, and 18S gene sequencing), and ecosystem function (levels of soil C and N, and rates of microbial enzyme activities) along a natural gradient in plant richness and density in high-elevation, C-deficient soils to examine the coupling between above- and belowground systems. Overall, we observed a strong positive relationship between aboveground (plant richness and density) and belowground (bacteria, fungi, and non-fungal eukaryotes) richness. In addition to the correlations between plants and soil communities, C and N pools, and rates of enzyme activities increased as plant and soil communities became richer and more diverse. Our results suggest that the theoretically expected positive correlation between above- and belowground communities does exist in natural systems, but may be undetectable in late successional ecosystems due to the buildup of legacy organic matter that results in extremely complex belowground communities. In contrast, microbial communities in early successional systems, such as the system described here, are more directly dependent on contemporary inputs from plants and therefore are strongly correlated with plant diversity and density.
Beyond species richness and community composition: Using plant functional diversity to measure restoration success in jarrah forest
<p>Aim: The importance of restoring ecosystem functions to native systems that have been degraded, damaged or destroyed is increasingly recognised. Yet few studies have measured the effect of restoration efforts on ecosystem functioning or the functional diversity (FD) that underpins it. Here we assessed change in FD of restored assemblages one to 25 years after the onset of post-mine restoration.</p> <p>Location: Northern Jarrah (<i>Eucalyptus marginata</i> Donn ex Sm.) Forest bioregion of south-western Australia.</p> <p>Methods: Functional richness, evenness, divergence and dispersion were derived from five plant functional traits relevant to community reassembly. Effects of three explanatory variables (i.e., age, year restoration was initiated, and time since fire) on six response variables (i.e., four FD indices, species richness, and compositional similarity to nearby reference forest) were analysed using linear mixed models for a dataset with repeated measures of plots through time (n= 810 plots), and linear models for a sub-set of one-time measures of different aged assemblages (i.e., space-for-time approach; n= 490 plots).</p> <p>Results: Functional evenness and functional dispersion increased with age, while functional divergence and functional richness decreased with age. Functional dispersion increased with time since fire, while functional richness decreased with time since fire. Species richness decreased with age, but at 25-years, species richness was comparable to that observed in reference forest. In contrast, similarity showed no relationship with age of restored forest, and at 25-years, similarity of restored forest to reference was low compared with similarity of reference forest to itself. Three of four FD indices had not reached those of reference jarrah forest 25-years after restoration had been initiated.</p> <p>Conclusions: Reassembly of FD suggests importance of environmental filtering and high functional redundancy. A longer time frame may be needed to assess FD of restored assemblages, and in the meantime, species richness is not an adequate surrogate of FD.</p>
Space resource utilization of dominant species integrates abundance- and functional-based processes for better predictions of plant diversity dynamics
<p>Sustainable ecosystem management relies on our ability to predict changes in plant diversity and to understand the underlying mechanisms. Empirical evidence demonstrates that abundance- and functional-based processes simultaneously explain the loss of plant diversity in response to human activities. Recently, a novel indicator based on percent cover (CoverD) and maximum height (HeightD) of the dominant plant species – Space Resource Utilization (SRUD) – has proven to give robust and better predictions of plant diversity dynamics than community biomass. Whether the superior predictive ability of SRUD is due to its capacity to simultaneously capture abundance- and functional-based processes remains unknown. Here, we tested this hypothesis by quantifying mechanistic links between changes in SRUD and biodiversity in response to nutrients and herbivores. Furthermore, we assessed the relative contribution of dominant, intermediate, and rare species to reduced density of individuals by combining null model analysis with field experiments. We found that SRUD successfully captured changes in ground-level light availability and changes in the number of individuals to predict plant diversity dynamics, and each of CoverD and HeightD partly and independently contributed to both processes. Comparative results from null model analysis and field experiments confirmed that individual losses of dominant, intermediate, and rare species followed non-random processes. Specifically, compared with random loss process, rare species lost proportionally more individuals and thus disproportionately contributed to species loss, while dominant and intermediate species lost less. Our results demonstrate that SRUD captures both abundance- and functional-based processes thus explaining why SRUD provides more accurate predictions of changes in species diversity. Given that rare species can play an important role in shaping community structure, resisting against invasion, impacting higher trophic levels, and providing multiple ecosystem functions, reducing the SRU of dominant species could alleviate the risk of exclusion of rare species by mitigating abundance- and functional-based competition processes.</p>
Data from: Savanna resilience to droughts increases with proportion of browsing wild herbivores and plant functional diversity
<p><span>1. Maintaining the resilience and functionality of savannas is key to sustaining the ecosystem services they provide. This maintenance is largely dependent on the resilience of savannas to stressors, such as prolonged droughts. The resilience to drought is largely determined by the interaction of herbivores and the functional composition of vegetation. So far, our understanding and ability to predict the response of savannas to drought under different types of rangeland use and as a function of vegetation composition are still limited.</span></p> <p><span>2. In this study, we used the ecohydrological, spatially-explicit savanna model EcoHyD to determine if the resilience of a savanna rangeland towards prolonged droughts can be enhanced by the choice of rangeland use type (grazer-dominated, mixed-feeders or browser-dominated) and animal density. We evaluated the ability of a Namibian savanna system to withstand droughts and to recover from droughts based on its perennial grass cover and the overall species composition. </span></p> <p><span>3. Generally, we determined a low resilience under high grazer densities.</span> <span>Most importantly, we found that functional diversification of herbivores and plants acted as resilience insurance against droughts, leading to greater resistance and recovery of perennial grasses. In particular, a higher proportion of herbivores allowed for higher resilience, probably also due to a short-term switch to more drought-resistant or unpalatable species. </span></p> <p><span>4. In this case, herbivore diversification was of high self-regulatory value </span><span>by reestablishing trophic complexity</span><span>, reducing the need for additional management interventions. </span></p> <p><span>5. <strong>Synthesis and applications</strong></span><span><strong>. </strong>Savanna systems will be more resistant to drought if (i) a dense perennial grass cover is maintained, protecting the topsoil from heat-induced water losses and erosion, encompassing functionally important species that are particularly well adapted to water stress and that are palatable, if (ii) the grazing pressure is adjusted to the productivity of the system, and (iii) the herbivore community includes browsers. </span></p>
Functional and taxonomic diversity indices of riparian plants in river networks
<p>1. The River Continuum Concept (RCC) predicts a gradual shift of organisms' functional adaptations along the longitudinal (upstream-downstream) gradient, as well as the maximization of the biotic diversity in mid-reaches. Although this theoretical framework was originally developed for stream macroinvertebrates, we tested whether such a pattern can be also observed in riparian plant communities.</p> <p>2. We studied the cover of plant species in riparian forests across two river networks. We analyzed the taxonomic and functional diversity indices, as well as community-weighted means of functional traits in relation to the plots' position in the catchments.</p> <p>3. The observed patterns were largely in line with the predictions of RCC. We discovered a significant decrease in the specific leaf area and an increase in the herbaceous plants' height in communities along a river gradient. There was also a shift in the dispersal syndromes, towards a higher importance of zoochory in the lower reaches.</p> <p>4. The functional richness and divergence displayed unimodal patterns of increasing values in the mid-reaches. The patterns of taxonomic diversity were similar, but some plots in the lowest reaches were more diverse than expected, forming an additional increase in diversity.</p> <p>5. The study shows that plant communities in natural riparian forests show high connectivity along the longitudinal gradient, which along with the environmental gradients creates patterns that are known from theoretical predictions.</p>
The data table of eleven invasive species in Hungary and Romania: Invasive species' cover, invasive species' traits, basic characteristics, trait composition, functional diversity indices and soil parameters of recipient plant communities
<p>We studied 11 widespread herbaceous invasive alien species of East-Central Europe and their 16 impact metrics (resident plant communities' ecological characteristics, trait composition, functional diversity, and soil parameters) by sampling invaded and similar, uninvaded sites (space-for-time substitution method). Our aim was to (1) investigate the detailed ecological impacts of invasive plants on native plant communities; (2) explore the type of cover-impact relationships across impact metrics and their consistency across species; (3) study whether the cover-impact relationship depends on functional traits of invasive species. We present the data table with the 11 invasive species: the status of the sites (invaded, uninvaded), the cover of invasive species at plot level, the invasive species traits (lifespan, height, SLA, seed mass, clonal spread, flowering duration), community characteristics (species richness and diversity, native vegetation cover and bare ground cover at plot level), trait composition of native plant communities (native vegetation height, CWM height, CWM SLA, CWM seed mass, CWM clonal spread), functional diversity (functional richness, functional evenness, functional divergence, functional distance, RaoQ) and soil properties (N, P, organic C, pH).</p>
Data for: Increases in functional diversity of mountain plant communities is mainly driven by species turnover under climate change
<p><span>Warming in mountain regions is projected to be three times faster than the global average. Pronounced climate change will likely lead to species reshuffling in mountain plant communities and consequently change ecosystem resilience and functioning. Yet, little is known about</span><span> the role of inter- versus intraspecific changes of plant traits and their consequences for functional richness and evenness of mountain plant communities under climate change. </span></p> <p><span>We performed a downslope translocation experiment of intact plant-soil mesocosms from an alpine pasture and a subalpine grassland in the Swiss and Austrian Alps to simulate an abrupt shift in climate and removal of dispersal barriers. Translocated plant communities experienced warmer and dryer climatic conditions. </span><span>We found a considerable shift from resource conservative to resource acquisitive leaf-economy in the two climate change scenarios. However, shifts in leaf-economy were mainly attributable to species turnover, namely colonization by novel lowland species with trait expressions for a wider range of resource use. We also found an increase in vegetative height of the warmed and drought-affected alpine plant community, while trait plasticity to warming and drought was limited to few graminoid species of the subalpine plant community. </span><span>Our results highlight the contrast between the strong competitive potential of novel lowland species in quickly occupying available niche space and native species' lack of both the intraspecific trait variability and the plant functional trait expressions needed to increase functional richness under warming and drought. This is particularly important for the trailing range of many mountain species (i.e. subalpine zone) where upward moving lowland species are becoming more abundant and abiotic climate stressors are likely to become more frequent in the near future. </span><span>Our study emphasizes mountain plant communities' vulnerability to novel climates and biotic interactions under climate change and highlights graminoid species as potential winners of a warmer and dryer future.</span></p>
Data from: Multiple facets of diversity effects on plant productivity: species richness, functional diversity, species identity and intraspecific competition
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Agricultural intensification reduces plant taxonomic and functional diversity across European arable systems.
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Non-linear thresholds in the effects of island area on functional diversity in woody plant communities
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Beyond species richness and community composition: Using plant functional diversity to measure restoration success in jarrah forest
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: The functional diversity–productivity relationship of woody plants is climatically sensitive
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Savanna resilience to droughts increases with proportion of browsing wild herbivores and plant functional diversity
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Large invasive herbaceous plants decrease the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of birds via their reproductive traits
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data for: Increases in functional diversity of mountain plant communities is mainly driven by species turnover under climate change
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Land-use impacts on plant functional diversity throughout Europe
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Plant functional traits affect invertebrate predator diversity via bottom-up effects in a deadwood-based food web
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Soil and ground-dwelling arthropod diversity on green roofs: Functional groups are strongly influenced by substrate depth and plant community
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Functional diversity and habitat preferences of native grassland plants and ground-dwelling invertebrates in private gardens along an urbanisation gradient
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.