Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

Data from: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities shaped by host-plant affect the outcome of plant-soil feedback in dryland restoration

1. Plant inoculation with Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) can be a useful tool to overcome challenges in dry forest restoration. However, advances are still needed to guide choices regarding soil origin and inoculum production methods, since outcomes can vary due to plant-soil feedbacks (PSF). We evaluate how soil origin and host plant used for inoculum production affect AMF community and therefore the plant biomass accumulation and functional traits. 2. In the conditioning phase, we investigated whether soils originating from a recovered area (Quarry) and a vegetation fragment (Caatinga) would have their AMF communities modified due to the growth of Sorghum bicolor (used for inoculum production) and Senna uniflora (used in Brazilian semiarid restoration). In the feedback phase, we compared the performance of four plants species growing on a degraded soil and inoculated or not by a mixture of AMF isolates in comparison to soil inoculum prepared from the conditioning phase. 3. The inoculum from Caatinga presented seven times more AMF species compared to that from the Quarry, which presented ruderal and stress tolerant species. The soil inoculum conditioned by S. uniflora, regardless of origin, presented greater evenness compared to the soil inoculum produced with S. bicolor and promoted 33% more plant biomass compared to the control without inoculation. Root colonization by AMF increased PSF and decreased plant investment in functional traits such as specific root length (SRL) and specific leaf area (SLA). 4. Our results demonstrate the importance of adopting strategies that preserve local adaptation of inoculants produced. The use of native plant for propagation of native AMF in the conditioning phase provided more positive responses for Mesosphaerum suaveolens and Rhaphiodon echinus than inoculated with introduced AMF isolates. This is probably due to the interaction of inoculated plants with responsive AMF present in the soil. 5. Synthesis and applications: Our study shows that conditioning field-collected soil with S. uniflora and using it for inoculation can be a simple technique to promote biomass accumulation for other native herbaceous species. This preserves the compatibility between the soil inoculum produced with native AMF and native plants, representing an important tool for restoration programs.

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

Data for: Soil cadmium stress-mediated sexual difference in phyllosphere microbiome and associated pathogen resistance of poplars

Phyllosphere associated microorganisms play a crucial role in protecting plants from diseases, while their composition and diversity are strongly influenced by heavy metal contaminants. As dioecious plants exhibited sexual dimorphism in metal accumulation and tolerance between male and female individuals, in this study we used male and female full-sibs of Populus deltoides to investigate whether the two plant sexes will present sexual differences in phyllosphere microbiome structure and associated pathogen resistance against a leaf pathogenic fungus after soil cadmium (Cd) exposure. We found that Cd-treated male plants grew better and accumulated more leaf Cd than females. Cd stress reduced leaf lesion areas of both plant sexes after leaf pathogen infection, whereas male plants exhibited better resistance than females. More importantly, Cd exposure differentially altered the structure and function of the phyllosphere microbiome of male and female plants, with more abundant ecologically beneficial microbes but decreased pathogenic fungal taxa harbored in male phyllosphere. Further in vitro toxicity tests suggested that such sexual difference in pathogen resistance between the two plant sexes could attribute to direct Cd toxicity and indirect shifts in phyllosphere microbiome. This study provides implication for understanding the underlying mechanism of heavy metals involved in plant-pathogen interactions.

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2022View details →

Open Data_Remedial trial of sequential anoxic_oxic chemico_biological treatment for decontamination of extreme hexachlorocyclohexane concentrations in polluted soil

Open data sheet used for the preparation of the publication "Remedial trial of sequential anoxic/oxic chemico-biological treatment for decontamination of extreme hexachlorocyclohexane concentrations in polluted soil" containing graphs and other data

opencc-by-4.0Nov 2022View details →

Surface and subsurfaca data collected during artificial rainfall experimetns on tilled soil with wheel tracks

This dataset contains data measured during the artificial rainfall experiment conducted within the project LTC18030 - The effects of land use changes on soil erosion, sediment transport, water quality and runoff conditions in 2018 and 2019 at experimental site Řisuty, Czech Republic. This dataset contains raw data (xlsx, csv) and images of more qualitative data such as electrical resistivity tomography profiles. For further information about the experiments and analysis please check: Jeřábek, J., Zumr, D., Laburda, T., Krása, J., Dostál, T., 2022. Soil surface connectivity of tilled soil with wheel tracks and its development under simulated rainfall. J. Hydrol. 613. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128322 The dataset consists of following files: <ul> <li>experimental_plots_overview.pdf: overview of the setup and map of the experimental site</li> <li>electrical_resistivity_tomography.pdf: overview of the ERT measurement is provided in this file</li> <li>penetrometry.pdf: penetrometry was done in and in the vicinity of the experimental plot</li> <li>basic_variables_of_experiments.xlsx: basic information about each of the experiments</li> <li>measuted_soil_hydraulic_properties.xlsx: summarised the measured soil hydraulic propertie for all used method and for each plot</li> <li>optimized-parameters-all.xlsx: optimal parameters for all optimized scenarios</li> <li>optimized-parameters-stats.xlsx: statistics of optimal parameters for each soil layer and plot</li> <li>vol1-soil-water-retention-data.xlsx: soil water retention data from the sand tank and pressure chamber measurement of the vol1 experiment</li> <li>vol2-soil-water-retention-data.xlsx: soil water retention data from the sand tank and pressure chamber measurement of the vol2 experiment</li> <li>soil_loss.csv: soil loss time series</li> <li>surface_runoff.csv: surface runoff time series</li> <li>soil_water_pressure.csv: soil water pressure time series</li> <li>soil_water_pressure_positions.csv: position of tensiometers on each plot</li> <li>volumetric_water_content.csv: volumetric water content time series</li> <li>volumetric_water_content_positions.csv: position of vwc probe on each plot</li> <li>start_stop_rainfall_info.csv: information about the time span of each experiment</li> </ul>

opencc-zeroNov 2022View details →

Data for: Soil incubation data with intensified water variability

The dataset is from an incubation experiment which was carried out in the dark at the temperature of 15°C and the relative humidity of 40% for approximately three months. The predominant soil sampled from a temperate grassland of northern China, it is chernozem and belongs to sandy loam, with sand, silt and clay percentages of 54%, 41% and 5%, respectively. The SOC content of the 0-10 cm layer is 4.2% and the pH is 6.9. This study manipulated soil water levels and the intensity of water variability with a total of six treatments. There were four replicates for each treatment for gas sampling. The average cumulative CO2 release and the soil aggregate of the four replicates and its standard error (SE) are provided in the dataset. One additional group of destructive samplings and the soils for the gas sampling were collected at the wet end and dry end in the last drying-rewetting cycle, respectively. 14 phospholipid fatty acids (FLFA) markers were selected from the combination results of the wet and dry ends in the last drying-rewetting cycle.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2022View details →

Data for the effects of temperature variation on the thermal adaptation of soil microbial respiration

Data for the effects of temperature variation on the thermal adaptation of soil microbial respiration

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2022View details →

soil oxygen and nitrogen gas emissions data data

Methods Study Location This study was conducted in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF), a U.S. National Science Foundation funded Critical Zone Observatory and Long Term Ecological Research site in the USDA Forest Service managed El Yunque National Forest in northeastern Puerto Rico (Fig. 1a). The LEF is a premontane tropical forest landscape that receives 3 to 4 m of rain annually with a mean annual temperature of 23°C (Scatena, 1989; Garcia-Montino et al., 1996). Rainfall at the time of sampling was typical of this location and preceded the 2015 drought, which began in May of 2015 (O’Connel et al., 2018). We sampled in forests dominated by Tabonuco (Dacryodes excelsa Vahl) and underlain by volcaniclastic parent material in the Bisley 3 watershed (400 m asl; Silver et al., 1999) and near the El Verde field station (500 m asl, Crow 1980).  Experimental design We collected soils from two sites to examine how topographic controls on soil O2 influence N gas emissions. First, we measured how N emissions varied across a macrotopographic gradient by collecting soil cores from ridge, slope and valley positions (4 replicates per topographic position) from sites near the El Verde field station (Fig. 1b) that are described in O’Connell et al. (2018). Macrotopography soils were collected and analyzed for N gas emissions at 0%, 10% and 20% headspace O2 in April of 2015. Second, we measured how N gas emissions varied across a microtopographic gradient, which consisted of 16 plots (1 m2) that differed in soil moisture and soil O2 dynamics, as described by Hall et al. (2013). Because we did not measure O2 availability at the time of this soil collection, the microtopography sites were binned by historic O2 status into three categories: low, medium and high O2 based on Hall et al. (2013) (see Soil oxygen and soil moisture below). Microtopography soils were collected from Bisley watershed 3 (Fig. 1c) and were analyzed for N gas emissions at 0%, 5%, 10% and 20% headspace O2 in January of 2015.    Soil sampling             Mineral soils (0-10 cm) were collected using a split core sampler (3.4 cm width) and hammer auger in order to avoid compaction and to keep soil core structure intact. Soils were collected in plastic sleeves, stored at room temperature in Ziploc bags and transported to the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, NY USA the same day they were sampled. All laboratory analyses occurred within 3 days of soil sampling. Soil chemical analyses and N2, N2O and CO2emissions were measured at the Cary Institute, while soil O2 and soil moisture data were collected in the field (see Soil oxygen and soil moisture below). N2, N2O and CO2 emissions  The Nitrogen Free Air Recirculation Method (N-FARM) laboratory-based gas flow incubation system was used to directly measure N2, N2O, and CO2 emissions from intact soil cores (Burgin et al., 2010). Soil cores were sealed in jars and cyclically flushed and evacuated with a given helium-oxygen mixture (0, 5, 10 or 20% O2) for ~16 hrs to completely replace the N2 atmosphere. After this flush, headspace samples were directly transferred via sample lines to Shimadzu GC 14 gas chromatographs equipped with thermal conductivity (for quantification of N2 and CO2) and electron capture (for N2O) detectors (Burgin et al., 2010). Soil cores were incubated at multiple headspace O2 concentrations, and each incubation took place on a separate day using fresh soil cores in order to avoid soil nitrate depletion. As a quality control measure, empty jars and autoclaved soil cores were run to ensure that the system was leak-free and that N2 was not leaking from soil pores that were not adequately flushed prior to measurement. The method detection limit for the system was 3.98 ppm N2, 0.0678 ppm N2O, and 10.5 ppm CO2, based on the standard deviation of six replicate standards (MDL = T(df,0.01) × SD; Morse et al., 2015). Soil oxygen and soil moisture             We relied on previous year-long continuous soil O2 measurements at the microtopography plots (Supplemental Figure 1; Hall et al., 2013) to classify these sites into three categories: low, medium and high O2. At the macrotopography plots, we measured soil moisture and O2 for ~1 year using time-domain reflectometry (Campbell Scientific, Logan, Utah) and galvanic cell sensors (Apogee Instruments, Logan, Utah) housed in polyvinyl-chloride tubes installed at a depth of 10 cm. Soil O2 levels and precipitation during the time of soil O2 data collection (2010) and soil core collection (2015) were typical of this forest under non-drought conditions (Supplemental Figure 1; Silver et al. 1999, Silver et al., 2013; O’Connell et al., 2018). Soil O2 concentrations measured in the field are hereby referred to as “in situ” in order to differentiate them from incubation headspace O2 manipulations. Gravimetric soil moisture was also determined on a subsample of all soil cores at the time of sampling by calculating mass loss after oven drying soils at 105°C for 48 hrs. Soil cores were stored in Ziploc bags at the time of collection until the time of analysis to maintain field moisture. In situ soil O2 data collected across the microtopography gradient several years prior to N measurements were used to bin the microtopography plots into groups that were comparable with headspace manipulated O2 levels. Plots with mean in situ soil O2 concentrations from 5-10% are referred to as “Low”, 10-15% are referred to as “Medium”, and 15-20% are referred to as “High”. Since no plot had a mean soil O2 concentration < 5%, a fourth O2 category was omitted from our analyses (Fig. 3).

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2021View details →

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) data from two pyroxene grains from Apollo 17 soil 71501

This dataset contains hyperspectral EELS and EDS data for two pyroxene grains from Apollo 17 soil 71501 as well as iron oxidation state standards used in the original article "Detection of ferric iron in an exsolved lunar pyroxene using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS): Implications for space weathering and redox conditions on the Moon" by Brittany Cymes, Katherine Burgess, and Rhonda Stroud. (doi: 10.1111/maps.13941). The purpose of this dataset is to document chemical characteristics of lunar pyroxenes that can be used to interpret conditions of formation and evaluate chemical changes resultant from the process of space weathering.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

Data for: Plant roots fuel tropical soil animal communities

Belowground life relies on plant litter, while its linkage to living roots had long been understudied, and remains unknown in the tropics. Here, we analysed the response of 30 soil animal groups to root trenching and litter removal in rainforest and plantations in Sumatra, and found that roots are similarly important to soil fauna as litter. Trenching effects were stronger in soil than in litter, with an overall decrease in animal abundance in rainforest by 42% and in plantations by 30%. Litter removal little affected animals in soil layers, but decreased the total abundance by 60% in rainforest and rubber plantations but not in oil palm plantations. Litter and root effects on animal group abundances were explained by body size or vertical distribution. Our study quantifies principle carbon pathways in soil food webs under tropical land use, providing the basis for mechanistic modelling and ecosystem-friendly management of tropical soils.

opencc-zeroDec 2022View details →

Data for: Earlier leaf senescence dates are constrained by soil moisture

The unprecedented warming that has occurred in recent decades has led to later autumn leaf senescence dates (LSD) throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Yet, great uncertainties still exist regarding the strength of these delaying trends, especially in terms of how soil moisture affects them. Here we show that changes in soil moisture in 1982–2015 had a substantial impact on autumn LSD in one fifth of the vegetated areas in the Northern Hemisphere (>30° N), and how it contributed more to LSD variability than either temperature, precipitation or radiation. We developed a new model based on soil-moisture-constrained cooling degree days (CDDSM) to characterize the effects of soil moisture on LSD and compared its performance with the cooling degree days (CDD), Delpierre (DM) and spring-influenced autumn (SIAM) models. We show that the CDDSM model with inputs of temperature and soil moisture outperformed the three other models for LSD modelling and had an overall higher correlation coefficient (R), a lower root mean square error (RMSE) and lower Akaike information criterion (AIC) between observations and model predictions. These improvements were particularly evident in arid and semi-arid regions. We studied future LSD using the CDDSM model under two scenarios (SSP126 and SSP585) and found that predicted LSD was 4.1±1.4 days and 5.8±2.8 days earlier under SSP126 and SSP585, respectively, than other models for the end of this century. Our study therefore reveals the importance of soil moisture in regulating autumn LSD and, in particular, highlights how coupling this effect with LSD models can improve simulations of the response of vegetation phenology to future climate change.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2023View details →

Supplementary data to: Soil Moisture to Runoff (SM2R) A data-driven model for runoff estimation across poorly gauged Asian water towers based on soil moisture dynamics

This data archive includes simulated monthly runoff anomaly using the Soil Moisture to Runoff model during 1981‒2020 over the representative drainage basin in each water tower. Please see Readme for more data information. For calculation details please see the publication.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

Data from: Plant attributes interact with fungal pathogens and nitrogen addition to drive soil enzymatic activities and their temporal variation

Nitrogen enrichment can alter soil communities and their functioning directly, via changes in nutrient availability and stoichiometry, or indirectly, by changing plant communities or the abundance of consumers. However, most studies have only focused on one of these potential drivers and we know little about the relative importance of the different mechanisms (changes in nutrient availability, in plant diversity or functional composition, or in consumer abundance) by which nitrogen enrichment affects soil functioning. In addition, soil functions could vary dramatically between seasons, however, they are typically measured only once during the peak growing season. We therefore know little about the drivers of intra-annual stability in soil functioning. In this study, we measured activities of β-glucosidase and acid phosphatase, two extracellular enzymes that indicate soil functioning. We did so in a large grassland experiment which tested the effects, and relative importance, of nitrogen enrichment, plant functional composition and diversity, and foliar pathogen presence (controlled by fungicide) on soil functioning. We measured the activity of the two enzymes across seasons and years to assess the stability and temporal dynamics of soil functioning. Overall β-glucosidase activity was slightly increased by nitrogen enrichment over time but did not respond to the other experimental treatments. Conversely, plant functional diversity, and interactions between plant attributes and fungicide application, were important drivers of mean acid phosphatase activity. The temporal stability of both soil enzymes was differently affected by two facets of plant diversity: species richness increased temporal stability and functional diversity decreased it; however, these effects were dampened when nitrogen and fungicide were added. Synthesis: The fungicide effects on soil enzyme activities suggest that foliar pathogens can also affect belowground processes and the interacting effect of fungicide and plant diversity suggests that these plant enemies can modulate the relationship between plant diversity and ecosystem functioning. The contrasting effects of our treatments on the mean versus stability of soil enzyme activities clearly show the need to consider temporal dynamics in belowground processes, to better understand the responses of soil microbes to environmental changes such as nutrient enrichment.

opencc-by-4.0Jan 2023View details →

Spectral data associated to the publication: "Reflectance study of ice and Mars soil simulant associations—II. CO2 and H2O ice" by Z. Yoldi et al. (Icarus 386, 2022)

This is the complete set of experimental VIS-NIR reflectance data collected by Z. Yoldi and co-authors for the article "Reflectance study of ice and Mars soil simulant associations—II. CO2 and H2O ice" published in Icarus 386 (2022). doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115116. A pre-print of the article is also freely available on ArXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2207.13905 The article provides the methodology for the spectral aquisitions, discussion of the errors and uncertainties, analysis of the spectra and implications for the composition of Solar System surfaces. The spectral data are organised in folders corresponding to the different types of experiments detailed in the article. In case both hyperspectral and multispectral data were acquired, they are organised in subfolders. The spectral files inside these folders and subfolders have the following naming convention: spectrum_YYYYMMDD_experiment_name_TYPE_XX_YYY.csv Where TYPE is either multi (multispectral) or hyper (hyperspectral), XX indicates different samples within the experiment (see paper, figures and tables) and YYY is a sequential number in case of a temporal evolution (sublimation experiment in "20180207_ternary_mixture" with 12 timesteps).  The files are in csv format (columns separated by comma) and the content of each column is indicated in the first line (header).

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

Alpine climate and soils heterogeneity data and simulation results

We developed metrics of climatic and edaphic heterogeneity, using principal components analyses and the shoelace algorithm, and added elevation range. We applied commonality analysis to partition the unique and shared explanation of the observed vascular plant species richness among selected metrics. A simulation was developed to separate the relative importance of area and heterogeneity at different extents and representations of spatial nestedness, and the heterogeneity – effective area tradeoff was evaluated by altering spatial discreteness. The simulations revealed that heterogeneity was consistently more important, but less so among smaller areas. This qualitative pattern was maintained regardless of whether and how nestedness was represented. The heterogeneity – effective area tradeoff occurred in a few simulations of more discrete habitats.

Raw sequence data and OTU tables of soil microorganisms obtained across a summit in the Lesotho highlands

Mountain regions represent unique environments characterized by strong topographical diversity which drive climatic and environmental variability within these environments. These regions thus provide an opportunity to explore the relationships between various environmental factors and soil microorganisms. In this study, we investigated the impact of micro-topographical (i.e., north/south-facing slope aspects and flat plateau between them) variations on microbial diversity and community structures across a Lesotho mountain summit. Raw sequenced data were generated using the Illumina MiSeq platform on DNA extracted from soil samples collected across the plateau, north- and south-facing slopes. This data was then used for taxonomic classification of the bacterial and fungal OTUs for the determination of the alpha- and beta-diversity across the slopes. These analyses revealed that a relatively greater bacterial and fungal diversity could be observed for the north-facing slope compared to the south-facing slope and plateau. While there was no difference in group variance of bacterial and fungal community structures across the plateau, north- and south-facing slopes. Multiple comparison analyses were conducted to determine the impact of various abiotic and geographical factors on bacterial and fungal diversity and community structures. These analyses indicated that the slope aspect significantly affects bacterial and fungal community structures at this location. These results provide an original insight into soil microbial diversity in the Lesotho highlands and offer an opportunity to investigate the response of soil microorganisms to changes in environmental and climatic factors in highly variable mountain environments such as the Lesotho highlands.

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

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).

Data for: Local conditions matter: Minimal and variable effects of soil disturbance on microbial communities and functions in European vineyards

Soil tillage or herbicide applications are commonly used in agriculture for weed control. These measures may also represent a disturbance for soil microbial communities and their functions. However, the generality of response patterns of microbial communities and functions to disturbance have rarely been studied at large geographical scales. We investigated how a soil disturbance gradient (low, intermediate, high), realized by either tillage or herbicide application, affects diversity and composition of soil bacterial and fungal communities as well as soil functions in vineyards across five European countries. Microbial alpha-diversity metrics responded to soil disturbance sporadically, but inconsistently across countries. Increasing soil disturbance changed soil microbial community composition at the European level. However, the effects of soil disturbance on the variation of microbial communities were smaller compared to the effects of location and soil covariates. Microbial respiration was consistently impaired by soil disturbance, while effects on decomposition of organic substrates were inconsistent and showed positive and negative responses depending on the respective country. Therefore, we conclude that it is difficult to extrapolate results from one locality to others because microbial communities and environmental conditions vary strongly over larger geographical scales.

opencc-by-4.0Feb 2023View details →

Data set for the article "One-time freeze-thawing or carbon input events have long-term legacies in soil microbial communities"

The following are data and code used for statistical analysis and figure plotting in the manuscript Gorka et al. (2023) "One-time freeze-thawing or carbon input events have long-term legacies in soil microbial communities", Geoderma, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2023.116399">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2023.116399</a> It contains the following files: <ol> <li>Microbial PLFA and NLFA analysis files (contained in Fatty_acid_analysis.zip) <ul> <li>PLFA and NLFA abundance data, in nmol C g-1 dw (in fatty_acid_data.csv)</li> <li>Taxonomic specificities of fatty acids, needed for R-script to run (in phylum.csv)</li> <li>An R Script reproducing the statistical analysis, figure plotting and output for tables, as used in the manuscript (Fatty_acid_analysis.R)</li> </ul> </li> <li>Soil C and N stoichiometry analysis files (contained in TOC_TN_analysis.zip) <ul> <li>Dissolved organic C (DOC), total dissolved N (TN), and C and N in microbial biomass (Cmic, Nmic) abundance data, in mg g-1 dw (in toc_tn_data.csv)</li> <li>An R Script reproducing the statistical analysis, figure plotting and output for tables, as used in the manuscript (TOC_TN_analysis.R)</li> </ul> </li> </ol>

Data for: Local adaptation of switchgrass drives trait relations to yield and differential responses to climate and soil environments

Switchgrass, a potential biofuel crop, is a genetically diverse species with phenotypic plasticity enabling it to grow in a range of environments. Two primary divergent ecotypes, uplands and lowlands, exhibit trait combinations representative of acquisitive and conservative growth allocation strategies, respectively. Whether these ecotypes respond differently to various types of environmental drivers remains unclear but is crucial to understanding how switchgrass varieties will respond to climate change. We grew two upland, two lowland, and two intermediate/hybrid cultivars of switchgrass at three sites along a latitudinal gradient in the central United States. Over a 4-year period, we measured plant functional traits and biomass yields and evaluated genotype-by-environment (G´E) interaction effects by analyzing switchgrass responses to soil and climate variables. We found substantial evidence of G´E interactions on biomass yield, primarily due to deviations in the response of the southern lowland cultivar Alamo, which produced more biomass in hotter and drier environments relative to other cultivars. While lowland cultivars had the highest potential for yield, their yields were more variable year-to-year compared to other cultivars, suggesting greater sensitivity to environmental perturbations. Models comparing soil and climate principal components as explanatory variables revealed soil properties, especially nutrients, to be most effective at predicting switchgrass biomass yield. Also, conservative plant traits such as high stem mass and tiller height became increasingly positively associated with biomass yield at lower latitudes where the climate is hotter and drier, regardless of ecotype. Lowland cultivars, however, showed a greater predisposition to exhibit these conservative traits. These results suggest switchgrass trait allocation trade-offs that prioritize aboveground biomass production are more tightly associated in hot, dry environments and that lowland cultivars may exhibit a more specialist life strategy relative to other cultivars. Altogether, this research provides essential knowledge for improving the viability of switchgrass as a biofuel crop.