TiP-Leaf: A dataset of leaf traits across vegetation types on the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Abstract. Functional trait databases are emerging as a crucial tool for a wide range of ecological studies including the next-generation vegetation modeling across the world. However, few large-scale studies have been reported on plant traits in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the cradle of East Asian flora and fauna with specific alpine ecosystems, no report on plant trait databases could be found. Here an extensive dataset of 11 leaf functional traits (TiP-Leaf) for mainly herbs and shrubs and a few trees on the TP was compiled through field surveys. The TiP-Leaf dataset, compiled from 336 sites distributed mainly in the plateau surface and the northern margin of the TP across alpine and temperate vegetation regions and sampled from 2018 to 2021, contains 1692 morphological trait measurements of leaf thickness, leaf fresh weight, leaf dry weight, leaf dry-matter content, leaf water content, leaf area, specific leaf area and leaf mass per area and 1645 chemical element trait measurements of leaf carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus contents. Thus, 468 species belonging to 184 genera and 51 families were obtained and measured. In addition to leaf trait measurements, geographic coordinates, bioclimate variables, disturbance intensity and vegetation types of each site were also recorded. The dataset could provide solid data support for effectively quantifying the modern ecological features of alpine ecosystems, further evaluating the response of alpine ecosystem to climate change and human disturbances and improving the next-generation vegetation model. It could be a great contribution to the regional and global plant trait databases. The dataset is available from the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center (TPDC; Jin et al., 2022; https://doi.org/10.11888/Terre.tpdc.272516).

TiP-Leaf: a dataset of leaf traits across vegetation types on the Tibetan Plateau

“…As studies based on the TiP-Leaf dataset are already underway, researchers interested in using such data previously are strongly recommended to contact the authors to avoid overlapping studies. The dataset will be available through the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center (TPDC; Jin et al, 2022a; https://doi.org/10.11888/Terre.tpdc.272516) and shall also be made available via the global TRY plant trait database (Kattge et al, 2011(Kattge et al, , 2020; https://www.try-db.org/, last access: 18 July 2022). The TiP-Leaf dataset was compiled from direct field measurements, covering a great proportion of plant species and vegetation types on the highest plateau in the world.…”