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

[摘要] Functional trait databases are emerging as a crucial toolfor a wide range of ecological studies, including next-generation vegetation modelling across the world. However, few large-scale studies havebeen reported on plant traits in the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the cradle ofEast Asian flora and fauna with specific alpine ecosystems, and no report on plant trait databases could be found. In this work, an extensive dataset of11 leaf functional traits (TiP-Leaf), mainly for herbs and shrubs and a few trees on the TP, was compiled through field surveys. The TiP-Leaf dataset,which was compiled from 336 sites distributed mainly on the plateau surface and the northern margin of the TP across alpine and temperate vegetationregions and sampled from 2018 to 2021, contained 1692 morphological traitmeasurements of leaf thickness, leaf fresh weight, leaf dry weight, leafdry-matter content, leaf water content, leaf area, specific leaf area andleaf mass per area and 1645 chemical element trait measurements of leafcarbon, nitrogen and phosphorus contents. Thus, 468 species that belong to184 genera and 51 families were obtained and measured. In addition to leaftrait measurements, the geographic coordinates, bioclimate variables,disturbance intensities and vegetation types of each site were also recorded. The dataset could provide solid data support to effectively quantify themodern ecological features of alpine ecosystems, thereby further evaluatingthe response of alpine ecosystems to climate change and human disturbances and improving the next-generation vegetation model. The dataset, which isavailable from the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center (TPDC; Jin et al.,2022a; https://doi.org/10.11888/Terre.tpdc.272516 ), can make a greatcontribution to the regional and global plant trait databases.

[学科分类] 眼科学