Abstract
Motivation: The Tundra Trait Team (TTT) database includes field-based measurements of key traits related to plant form and function at multiple sites across the tundra biome. This dataset can be used to address theoretical questions about plant strategy and trade-offs, trait-environment relationships and environmental filtering, and trait variation across spatial scales, to validate satellite data, and to inform earth system model parameters.
Main types of variable contained: The database contains 81,537 measurements of 18 plant traits. The most frequently measured traits (>1,000 observations each) include plant height, leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf fresh and dry mass, leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen content, leaf carbon content, leaf phosphorus content, seed mass, and stem specific density.
Spatial location and grain: Measurements were collected in tundra habitats in both the northern and southern hemispheres, including Arctic sites in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Fennoscandia, and Siberia and alpine sites in the European Alps, Colorado Rockies, Caucasus, Ural Mountains, Pyrenees, Australian Alps, and Central Otago Mountains (New Zealand). More than 99% of observations are georeferenced.
Time period and grain: All data were collected between 1964 and 2016. A small number of sites have repeated trait measurements at two or more time periods.
Major taxa and level of measurement: Trait measurements were made on 858 terrestrial vascular plant species growing in tundra habitats. Most observations are on individuals (87%), while a small number represent plot or site means or maximums per species.
Software format: csv file and GitHub repository with data cleaning scripts in R; contribution to TRY plant trait database (www.try-db.org) to be included in the next version release.
Keywords: plant functional traits, tundra, Arctic, alpine
