TY - JOUR
T1 - Plant traits and associated ecological data from Afromontane grasslands of Maloti-Drakensberg, South Africa
AU - Halbritter, Aud H.
AU - Vandvik, Vigdis
AU - Bison, Nicole N.
AU - Clark, Vincent Ralph
AU - Cross, Marcella
AU - Greve, Michelle
AU - Kemppinen, Julia
AU - Kühn, Nicola
AU - Maitner, Brian S.
AU - Michaletz, Sean T.
AU - Navarro, Jocelyn
AU - Niittynen, Pekka
AU - le Roux, Peter Christiaan
AU - White, Joseph D.M.
AU - Abebe, Bezawit Yilma
AU - Arzt, Nadine Michaela
AU - Baldaszti, Ludwig
AU - Aragón, Lina
AU - Beale, Samuel
AU - Birkeli, Kristine
AU - Courtenay, Anya P.
AU - Dawson, Hilary Rose
AU - Draganova, Liliya Kirilova
AU - Gillespie, Lauren E.
AU - Goff, Kaleb A.
AU - Gowera, Anna Tariro Deirdre
AU - Gualdoni-Becerra, Axel
AU - Gwate, Onalenna
AU - Hagenberg, Liyenne Wu Chen
AU - Hansda, Priya
AU - Harris, Rebecca
AU - Lee, Joshua
AU - Louw, Michelle A.
AU - Määttänen, Aino Maja
AU - Malamud, Nathan
AU - Malekana, Lesego
AU - Mc Millan, Bridgette
AU - Rabi, Nasser
AU - Mustri, Michael
AU - Mekasha, Samson
AU - Shemsu Nasir, Sara
AU - Navarro-Rosales, Francisco
AU - Ofosu-Bamfo, Bismark
AU - Phiri, Akuonani Zakeyo
AU - Rentier, Eline Sterre
AU - Vázquez-Ribera, Carmen
AU - Rivas, Grecia
AU - Satriawan, Tin Widyani
AU - Smit, Imke Chrissie
AU - Soremi, Paul Abayomi Sobowale
AU - Stokka, Ragnhild Svensen
AU - Šubrt, Jiří
AU - Trepel, Jonas
AU - Wieczorkowski, Jakub D.
AU - Enquist, Brian J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.
PY - 2025/12
Y1 - 2025/12
N2 - The Afromontane region harbors ancient grasslands with high levels of endemism, now under threat from land-use change, biological invasions and encroachment, and climate warming. As part of an international Plant Functional Traits Course we collected comprehensive trait data in five sites along an elevation gradient from 2,000-2,800 m a.s.l. and in a climate warming experiment at 3,064 m a.s.l. in the Maloti-Drakensberg, South Africa. We sampled 24,405 aboveground and 94 root trait measurements from 171 vascular plant taxa paired with 11 other datasets reflecting vegetation and structure, leaf and ecosystem carbon and water fluxes, leaf hyperspectral reflectance, and microclimatic and environmental data. Our data provide the first recorded trait data for 47 vascular plant species and more than double the trait data coverage from the Maloti-Drakensberg (106% increase). This study offers insights into plant and ecosystem functioning, provides a baseline for assessing impacts of environmental change, builds local competence, and aligns with similar data from China, Svalbard, Peru, and Norway.
AB - The Afromontane region harbors ancient grasslands with high levels of endemism, now under threat from land-use change, biological invasions and encroachment, and climate warming. As part of an international Plant Functional Traits Course we collected comprehensive trait data in five sites along an elevation gradient from 2,000-2,800 m a.s.l. and in a climate warming experiment at 3,064 m a.s.l. in the Maloti-Drakensberg, South Africa. We sampled 24,405 aboveground and 94 root trait measurements from 171 vascular plant taxa paired with 11 other datasets reflecting vegetation and structure, leaf and ecosystem carbon and water fluxes, leaf hyperspectral reflectance, and microclimatic and environmental data. Our data provide the first recorded trait data for 47 vascular plant species and more than double the trait data coverage from the Maloti-Drakensberg (106% increase). This study offers insights into plant and ecosystem functioning, provides a baseline for assessing impacts of environmental change, builds local competence, and aligns with similar data from China, Svalbard, Peru, and Norway.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105021781091
U2 - 10.1038/s41597-025-06045-x
DO - 10.1038/s41597-025-06045-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 41224796
AN - SCOPUS:105021781091
SN - 2052-4463
VL - 12
JO - Scientific Data
JF - Scientific Data
IS - 1
M1 - 1778
ER -
SDG 13 Climate Action
SDG 15 Life on Land