Decoupling of uptake and transport-related traits in absorptive roots across coexisting herbaceous species in alpine meadows

The anatomical structure of roots determines their function. Coexisting species complementarily forage nutrients by roots themselves (e.g., root strategy) and their fungal partners (e.g., mycorrhizal strategy), leading to a tradeoff between root strategy and mycorrhizal strategy. However, few studies have specifically evaluated whether and how the root anatomical structures are involved in this tradeoff, especially for species in alpine ecosystems limited by extreme climate.Here, absorptive root anatomical and chemical traits and three key root traits commonly associated with nutrient foraging strategies, i.e., root strategy indicated by first-order root length and root branching intensity and mycorrhizal strategy indicated by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization, were examined across 68 herbaceous species in alpine meadows of the Tibetan Plateau.We observed that absorptive roots with higher branching intensity had more protoxylem poles, thinner cortices and smaller cortical cells..., Abstract
 
In this study we measured the anatomical traits, morphological traits and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization of absorptive roots of 68 herbaceous species in alpine meadows of the Tibetan Plateau. 
 
Usage notes
 
These data were collected in alpine meadows of the Tibetan Plateau. Three sites are selected. Site 1 was in Hongyuan County, Sichuan Province, and Sites 2 and 3 were in Gannan Grassland Ecosysstem National Obervation and Research Station, Gansu Province, P.R., China.  Details for each dataset are provided in the README file.
 
Datasets included:
 
All root trait data collected in this study. Columns include species names, family names, plant growth form, and root traits. Abbreviations and units are as follows. Root diameter (RD, μm), cortical thickness (CT, μm), cortical cell diameter (CCDM, μm), cortical cell density (CCDS,×102 mm-2), stelar diameter (SD,μm), vessel diameter (VDM,μm), vessel density, (VDS,×102 mm-2), protoxylem pole number (PXP), nitrogen co..., , # Decoupling of uptake- and transport-related traits in absorptive roots across coexisting herbaceous species in alpine meadows

## Description of the data and file structure

**Trait abbreviations and units:**
RD (μm): root diameter; CT (μm): Cortical thickness; CCDM (μm): cortical cell diameter ; CCDS (×102 mm-2): cortical cell density; SD (μm): stelar diameter; VDM (μm): vessel diameter; VDS (×102 mm-2): vessel density; PXP: protoxylem pole number; NC (%): nitrogen concentration; CC (%): carbon concentration; BI (cm-1): root branching intensity; RL (cm): first-order root length; MC (%): mycorrhizal colonization