Photosynthetic heat tolerance is shaped by trait coordination, acclimation, and evolutionary history

This dataset contains physiological, morphological, and environmental data used to investigate the mechanistic drivers of heat tolerance in woody plants across California. The study assessed 109 species across 14 sites, spanning a 1,000 km latitudinal gradient. We aimed to identify the primary drivers of photosynthetic heat tolerance across California’s diverse ecosystems, considering the role of evolutionary history, acclimation to local temperatures, and functional traits. We also evaluated whether heat tolerance is linked more closely to "carbon economic" traits that govern long-term growth strategies and resource investment or to "energy balance" traits that mediate leaf temperature.