Intraindividual variability as a large source of trait variation in tundra clonal shrubs along elevation and latitude gradients

Aim: Intraindividual trait variability (iITV), which is the variability among repeated architectural units within an individual, may represent a crucial dimension of functional diversity in plant eco-evolutionary dynamics. Although inter- and intraspecific trait variability have been widely studied, the extent of iITV remains largely overlooked. Since iITV might be especially relevant in long-lived clonal plants, we investigated sources of trait variability (species, site, clone, ramet, leaf) in tundra clonal dwarf shrubs, particularly focusing on iITV and its potential drivers.
Location: Europe
Time period: July 2019 to September 2020
Major taxa studied: Clonal dwarf shrubs
Methods: We sampled four widespread boreo-alpine clonal dwarf shrub species (Dryas octopetala, Empetrum hermaphroditum, Vaccinium myrtillus and Vaccinium uliginosum) along elevation gradients in the Pyrenees, and along a latitude gradient in Europe. At each site, we selected four clones per species and sampled five ..., , , # Intraindividual variability as a large source of trait variation in clonal tundra shrubs along elevation and latitude gradients

This dataset was created within the project CLUNDRA and was used in the analyses for the accompanying manuscript \"Intraindividual variability as a large source of trait variation in clonal tundra shrubs along elevation and latitude gradients\".
It includes the code for the analysis in R, and several files with all necessary data.

## Description of the data and file structure

The compressed folder Data_CLUNDRA_2025.zip includes all data in separate files. Following, a short description of each file and the metadata.

### **File:** data_CLUNDRA.txt

**Short description:** file with trait values. Missing data are coded as NA.
*Header: Description*

* Shrub.ID: Code for the ramet
* Clone.ID: Code for the clone
* Site: Study site along the latitude gradient
* Species: Study species
* Elevation: Elevation position within the elevation gradient
* Population: Code ...,