Intercropping generates trait plasticity, which corresponds with year-to-year stability in productivity

Environmentally friendly approaches to increasing food production include using the positive effects of plant biodiversity, such as in intercropping. Functional traits are key drivers of these positive effects, in part because variation in functional traits can increase niche partitioning. However, we know little about how variation in functional traits affects the long-term stability of yield in agroecosystems. We conducted a five-year field experiment with five different cropping systems; maize/peanut, maize/soybean, and maize, peanut and soybean monocultures. We compared the productivity of monocultures to intercrops and then compared plasticity in functional traits at different rates of nitrogen supply between the cropping systems. Intercropping generated plasticity, measured here as the inverse of the coefficient of variation, in three functional traits of maize (height, stem diameter, ear height), which probably increases aboveground spatial niche differentiation, and decreases th..., This field experiment was arranged as a split-plot design with two factors and ran from 2017 to 2021. The factors were four nitrogen (N) applications (N0, N1, N2, and N3) and five cropping systems – maize in monoculture (Zea mays L. cv. Xian-yu No. 335), soybean in monoculture (Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Ji-yu No. 47), peanut in monoculture (Arachis hypogaea L. cv. Bai-sha No. 1016), intercropped maize/soybean, and intercropped maize/peanut. N application was the main treatment, and cropping system was the sub-plot treatment.
Peanut and soybean monocultures received N-fertilizer treatments at 0, 40, 80, and 120 kg N ha-1 (N0 through N3) each year. Maize monocultures received either 0, 180, 240, and 300 kg N ha-1 (N0 through N3) each year. N applications for the maize/peanut intercrop were 0, 110, 160, and 210 kg N ha-1 (N0 through N3) each year, the same as in the maize/soybean intercrop. One-third of the N was applied as basal fertilizer, and two-thirds was divided into two portions ap..., , # Data from: Intercropping generates trait plasticity, which corresponds with year-to-year stability in productivity

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qfttdz0rz](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qfttdz0rz)

## Description of the data and file structure

This field experiment was arranged as a split-plot design with two factors and ran from 2017 to 2021. At maturity, two continuous rows of maize, soybean, and peanut were harvested in 5 m in each row to measure grain yield and biomass. Plant trait data were collected from 2018-2021.

### Files and variables

#### File: revision\_data.xlsx

**Description:** The data include traits of different crops, their ITV-1 values, the productivity of different crops, and the stability of productivity.

##### Variables

N: nitrogen application

CS: cropping system

H: height (cm)

D: basal stem diameter (mm)

EH: ear height (cm)

EL: ear length (cm)

ED: ear diameter (mm)

BL: bald length (cm)

1st PH: 1st pod height (cm)

PN: pods number

SN: seeds numbe...