Data from: Links between leaf morphology and ecological strategy across secondary succession in a temperate deciduous forest (North Carolina, USA): Implications for the fossil record

The fossil record offers important opportunities to reconstruct plant
community responses to past disturbance events. Yet, reconstructions are
hindered by limited empirical evidence of successional variation in
functional traits measurable on fossil leaves, including leaf morphology
and δ13C. In addition, the role the leaf economic spectrum (LES) plays
across succession within temperate deciduous forests is unresolved.
Lastly, it is unclear to what degree disturbance confounds the leaf
morphology-climate relationships utilized in paleoclimate proxies. We
utilize a chronosequence spanning forest stands varied by time since
logging (4, 21, 44, 94 years old), and one old-growth stand, in North
Carolina. Leaf traits of woody non-monocot angiosperms (WNMA) leaves,
including all trees and prominent understory plants, were measured to
document patterns relating to the LES (e.g., leaf mass per area [LMA]),
patterns of leaf morphology and δ13C, and the confounding influence on
climatic estimates using the digital leaf physiognomy proxy.