Data from: Relationships between resprouting ability, species traits, and resource allocation patterns in woody species in a temperate forest

Many woody plants resprout to restore above-ground biomass after
disturbances or to survive in stressful environments. Resprouting requires
carbohydrate storage, but the general relationship between resource
allocation patterns and resprouting ability remains unclear because it can
be influenced by the disturbance regime to which species have adapted. We
studied deciduous broadleaved trees that coexist in a Japanese
cool-temperate forest to investigate the relationships among the biomass
and total non-structural carbohydrate (TNC) allocation patterns of
saplings, resprouting ability and functional traits. The study species
comprised 16 single-stemmed species that only resprout when above-ground
biomass loss occurs and eight multi-stemmed species that resprout
regardless of whether above-ground damage occurs or not. Single-stemmed
species with better juvenile resprouting ability had larger roots, whereas
multi-stemmed species with better juvenile resprouting ability did not
necessarily depend on below-ground reserves. Species that retain their
ability to resprout until a larger size had a higher root TNC content as
saplings, suggesting that they can survive major disturbances such as fire
and coppicing by resprouting supported by TNC stored in their roots.
Species with shade-tolerant traits (i.e. low foliar nitrogen indicating
low photosynthetic capacity, high wood density indicating high defensive
investment) had small below-ground TNC reserves irrespective of
resprouting types. On the other hand, multi-stemmed species with high wood
density and high LMA (indicating high photosynthetic capacity) had small
above-ground TNC reserves. Contrary to our hypothesis, a species’ maximum
size did not relate to the size of its below-ground reserves. By
considering the differences in resprouting types, we suggest more complex
control of resprouting than was formerly proposed. Variation in the
resprouting ability of single-stemmed species was based on a trade-off
between below-ground reserves for resprouting and shade-tolerant traits.
However, multi-stemmed species can vigorously resprout irrespective of the
size of its below-ground reserves. Their multi-stemmed architecture,
well-defended wood, high photosynthetic capacity or large above-ground
carbohydrate reserves seem to respectively contribute to their
persistence. Such variation in the resprouting strategy based on a
trade-off between shade tolerance and resource storage would promote
species coexistence under a range of disturbance regimes and light
environments.