Data from: The unfolding of plant growth form-defence syndromes along elevation gradients

Understanding the functional economics that drives plant investment of
resources requires investigating the interface between plant phenotypes
and the variation in ecological conditions. While allocation to defence
represents a large portion of the carbon budget, this axis is usually
neglected in the study of plant economic spectrum. Using a novel
geometrical approach, we analysed the co‐variation in a comprehensive set
of functional traits related to plant growth strategies, as well as
chemical defences against herbivores on all 15 Cardamine species present
in the Swiss Alps. By extracting geometrical information of the functional
space, we observed clustering of plants into three main syndromes. Those
different strategies of growth form and defence were also distributed
within distinct elevational bands demonstrating an association between the
functional space and the ecological conditions. We conclude that plant
strategies converge into clear syndromes that trade off abiotic tolerance,
growth and defence within each elevation zone.