Wetland plant functional trait responses to experimental warming, flooding, and herbivory, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (Western Alaska, USA) (2022-2023)

This dataset was created to understand plant trait responses to warming, flooding, and herbivory in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta (western Alaska, USA). We conducted a one-year field mesocosm experiment in which we passively increased temperatures, simulated periodic tidal flooding at two intensity levels (low and high), and applied three components of goose herbivory (grazing, feces addition, and trampling) during the summer growing season. Our treatments reflect changes expected in the Y-K Delta in the next 10-20 years. We conducted the experiment in three community types: a wet sedge-shrub meadow, a tundra, and a transitional wet community between the meadow and tundra, and only sampled the dominant species in these communities. At the end of the season, we harvested height, leaf area, specific leaf area, and leaf dry matter content from randomly selected individuals.