Data from: Trees have overlapping potential niches that extend beyond their realized niches

Tree species appear to prefer distinct climatic conditions, but the true
nature of these preferences is obscured by species interactions and
dispersal, which limit species’ ranges. We quantified realized and
potential thermal niches of 188 North American tree species to conduct the
first continental-scale test of the architecture of niches. We found
strong and consistent evidence that species occurring at thermal extremes
occupy less than three-quarters of their potential niches and species’
thermal niches overlap at a mean annual temperature of approximately 12
°C. These results clarify the breadth of thermal tolerances of temperate
tree species and support the centrifugal organization of thermal niches.
Accounting for the non-realized components of ecological niches will
advance theory and prediction in global change ecology.