Trait variation and plant performance: Interactive effects of diversity and spatial patterning of plants across environmental conditions

The diversity and spatial patterning of plants and their environmental determinants can influence plant‒plant interactions critical to generating trait variation in plants. However, how plant spatial patterns interact with plant diversity to shape intra- and interspecific trait variation and, in turn, shape plant performance remains unclear. It is also unclear how the availability of resources influences these relationships. We created experimental assemblages varying in the spatial distributions of the diversity of plant species under ambient watering and induced drought conditions, and collected data on leaf traits and plant performance (cf. whole plant biomass). Our analyses revealed that multitrait intra- or interspecific variation (quantified as the coefficient of variation and averaged across species and traits) was positively associated with plant diversity regardless of environmental conditions. However, the magnitudes of multitrait intraspecific variation were slightly lower fo..., , # Trait variation and plant performance: Interactive effects of diversity and spatial patterning of plants across environmental conditions Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.w6m905r2n](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w6m905r2n) ## Description of the data and file structure ### Files and variables **Description:** The dataset includes five files: (i) summarized overall data = plotsta_summrayF.csv, (ii) summarized data for *Portulaca grandiflora = plotonespP.csv* (iii) summarized data for *Trifolium repens = plotonespT.csv* (iv) summarized data for *Zinnia elegans = plotonespZ.csv* (v) raw leaf trait data = RawTraitsData.csv #### File: plotsta_summrayF.csv ##### Variables * plot.id: plot identifier * spatial_pattern: spatial distributions of plants (pos = positively autocorrelated, neg = negatively autocorrelated, and rand = random distribution) * environmental_context: environmental conditions (ambient = ambient watering, and drought= drought) * species_richness: number of species per...,