Data from: Improving predictions of tropical tree survival and growth by incorporating measurements of whole leaf allocation

1. Individual-level demographic outcomes should be predictable upon the
basis of traits. However, linking traits to tree performance has proven
challenging likely due to a failure to consider physiological traits
(i.e., hard-traits) and the failure to integrate organ-level and whole
plant-level trait information.  2. Here, we modeled the survival
rate and relative growth rate of trees while considering crown allocation,
hard-traits, and local-scale biotic interactions, and compared these
models to more traditional trait-based models of tree
performance.  3. We found that an integrative trait, total
tree-level photosynthetic mass (estimated by multiplying specific leaf
area and crown area) results in superior models of tree survival and
growth. These models had a lower AIC than those including the effect of
initial tree size or any other combination of the traits considered.
Survival rates were positively related to higher values of crown area and
photosynthetic mass, while relative growth rates were negatively related
to the photosynthetic mass. Relative growth rates were negatively related
to a neighbourhood crowding index. Furthermore, none of the hard-traits
used in this study provided an improvement in tree performance
models.  4. Synthesis. Overall, our results highlight
that models of tree performance can be greatly improved by including crown
area information to generate a better understanding of plant responses to
their environment. Additionally, the role of the hard-traits in improving
models of tree performance is likely dependent upon the level of stress
(e.g. drought stress), micro-environmental conditions, or short-term
climatic variations that a particular forest experiences.