Data from: Environmental conditions differently shape leaf, seed and seedling trait composition between and within elevations of tropical montane forests

The composition of plant functional traits varies in response to
environmental conditions due to processes of community assembly and
species sorting. However, there is a lack of understanding of how plant
trait composition responds to environmental conditions at different
spatial scales and across the plant life cycle. We investigated the trait
composition of leaves (specific leaf area), seeds (seed mass) and
seedlings (initial seedling height) across elevations and within
elevations in relation to soil and light conditions in a tropical montane
forest in southern Ecuador. We surveyed traits and communities of adult
trees, seeds and seedlings on nine plots at three elevations (1000-3000 m
a.s.l.) and calculated community-weighted mean trait values to analyse
trait variation across and within elevations. In addition, we measured two
environmental factors (soil C/N ratio and canopy openness) to quantify
local-scale variation in environmental conditions within elevations. We
found that community-weighted means of specific leaf area, seed mass and
initial seedling height decreased consistently with increasing elevation.
Within elevations, mean trait values of trees, seeds and seedlings
responded differently to local-scale environmental conditions. Specific
leaf area decreased with increasing soil C/N ratio, and initial seedling
height decreased with increasing canopy openness. Seed mass was associated
neither with soil nor with light conditions. Our findings show that
broad-scale and local-scale processes differently shape the composition of
leaf, seed and seedling traits in tropical forests, indicating a
scale-dependence in trait-environment associations. Furthermore, plant
traits corresponding to different life stages were related differently to
environmental conditions within elevations. Community assembly processes
may therefore lead to differences in species sorting at early and late
plant life stages.