Data from: Responses of plant phenology to nitrogen addition: a meta-analysis

Phenology is one of the most sensitive plant processes in response to
global change. Anthropogenic activities have considerably increased
nitrogen (N) deposition, which significantly affects plant phenology.
Although numerous individual studies have been conducted, a comprehensive
understanding of how plant phenology responds to external N inputs remains
elusive. We therefore conducted a meta-analysis of 117 species responses
to N addition to examine effects on phenology in terrestrial ecosystems,
and we assessed variations in their responses in relation to ecosystem
types, pollination types, functional groups, and environmental conditions.
Our results showed that many aspects of plant phenology changed
significantly after N addition, as events occurred later and durations
were shorter across all biomes, but varied with biome types. The phenology
change in cropland was larger than that in grassland after N addition. The
response of phenological stages to N addition was consistent in two
pollination types except the flowering time, which had no change in
wind-pollinated species but was significantly delayed in insect-pollinated
species. In addition, the response of phenology to N addition was not
consistent among functional groups. The timing of events was advanced
(earlier) in sedges, whereas the timing was delayed (later) in grasses,
legumes, and forbs. We also found that local environmental factors had
minimal effect on the response of plant phenology to N addition, but a
significant correlation was found among the response ratio of different
phenological stages. Our study suggest that plant phenology was sensitive
to N deposition, but the influence of N deposition on plant phenology was
not changed easily by local environmental factors, which may need to be
incorporated into regional and global models for predicting effects of N
addition on plant phenology.