Data of paper: Testing for functional significance of traits: effect of the light environment in tropical tree saplings

These data were used for the calculation of the analyses presents in the paper: "Testing for functional significance of traits: effect of the light environment in tropical tree saplings".

We hypothesized that the light environment affects trait-trait and trait-growth relationships. Further, we hypothesized that models that comprise traits measured in different dimensions of the plant (crown and leaf) better explain growth rates.

First, we have shown through plant trait network analyses, that the light environment affects trait-trait relationships, which vary according to strategies adopted by plants according to availability of light. Second, through mixed effect models, we showed that trait-growth relationships change according to the light environment. Last, through mixed effect models with multiple traits and composite traits (derived from scores of PCAs), we showed that models that comprise traits of different dimensions of plants better explain growth rates. The analyses were made at the individual-level and we tested species and plots as random effects in mixed effect models.