Coupled hydrological niche segregation and the leaf economic spectrum explain coexistence of woody species in a natural secondary forest

By contrasting water sources and diverging in leaf economic traits, plants regulate and balance their use of water, carbon, and nutrient resources, thereby potentially promoting species coexistence. However, how these strategies affect species coexistence is unclear.
We quantified the relative contributions of different water sources (topsoil water, 0–20 cm; subsoil water, 20–200 cm), intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi), key LES traits, and the importance value index (a proxy for species dominance), across the ten coexisting plant species in a natural secondary forest at Ziwuling Mountains of the Loess Plateau (LP), Northwest China.
Our results showed the large variability in water source utilisation, WUEi, leaf N, P contents, and specific leaf area (SLA) among species, indicating diverse resource use strategies. Differences in water sources resulting in varying degrees of water competition between species, ranging from 47 to 81%.
The water source utilised by plants was coordinated wi..., , # Coupled hydrological niche segregation and the leaf economic spectrum explain coexistence of woody species in a natural secondary forest

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.hhmgqnkwk](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.hhmgqnkwk)

## Description of the data and file structure

This study was conducted in a natural secondary forest located in the Ziwuling Mountains of the Loess Plateau, Northwest China. From May to September 2023, monthly field sampling was carried out. We collected xylem water samples from the ten woody species branches, along with soil samples from eight depths (10, 20, 30, 50, 80, 100, 150, and 200 cm) for stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope analysis (δ^2^H and δ^18^O). We also measured leaf δ^13^C and wood density (WD) to analyse the physiological regulation and hydraulic trait of plant species. In addition, we measured leaf nutrients (N, P), the specific leaf area (SLA), and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) known to be key functional traits in the leaf economic spectrum.

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