Examining genome size and nutrient influence on plant damage patterns

Data was collected to examine whether and how plant genome size (GS) interacts with environmental nutrient additions to influence the amount and patterns of damage plants sustain from invertebrate herbivores and fungal pathogens. Plants were selected based on visual abundance in treatment plots in which nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), or NP combined had been annually added (Cont. is the abbreviation we used for the control plot with no nutrients added). Additionally, plant traits of percent foliar carbon (% C), percent foliar nitrogen (% N), and specific leaf area (SLA) were measured from all the same plants that damage values were observed from. Data was collected from 847 plants (626 forb individuals, 221 grass individuals) in eight grassland sites that are part of the Nutrient Network (https://nutnet.org), a globally distributed experiment in which plots have different nutrient amendment treatments that are administered identically to allow cross-site comparisons of the effects of nutrients on biodiversity patterning. The sites chosen varied along a north-south latitude, longitude, mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual temperature (MAT) gradient in the United States. All field data was collected between May 2022 and August 2022. The sites included in this study are listed below with their respective Nutrient Network site codes. churn.us= Churning Rapids in Hancock, MI spin.us= Spindletop Farm in Lexington, KY temple.us= Temple in Temple, TX kbs.us= Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners, MI konz.us= Konza Prairie Biological Station in Manhattan, KS cgbg.us= Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt in Maxwell, IA cdcr.us= Cedar Creek in East Bethel, MN msum.us= Minnesota State University at Moorhead in Moorhead, MN