Belowground traits predict juvenile grass demography in microsites

Plant functional traits can be a powerful tool for predicting species demography in response to variable environmental conditions. However, accurate predictions of juvenile plant response require ontogenetically relevant traits that capture response to microsite variability. This is particularly important when considering drivers of seedling emergence, survival, growth, and recruitment of species in the context of population persistence or community assembly. We tested the effect of two different microsites on juvenile demography for eight perennial grass species in a semi-arid system in Colorado along the western edge of the Great Plains. We used seed and root functional traits across multiple life stages to predict these responses and identify mechanisms driving species’ emergence, survival, growth, and recruitment. Contrary to our expectations, we found that microsites with increased soil moisture (i.e., furrows) had a negative effect on grass emergence early in the season but n..., To determine emergence and recruitment response to microsites, we counted grass abundance throughout the growing season. In addition to using row-level abundances to determine emergence and recruitment, we tracked individual survival and growth of a subset of individuals across three life stages. We used seed and seedling trait data obtained from the greenhouse trait sampling effort described in (Larson, 2021). To quantify the effects of the furrows on microsite conditions, we measured soil moisture, soil temperature, and surface temperature within these rows with TOMST TMS-4 loggers (Wild et al., 2019)., , # Belowground traits predict juvenile grass demography in microsites

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c866t1ghq](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.c866t1ghq)

## Description of the data and file structure

We tested the effect of two different microsites on juvenile demography for eight perennial grass species in a semi-arid system in Colorado along the western edge of the Great Plains. We used seed and root functional traits across multiple life-stages to predict these responses and identify mechanisms driving species’ emergence, survival, growth, and recruitment.

### Files and variables

#### File: Grass\_Traits.csv

**Description:** 

##### Variables

* species: species ID codes
* c3_c4: photosythetic pathway
* canopy_e: canopy volume per day for the emergent life stage (2 weeks); cm3/day
* height_e: height per day for the emergent life stage (2 weeks); cm/day
* biomass_e: biomass per day for the emergent life stage (2 weeks); g/day
* rootlength_e: root length per day for the emergent li...