Species, hybrid and genotype effects on leaf litter curling, and their extended consequences for spiders and soil moisture dynamics

This archive contains datasets from a group of studies testing the
hypotheses that leaf litter curling is influenced by plant species,
hybridization and genotype, and has extended consequences for associated
organisms and soil processes. A novel litter curling index (LCI) was used
to characterize the curling of newly senesced leaves. There are four
distinct datasets represented here. 1) A dataset of LCI from 11 plant
species (tall annual forb = Helianthus annuus L.; evergreen shrubs =
Arctostaphylos pungens Kunth, Quercus turbinella Greene, Rhus ovata S.
Watson; deciduous shrubs = Rhus trilobata Nutt., Ribes cereum Douglas,
Acer glabrum Torr.; deciduous trees = Elaeagnus angustifolia L., Quercus
gambelii Nutt., Populus tremuloides Michx., Populus fremontii S. Watson)
mostly growing in natural habitats of Northern Arizona, USA. 2) A dataset
containing LCI from two Populus species (P. fremontii James, P.
angustifolia S. Watson) and their F1 hyrbids in a common garden
in Ogden, UT, USA  (including replicated genotypes of P.
angustifolia but not the other tree types). 3) The third dataset examined
the relationship between average LCI for a tree and the abundance of
agilenid webs under Populus trees growing in a common garden; the LCI
values are averages per tree from data collected for dataset 2, and
previously published spider web data. 4) The last dataset contains litter
and soil moisture values from a litter/soil drying experiment that tested
the effect of litter curling on soil moisture dynamics. See the README
file for more details on the different datasets.