Effects of leaf silicon on drought performance of tropical tree seedlings

Elevated leaf silicon (Si) concentrations improve drought resistance in cultivated plants, suggesting Si might also improve the drought performance of wild species. Tropical tree species, for instance, take up substantial amounts of Si, and leaf Si varies markedly at local- and regional-scales, suggesting consequences for seedling drought resistance. Yet, whether elevated leaf Si improves seedling drought performance in tropical forests is unknown. To manipulate leaf Si concentrations, seedlings of seven tropical tree species were grown in Si-rich and -poor soil, before exposing them to drought in the forest understory. Survival, growth, and wilting were monitored. Elevated leaf Si did not improve drought survival and growth in any of the species. In one species, drought survival was reduced in seedlings previously grown in Si-rich soil, contrary to our expectations. Our results suggest that elevated leaf Si does not improve the drought resistance of wild tropical tree species. Elevated..., , , # Effects of leaf silicon on drought performance of tropical tree seedlings:

Data are the results of a field experiment carried out to test the hypothesis of whether Si (silicon) improves drought resistance, i.e. growth and survival under drought, in seedlings of tropical tree species. Seven tropical tree species were studied. The experiment consisted of two phases: 1) Growing seedlings for ca. 2.5 months in the shadehouse in Si-rich (+Si) and Si-poor (-Si) soil. 2) Transplanting seedlings into the forest understory (30 plots) and exposing them to drought for ca. 17 weeks. We collected data on leaf-area-change (i.e. growth) and survival during the drought. Survival was surveyed weekly. Growth was surveyed before and after the drought. Additionally, wilting stages were surveyed weekly.

## Description of the Data and file structure

The data consists of six files.

**data_growth.csv**: Leaf area (i.e. growth) data for each seedling (= one Row per seedling).
code: unique individual ID
p...

叶片硅（Si）浓度升高可提升栽培植物的抗旱性，这提示硅或也能改善野生植物的抗旱表现。例如，热带乔木物种会吸收大量硅，且叶片硅含量在局地和区域尺度上差异显著，这暗示其可能对幼苗抗旱性产生影响。然而，目前尚不清楚热带森林中叶片硅浓度升高是否能提升幼苗的抗旱表现。

为调控叶片硅浓度，研究人员将7种热带乔木的幼苗种植于富硅（+Si）与贫硅（-Si）土壤中，随后将其移至森林林下进行干旱胁迫处理。监测指标包括幼苗存活率、生长状况与萎蔫程度。

实验结果显示，叶片硅浓度升高并未提升任何供试物种的干旱存活率与生长量。其中一个物种的幼苗若预先种植于富硅土壤中，其干旱存活率反而出现下降，与我们的预期相悖。综上，本研究结果表明，叶片硅浓度升高并不能改善野生热带乔木物种的抗旱性。

# 叶片硅对热带乔木幼苗抗旱表现的影响：
本数据集源于一项野外实验，旨在验证硅（Si）是否可提升热带乔木幼苗的抗旱性——即干旱胁迫下的生长与存活能力。研究共纳入7种热带乔木物种，实验分为两个阶段：
1) 在遮阳棚内，将幼苗种植于富硅（+Si）与贫硅（-Si）土壤中培育约2.5个月；
2) 将幼苗移栽至森林林下的30个样地中，进行为期约17周的干旱胁迫处理。

实验期间收集了幼苗的叶面积变化（即生长状况）与存活数据：存活率每周调查一次，生长状况分别在干旱胁迫前后测定，此外还每周记录幼苗的萎蔫等级。

## 数据与文件结构说明
本数据集包含6个文件。
**data_growth.csv**：各幼苗的叶面积（即生长）数据（每行对应一株幼苗）。
code: unique individual IDp...