BGS Hosted Metadata
Physiological, morphological and functional traits of encroaching and non-encroaching savanna trees under contrasting CO2 concentrations, water stress, and grass competition, South Africa, 2022
[This dataset is embargoed until January 4, 2027]. This dataset provides physiological, morphological, and functional trait measurements for twelve African savanna tree species belonging to the Vachellia and Senegalia genera (Fabaceae family). The data encompasses six species classified as encroaching (increasing in density in African savannas) and six non-encroaching species, facilitating comparative analysis of traits facilitating encroachment ability. The variables capture sapling responses to a factorial combination of environmental conditions, specifically atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, water availability, and interspecific grass competition. The dataset details plant performance under elevated CO2 versus ambient CO2 and contrasts well-watered and water-limited conditions. Furthermore, the data includes comparative metrics for trees grown with and without competition from the grass species Themeda triandra. All measurements were derived from saplings grown for 11 months in large pots containing local savanna soil within open-top chambers (Rhodes University Elevated CO2 Facility, Makhanda, South Africa), culminating in physiological assessments and destructive harvesting for morphological analysis. The work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (Grant NE/T000759/1). Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/f7b8e72f-9bbe-4a03-8140-fada73e95b8c
Simple
- Date (Publication)
- 2026-02-04
- Citation identifier
- https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/id/f7b8e72f-9bbe-4a03-8140-fada73e95b8c
- Citation identifier
- doi: / 10.5285/f7b8e72f-9bbe-4a03-8140-fada73e95b8c
- Other citation details
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Ripley, B., Simpson, K., Raubenheimer, S., Singini, E., Jones, E., Burgess, T., Carkeek, R., Cramer, M., Dixon, R., Field, K., Hawkins, H., Nell, R., Ngqiyaza, N., Pallett, N., Reynolds, L., Telford, E., Vetter, S., Lehmann, C., Osborne, C. (2026). Physiological, morphological and functional traits of encroaching and non-encroaching savanna trees under contrasting CO2 concentrations, water stress, and grass competition, South Africa, 2022. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre 10.5285/f7b8e72f-9bbe-4a03-8140-fada73e95b8c
- Point of contact
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GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
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Habitats and Biotopes
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- Keywords
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- Climate and climate change
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Savanna encroachment
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Woody thickening
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Elevated CO2
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Functional traits
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Drought
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Tree-grass competition
- Access constraints
- Other restrictions
- Other constraints
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Embargoed
- Use constraints
- Other restrictions
- Use constraints
- Other restrictions
- Other constraints
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If you reuse this data, you should cite: Ripley, B., Simpson, K., Raubenheimer, S., Singini, E., Jones, E., Burgess, T., Carkeek, R., Cramer, M., Dixon, R., Field, K., Hawkins, H., Nell, R., Ngqiyaza, N., Pallett, N., Reynolds, L., Telford, E., Vetter, S., Lehmann, C., Osborne, C. (2026). Physiological, morphological and functional traits of encroaching and non-encroaching savanna trees under contrasting CO2 concentrations, water stress, and grass competition, South Africa, 2022. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre https://doi.org/10.5285/f7b8e72f-9bbe-4a03-8140-fada73e95b8c
- Spatial representation type
- Text, table
- Language
- English
- Character set
- UTF8
- Topic category
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- Biota
- Begin date
- 2021-12-01
- End date
- 2022-11-30
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- Unique resource identifier
- WGS 84
- Distribution format
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Name Version Comma-separated values (CSV)
- Distributor contact
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Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
Distributor
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
- Other
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dataset
Conformance result
- Title
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Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services
- Date (Publication)
- 2010-12-08
- Statement
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Data Generation Process The data were generated through a controlled split-plot experiment conducted at the Rhodes University Elevated CO2 Facility (RUECF) in Makhanda, South Africa. Experimental Setup and Environmental Monitoring Data generation began with the establishment of pots in sixteen open-top chambers (OTCs) designed to impose specific environmental treatments. These treatments included manipulated atmospheric CO2 concentrations (ambient vs. elevated to ~550 ppm), water availability (automated daily irrigation vs. ambient rainfall), and interspecific competition (pots containing established Themeda triandra grass swards vs. bare soil). Cultivation of Biological Material The biological data component originated from twelve indigenous legume species (Vachellia and Senegalia spp.) selected based on their encroachment status. Seeds were heat-shocked to break dormancy, germinated and transplanted into the experimental OTCs. These saplings were grown under the assigned factorial treatment conditions for a period of 11 months (December 2021 - November 2022). Data Acquisition Final data collection was performed in two stages. In the month preceding harvest, physiological trait data were captured in situ. Subsequently, the experiment concluded with the destructive harvesting of all individuals. Morphological and functional trait data were then generated through the physical measurement and analysis of the harvested biomass.
Metadata
- File identifier
- f7b8e72f-9bbe-4a03-8140-fada73e95b8c XML
- Metadata language
- English
- Character set
- 8859 Part 1
- Hierarchy level
- Dataset
- Hierarchy level name
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dataset
- Date stamp
- 2026-02-13T10:38:58
- Metadata standard name
- UK GEMINI
- Metadata standard version
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2.3
- Metadata author
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Organisation name Individual name Electronic mail address Role NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre Point of contact
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