The predictive power of trait–ecosystem functioning relationships depends on context and metric: insights from coastal salt marshes

De Battisti, Davide (2026) The predictive power of trait–ecosystem functioning relationships depends on context and metric: insights from coastal salt marshes. [Data Collection]

Collection description

Dataset of biomass, percent cover, and functional trait values of salt marsh plants collected for the study “The predictive power of trait–ecosystem functioning relationships depends on context and metric: insights from coastal salt marshes.” The dataset includes plant trait measurements and community-level biomass and cover data, and can be used to explore trait–ecosystem function relationships in coastal salt marsh systems.

DOI:	10.25430/researchdata.cab.unipd.it.00001899
Keywords:	Trait-based ecology, functional traits, response-effect framework, plant economic spectrum, primary productivity, ecosystem functioning, specific leaf area, salt marshes
Subjects:	Life Sciences > Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology: Population, community and ecosystem ecology, evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, microbial ecology > Ecosystem and community ecology, macroecology Life Sciences > Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology: Population, community and ecosystem ecology, evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, microbial ecology > Marine biology and ecology Life Sciences > Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology: Population, community and ecosystem ecology, evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology, microbial ecology > Biodiversity, conservation biology, conservation genetics
Department:	Departments > Dipartimento di Biologia (DiBio)
Depositing User:	Davide De Battisti
Date Deposited:	03 Aug 2026 16:12
Last Modified:	03 Aug 2026 16:12
Creators/Authors:	Creators Email ORCID De Battisti, Davide davide.debattisti@unipd.it orcid.org/0000-0001-7847-0414
Type of data:	Database
Contributors:	Contribution Name Email Author De Battisti, Davide davide.debattisti@unipd.it Author Rando, Alessia Vittoria alessiavittoria.rando@studenti.unipd.it Author De Lauretis, Serena serena.delauretis@unipd.it Author Barausse, Alberto alberto.barausse@unipd.it Author Airoldi, Laura laura.airoldi@unipd.it
Research funder:	PON, National Biodiversity Future Center
Research project title:	PON (Ricerca e Innovazione 2014-2020 - DM 1062/2021, MUR Italian Ministry of University and Research, CN00000033, Italian MUR under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.4
Collection period:	From To April 2022 September 2022
Geographic coverage:	Salt marshes of the Venice Lagoon
Data collection method:	Vegetation was sampled in each marsh type twice during 2022: once in mid-April and once in late September, corresponding to the beginning and end of the growing season, respectively. For each of the three marsh types (Natural, Restored Type 1, and Restored Type 2), eight quadrats of 50×50 cm were randomly placed in both the mid and low marsh zones, with quadrats spaced approximately 20 m apart. In the low marsh, sampling was stratified by the presence of vegetation patches. In each quadrat, the number of species and their percentage cover were visually recorded. Above-ground biomass (AGB) was collected within a nested 25×25 cm quadrat by clipping vegetation at soil level. In the laboratory, AGB was separated by species and by live and dead plant material; samples were then oven-dried at 70°C for 48 h and weighed. Functional traits were selected for their ecological relevance along two major axes of plant functional variation. Specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) represent the resource acquisition axis, reflecting the plant economic spectrum, while leaf area (LA) and plant height (Height) represent the size spectrum (Díaz et al., 2016). For each available species at each site, three individuals were collected and measured following standardised protocols (Pérez-Harguindeguy et al., 2013). Plant height was measured in the field as the distance from the soil surface to the highest point of the plant. In the laboratory, three fully expanded, undamaged leaves per individual were collected, photographed, and their area (LA) measured using image analysis software (ImageJ; Schindelin et al., 2012). Leaves were then weighed, oven-dried at 70°C for 48 h, and weighed again to calculate SLA as the ratio of fresh leaf area to dry mass. LDMC was calculated as the ratio of leaf dry mass to fresh mass. All trait values were averaged across the three leaves per individual, and then across individuals to obtain a single trait value per species.
Data processing and preparation activities:	See methods above
Resource language:	English
Metadata language:	English
Publisher:	Research Data Unipd
Date:	3 August 2026
Copyright holders:	The Author
URI:	https://researchdata.cab.unipd.it/id/eprint/1899
Additional details Additional details Creators/Authors: Creators Email ORCID De Battisti, Davide davide.debattisti@unipd.it orcid.org/0000-0001-7847-0414 Type of data: Database Contributors: Contribution Name Email Author De Battisti, Davide davide.debattisti@unipd.it Author Rando, Alessia Vittoria alessiavittoria.rando@studenti.unipd.it Author De Lauretis, Serena serena.delauretis@unipd.it Author Barausse, Alberto alberto.barausse@unipd.it Author Airoldi, Laura laura.airoldi@unipd.it Research funder: PON, National Biodiversity Future Center Research project title: PON (Ricerca e Innovazione 2014-2020 - DM 1062/2021, MUR Italian Ministry of University and Research, CN00000033, Italian MUR under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.4 Collection period: From To April 2022 September 2022 Geographic coverage: Salt marshes of the Venice Lagoon Data collection method: Vegetation was sampled in each marsh type twice during 2022: once in mid-April and once in late September, corresponding to the beginning and end of the growing season, respectively. For each of the three marsh types (Natural, Restored Type 1, and Restored Type 2), eight quadrats of 50×50 cm were randomly placed in both the mid and low marsh zones, with quadrats spaced approximately 20 m apart. In the low marsh, sampling was stratified by the presence of vegetation patches. In each quadrat, the number of species and their percentage cover were visually recorded. Above-ground biomass (AGB) was collected within a nested 25×25 cm quadrat by clipping vegetation at soil level. In the laboratory, AGB was separated by species and by live and dead plant material; samples were then oven-dried at 70°C for 48 h and weighed. Functional traits were selected for their ecological relevance along two major axes of plant functional variation. Specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) represent the resource acquisition axis, reflecting the plant economic spectrum, while leaf area (LA) and plant height (Height) represent the size spectrum (Díaz et al., 2016). For each available species at each site, three individuals were collected and measured following standardised protocols (Pérez-Harguindeguy et al., 2013). Plant height was measured in the field as the distance from the soil surface to the highest point of the plant. In the laboratory, three fully expanded, undamaged leaves per individual were collected, photographed, and their area (LA) measured using image analysis software (ImageJ; Schindelin et al., 2012). Leaves were then weighed, oven-dried at 70°C for 48 h, and weighed again to calculate SLA as the ratio of fresh leaf area to dry mass. LDMC was calculated as the ratio of leaf dry mass to fresh mass. All trait values were averaged across the three leaves per individual, and then across individuals to obtain a single trait value per species. Data processing and preparation activities: See methods above Resource language: English Metadata language: English Publisher: Research Data Unipd Date: 3 August 2026 Copyright holders: The Author Last Modified: 03 Aug 2026 16:12

Available Files

Data

De%20Battisti_e ... ata_Biomass.csv De%20Battisti_e ... ata_Biomass.csv De%20Battisti_e ... ata_Biomass.csv Visible to: Repository staff only until 1 March 2027 Content type: Data Description: Biomass data of salt marsh plants regarding the study "The predictive power of trait–ecosystem functioning relationships depends on context and metric: insights from coastal salt marshes" Metadata Revision: 3 Mime-Type: text/csv License: Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 File size: 31kB

De%20Battisti_e ... _Data_Cover.csv De%20Battisti_e ... _Data_Cover.csv De%20Battisti_e ... _Data_Cover.csv Visible to: Repository staff only until 1 March 2027 Content type: Data Description: Percentage cover of salt marsh plants regarding the study:"The predictive power of trait–ecosystem functioning relationships depends on context and metric: insights from coastal salt marshes" Metadata Revision: 2 Mime-Type: text/csv License: Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 File size: 14kB

De%20Battisti_e ... Data_Traits.csv De%20Battisti_e ... Data_Traits.csv De%20Battisti_e ... Data_Traits.csv Visible to: Repository staff only until 1 March 2027 Content type: Data Description: Traits data of salt marshes plants regarding the study:"The predictive power of trait–ecosystem functioning relationships depends on context and metric: insights from coastal salt marshes" Metadata Revision: 2 Mime-Type: text/csv License: Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 File size: 14kB