Data from: Biogenic silica accumulation varies across tussock tundra plant functional type ...

• Main Authors: Carey, Joanna C., Parker, Thomas C., Fetcher, Ned, Tang, Jianwu
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2017
• Subjects: Tundra; biogenic silica; tussock; wetland; shrub expansion; Arctic; Climate change; Eriophorum; Alaska
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.98c6c; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.98c6c

1. Silica (SiO2) accumulation by terrestrial vegetation is an important component of the biological silica cycle because it improves overall plant fitness and influences export rates of silica from terrestrial to marine systems. However, most research on silica in plants has focused on agricultural and forested ecosystems, and knowledge of terrestrial silica cycling in the Arctic, as well as the potential impacts of climate change on the silica cycle is severely lacking. 2. We quantified biogenic silica (BSi) accumulation in above and belowground portions of three moist acidic tundra (MAT) sites spanning a 300 km latitudinal gradient in central and northern Alaska, USA. We also examined plant silica accumulation across three main tundra types found in the Arctic (MAT, moist non-acidic tundra (MNT), and wet sedge tundra (WST)). 3. BSi concentrations in live Eriophorum vaginatum, a tussock-forming sedge that is the foundation species of tussock tundra, were not significantly (p<0.05) different across the ... : AbovegroundMaterial_NutrientConcentrationsConcentrations of biogenic silica (as %SiO2 by dry weight), and nutrient ratios of Si:C and Si:N in aboveground material of tussocks (E. vaginatum) in MAT and MNT plots, plus aboveground material of gramminoids found in the WST. Values from each individual plot at each site.Abv_5.30.17.csvBlwgrnd_TussockBiogenic silica concentrations (as %SiO2 by dry weight) of belowground plant material in the tussocks for each core, at each depth, at the three MAT and one MNT site.Blwgrnd_BSi_InterTussBiogenic silica concentrations (as %SiO2 by dry weight) of belowground plant material in the inter-tussocks for each core, at each depth, at the three MAT and one MNT site.Blwgrnd_InterTuss_5.30.17.csvBlwgrnd_WST_5.30.17Biogenic silica concentrations (as %SiO2 by dry weight) of belowground plant material for each core, at each depth, at the WST site. ...