Woody plant functional traits of natural karst forests in the Maolan National Nature Reserve, southwestern China

Abstract Plant functional trait databases are indispensable tools in modern ecology and have been widely employed in research on plant life history strategies, community species composition and structural dynamics, and ecosystem responses to environmental change. Karst regions are characterized by complex terrain, high habitat heterogeneity, and unique vegetation types, and each of these environmental factors independently and interactively produce distinctive communities and traits along the landscape. Currently, most investigations into plant functional traits within karst regions have focused exclusively on leaf traits of a small number of dominant species within communities. This narrow focus has resulted in a significant gap in the available data regarding plant functional traits in karst environments. This study presents data on ten morphological traits from 3,661 individuals of 152 plant species across 90 genera and 65 families. All individuals had a diameter at breast height of ≥1 cm and were collected from twelve plots in the Maolan National Nature Reserve, southwestern China. Utilizing this database, we analyzed trait correlations and both interspecific and intraspecific variations. Most traits exhibited significant correlations with one another (P < 0.01). Trait variability differed markedly, with twig traits showing lower variation than leaf and bark traits. Intraspecific, interindividual variation described a significant proportion of variation, from 39.42% to 52.49%. This database consolidates extensive plant functional trait data from karst regions, supporting future research on plant adaptive strategies in these unique habitats and improving our understanding of local community assembly and maintenance.