Global Photosynthetic Rates and Leaf Nutrient Traits for 325 Species

A global compilation of photosynthetic and leaf nutrient data compiled from literature reviews. The dataset includes estimates of Vcmax, Jmax, leaf nitrogen, phosphorus, and specific leaf area for 325 species and treatment combinations, with data compiled from studies conducted between 1970 and 2011. It also contains leaf carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and magnesium concentrations from 86 studies in 31 countries, and global leaf area index values from 1,216 locations.

Use Cases

• Modeling carbon fluxes based on Vcmax and Jmax parameters mentioned in the description
• Exploring relationships between photosynthetic capacity and leaf nitrogen or phosphorus content
• Analyzing global patterns of leaf area index (LAI) for woody species
• Studying nutrient resorption during leaf senescence based on green and senesced leaf concentrations

Strengths

• Compiles data from 325 species and treatment combinations for key photosynthetic parameters
• Includes leaf nutrient data from 86 studies across 31 countries, resulting in approximately 1,000 data points
• Provides global LAI values from 1,216 locations obtained from 554 literature sources

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified

Provenance

Source

NASA Vegetation Project, likely compiled from published scientific literature.

Collection Method

Comprehensive literature review and compilation of field-observed data.

Time Range

Data compiled from studies conducted between 1970 and 2011.

Freshness

Studies compiled span 1970 to 2011; dataset update recency is unknown.

Geography

Global, with specific data points from 31 countries.