Australian Plant Leaf Carbon Isotope Data from Western Transect

Featuring leaf carbon isotope (d13C) measurements for 53 native Australian plant species, including 52 C3 and 1 C4 species. Samples represent 22 plant families and 7 growth forms, collected along a transect in Western Australia spanning 9.56 degrees latitude and 6.85 degrees longitude using the AusPlots Rangelands methodology.

Use Cases

• Analyze d13C values across 7 growth forms to study plant water-use efficiency strategies.
• Compare isotopic signatures between the 52 C3 and 1 C4 species to investigate photosynthetic pathway differences.
• Map d13C variation across the 9.56-degree latitudinal transect to assess environmental gradients.
• Examine the distribution of d13C values across 22 plant families for phylogenetic trait analysis.

Strengths

• Includes 53 distinct native Australian species from 22 plant families.
• Samples collected along a spatially extensive transect covering 9.56 degrees of latitude.
• Technical replicates for 13% of samples showed low instrumental drift of 0.07.
• Data collection followed the nationally-accepted AusPlots Rangelands methodology.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to 53 species, which may not represent all regional biodiversity.
• Contains only one C4 species, limiting comparative analysis between photosynthetic pathways.
• Specific row count, column count, and data file sizes are unknown.

Provenance

Source

Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network's Data Discovery

Collection Method

Samples collected using AusPlots Rangelands methodology, stored to preserve isotopes, and analyzed via mass spectroscopy with internationally-calibrated standards.

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-20.

Geography

A transect in Western Australia spanning 9.56 degrees latitude and 6.85 degrees longitude.