Great Western Woodlands Site, Leaf Trait and Stable Isotope Data, Eucalyptus salubris, 2012 

The record contains information on leaf trait and stable isotope data of Eucalyptus salubris trees in the Credo Flux tower area, from the Great Western Woodlands Site. Data on individual tree height, stem circumference and leaf traits such as leaf thickness, leaf mass, leaf density, specific leaf area, leaf chemical data, including the d¹³C and d¹⁵N content are provided. In addition, data on soil chemical analysis from the site are provided. 

We at TERN acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians throughout Australia, New Zealand and all nations. We honour their profound connections to land, water, biodiversity and culture and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
The project was funded by the NCCARF (National Climate Change Adaptation Facility) for the title "ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE IN WIDESPREAD EUCALYPT SPECIES Climate-resilient re-vegetation of multi-use landscapes: exploiting genetic variability in widespread species" 

Data not provided. 

1) Sampling Method: Leaves sampled from the Great Western Woodlands flux station on Credo Station, 110 km NNW of Kalgoorlie, WA. Leaf morphological measurements were taken on ten mature leaves per tree, obtained from the mid-outer canopy from three branches distributed around the canopy perimeter. Leaves were dried at 55°C, weighed, and lamina thickness measured with a micrometer (Digimatic; Mitutoyo, Japan). Leaves were then imaged with a flatbed scanner, and the area of each leaf was determined in Matlab (MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA). Specific leaf area (SLA) and average tissue density were calculated from the dry mass, thickness and area measurements. The individual leaf data were averaged to give a single value of each trait for each tree.

2) Chemical analysis: Five to six leaves per tree were pooled for carbon stable isotope and nitrogen content measurements. Cellulose¹³C/¹²C ratio is used as an indicator of intrinsic water use efficiency; RuBisCO preferentially utilizes ¹²CO², but as stomatal conductance decreases to reduce water loss, CO₂ within the leaf tissues becomes limiting, forcing increased fixation of ¹³CO₂. A higher (less negative) ¹³C/¹²C value therefore reflects greater intrinsic water use efficiency during the period when the carbon was fixed. Leaf nitrogen content is strongly related to photosynthetic capacity, since photosynthetic apparatus comprises the majority of leaf nitrogen. A strip was cut from each leaf across the centre of the blade, including the mid-vein, and ground to a fine powder in a ball mill. Crude cellulose was extracted from the ground leaf material using a modified acid-diglyme procedure. The ¹³C/¹²C ratio of the cellulose samples, and the total carbon and nitrogen content of the bulk leaf material, were measured in an isotope ratio mass spectrometer. The ¹³C content is reported in parts per thousand (‰), as delta values relative to the Vienna PeeDee Belemnite international standard. The size of each sampled tree was measured. The circumference of all stems were measured at 1.2 m height with a tape measure, and the stem cross sectional area calculated for each tree (assuming stem circularity). Height was determined from the ground by estimating the number of 2 m increments from the base to the top of the tree from a distance of approximately 10 m.