Aboveground species-specific plant biomass from the Jena Trait Based Experiment (year 2012)

This data set contains aboveground plant biomass (Sown plant species, Weed plant biomass, the biomass of dead plant material, and the biomass of unidentified plant material) per plots collected in 2012 from a grassland trait diversity experiment (the Jena Trait Based Experiment). The experiment consists of 20 plant species that were assigned to one of three species pools: 1. Species that vary along a gradient of spatial leaf and root trait similarity, 2. Species that vary along a gradient of phenological trait similarity and 3. Species that vary along a gradient of both spatial and phenological similarity (see Ebeling et al. 2014). The experiment consists of 138 grassland plots 3 x 3 m in size that was established within the Jena Experiment, Germany, in 2011. Plots vary in plant species richness (1, 2, 4, or 8 species) and functional diversity (1, 2, 3, 4 functional diversity levels, where 1 indicates species are most similar and 4 being most dissimilar in functional traits). Plots were maintained by manual weeding in March, July and September. Biomass was harvested twice in 2012 (during peak standing biomass in late May and in late August) on all experimental plots. Plots were mown to the same height directly following biomass harvest. Plant biomass was harvested by clipping the vegetation at 3 cm above ground in two 0.2 x 0.5 m quadrats per plot. The location of these rectangles was assigned prior to each harvest by random selection of coordinates within the core area of the plots (i.e. the central 10 x 15 m). The positions of the rectangles within plots were identical for all plots. The harvested biomass was sorted into categories: individual species of the sown plant species, 'Weed' plant species (species not sown in a plot), detached 'Dead' plant material, and remaining plant material that could not be assigned to any category ('Rest'). All biomass was dried to constant weight (70°C, >= 48 h) and weighed. The data from individual quadrats were averaged.