Global dataset of plant water transport capacity

Zhao, Yanchao, Mencuccini, Maurizio, Acuña-Míguez, Belén, Adet, Lucette, Amin, Shadman and Bittencourt, Paulo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1618-9077 2026. Global dataset of plant water transport capacity. Scientific Data 10.1038/s41597-026-08456-w

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Abstract

Whole-plant hydraulic conductance (kplant) quantifies the water transport capacity along the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum, and is a key trait determining plant water use and drought response strategies, as well as an essential parameter in ecosystem models. However, globally harmonised data are lacking. Here, we present the “KPLANT Dataset”, unifying data from 357 studies including 425 species, spanning 6 continents and multiple biomes, and comprising 3841 observations from 1970 to 2025. The dataset is dominated by woody species (90.71%), particularly trees (81.28%), but also includes graminoids (5.29%), and other growth forms (7 total growth forms). kplant values are given as originally reported, together with water flux and/or water potentials, plant-level dimensional and allometric traits (height, diameter, basal area, leaf area, sapwood area, Huber value) and stand characteristics (plant density, leaf area index, basal area). kplant values are additionally expressed on common normalisation bases, including leaf area, sapwood area, wood area and ground area, as well as on a non-normalised whole-plant basis. We describe the dataset, its strengths and limitations, and provide some examples of its potential uses.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Earth and Environmental Sciences Schools > Physical, Chemical & Environmental Sciences
Additional Information:	Full authors available at DOI
Publisher:	Nature Research
ISSN:	2052-4463
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	13 October 2026
Date of Acceptance:	29 September 2026
Last Modified:	13 Oct 2026 10:47
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/190202

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