Data and code associated with the publication "Aboveground roots, underground roles: Aerial nutrient acquisition dominates in a terrestrial litter-trapper"

<p dir="ltr">This collection contains the data and code associated with the publication "Aboveground roots, underground roles: Aerial nutrient acquisition dominates in a terrestrial litter-trapper" by Tháles A. C. Pereira, Rafael S. Oliveira, Simone A. Vieira, and Gustavo Q. Romero.</p><p dir="ltr">This study describes a highly specialized terrestrial litter-trapper from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and documents an unexpected nutrient-acquisition strategy in a rooted terrestrial plant.

Although rooted in the ground, Ouratea verticillata appears to rely predominantly on nutrient acquisition occurring above the soil surface through a highly developed adventitious root system intertwined with the humic material derived from trapped detritus and through a close association with minute ants inhabiting this material.</p><p dir="ltr">This work originated from natural history observations initiated in 2006, when leaves of O. verticillata individuals were marked in the field.