Figures in scientific publications are critically important because they often show the data supporting key findings. Our systematic review of research articles published in top physiology journals (n = 703) suggests that, as scientists, we urgently need to change our practices for presenting continuous data in small sample size studies. Papers rarely included scatterplots, box plots, and histograms that allow readers to critically evaluate continuous data. Most papers presented continuous data in bar and line graphs. This is problematic, as many different data distributions can lead to the same bar or line graph. The full data may suggest different conclusions from the summary statistics. We recommend training investigators in data presentation, encouraging a more complete presentation of data, and changing journal editorial policies. Investigators can quickly make univariate scatterplots for small sample size studies using our Excel templates.

results_DMDtoolkit. This folder includes all the results produced by DMDtoolkit, such as “prediction results of DMD patients.xlsx” which contains the original prediction results of DMD patients from TREAT-NMD, Flanigan’s and GHCPAPF, “case7-1 (combination of multiple mutations).pdf” which is a vector illustration of a combination of multiple mutations. “supplement1.docx”. Examples of basic statistics includes calculation of summary, correlation coefficient, regression coefficient, and t test. “supplement2.docx”. Examples of basic graphs include pedigree, histogram, scatter plot with trend line, stem and leaf plot, and cluster dendrogram. (RAR 5435 kb)

The purpose of the SNF study was to improve understanding of the relationship between remotely sensed observations and important biophysical parameters in the boreal forest. A key element of the experiment was the development of methodologies to measure forest stand characteristics to determine values of importance to both remote sensing and ecology. Parameters studied were biomass, leaf area index, above-ground net primary productivity, bark area index and ground coverage by vegetation. Thirty two quaking aspen and thirty one black spruce sites were studied. Sites were chosen in uniform stands of aspen or spruce. Use of multiple plots within each site allowed estimation of the importance of spatial variation in stand parameters. Deciduous vegetation undergoes dramatic changes over the seasonal cycle. The varying amount of green foliage in the canopy effects the transpiration and productivity of the forest. Measurements of changes in the canopy and subcanopy green foliage amount over the spring of 1984 have been made. From above the subcanopy, photographs of the aspen canopy were taken, pointing vertically up. The photographs were taken at two locations in sites 16 and 93 on several different days. Foliage coverage was determined by overlaying grids with 200 points onto the photos of the canopy. The number of points obscured by vegetation were counted. These counts were adjusted for the area of the branches, which had been determined by photos taken before leaf out. The number of foliage points were then scaled between zero, for no leaves, to one, for maximum coverage. Subcanopy leaf extension was measured for beaked hazelnut and mountain maple, the two most common understory shrubs. For selected branches on trees in sites 16 and 93, the length and width of all leaves were measured on several days. These measurements were used to calculate a total leaf area which was scaled between 0 and 1 as with the aspen. The aspen canopy measurements have been combined with the subcanopy measurements and are available in this data set (i.e., SNF Forest Phenology/Leaf Expansion Data). These measurements of leafout show that the subcanopy leaf expansion lags behind that of the canopy. Subcanopy leaf expansion only begins in earnest after the canopy has reached nearly full coverage.

This data set provides mean leaf area index (LAI), dendrometry band measurements, and litterfall mass from samples collected at the km 67 research site, Topajos National Forest, Para, Brazil. Litterfall collections were from January 23, 2004 through December 3, 2004, dendrometer measurements were monthly between December 2003 and December 2004, and LAI measurements were collected from January 26, 2004 through November 3, 2004.

All measurements were taken at the km 67 site in the Tapajos National Forest. This site is situated in an area of Amazonian primary tropical forest belonging to the municipality of Belterra, Para, Brazil. The forest is mostly evergreen with a few deciduous species. The canopy is characterized by large emergent trees up to 55-m tall, with a closed canopy at approximately 40-m; there are few indications of recent anthropogenic disturbance other than hunting trails. Measurement plots (50) were established along 4 transects at the site and within each plot, 5 subplots were established. The longest transect (25 m x 500 m) was the location of 20 (25 m x 25 m) plots. The other 3 transects (25 m x 250 m) contain 10 plots per transect. Note that the assignment of plots to transects is not provided.

There are four comma-delimited data files (.csv) with this data set.

This data set of leaf, stem, and root biomass for various plant taxa was compiled from the primary literature of the 20th century with a significant portion derived from Cannell (1982). Recent allometric additions include measurements made by Niklas and colleagues (Niklas, 2003). This is a unique data set with which to evaluate allometric patterns of standing biomass within and across the broad spectrum of vascular plant species. Despite its importance to ecology, global climate research, and evolutionary and ecological theory, the general principles underlying how plant metabolic production is allocated to above- and below-ground biomass remain unclear. The resulting uncertainty severely limits the accuracy of models for many ecologically and evolutionarily important phenomena across taxonomically diverse communities. Thus, although quantitative assessments of biomass allocation patterns are central to biology, theoretical or empirical assessments of these patterns remain contentious.

The BOREAS TE-09 team collected several data sets related to chemical and photosynthetic properties of leaves. This data set contains canopy biochemistry data collected in 1994 in the NSA at the YJP, OJP, OBS, BS and OA sites including biochemistry lignin, nitrogen, cellulose, starch, and fiber concentrations. These data were collected to study the spatial and temporal changes in the canopy biochemistry of boreal forest cover types and how a high-resolution radiative transfer model in the mid-infrared could be applied in an effort to obtain better estimates of canopy biochemical properties using remote sensing.

See Table 1 and methods for details about data sets.

The BOREAS TE-10 team collected several data sets in support of its efforts to characterize and interpret information on the reflectance, transmittance, gas exchange, chlorophyll content, carbon content, hydrogen content, and nitrogen content of boreal vegetation. This data set describes the relationship between sample location, age, chlorophyll content, and C-H-N concentrations at several sites in the SSA conducted during the growing seasons of 1994 and 1996.

LAI estimates computed from unweighted openness by the canopy program from digitized canopy photographs.

Knowledge of the optical properties of the components of the forest canopy is important to the understanding of how plants interact with their environment and how this information may be used to determine vegetation characteristics using remote sensing. During the summers of 1983 and 1984, samples of the major components of the boreal forest canopy (needles, leaves, branches, moss, litter) were collected in the Superior National Forest (SNF) of Minnesota and sent to the Johnson Space Center (JSC). At JSC, the spectral reflectance and transmittance characteristics of the samples were determined for wavelengths between .35 and 2.1 micrometers using the Cary-14 radiometer. This report presents plots of these data as well as averages to the Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS) bands. There were two main thrusts to the SNF optical properties study. The first was to collect the optical properties of many of the components of the boreal forest canopy. The second goal of the study was to investigate the variability of optical properties within a species. The results of these studies allow a comparison of the optical properties of a variety of different species and a measure of the variability within species. These data provide basic information necessary to model canopy reflectance patterns.

The BOREAS TF-11 team gathered a variety of data to complement their tower flux measurements collected at the SSA Fen site. These data are LAI measurements made by the TF-11 team throughout the 1995 growing season. The data include the LAI of plants that fall into six categories: total, Carex spp., Betula pumila, Menyanthes trifoliata, Salix spp., and other vascular plants.

The variability of bi-directional spectral reflectance of cut conifer foilage between age classes, species and sites measured by LICOR.

The Boston University team collected several data sets along the Kalahari Transect during the SAFARI 2000 wet season field campaign between March 3 and March 18, 2000 to support the validation of the MODIS LAI/FPAR algorithm. Ground measurements of LAI, FPAR, leaf hemispherical reflectance and transmittance, and canopy transmittance were made using a LAI-2000 plant canopy analyzer, an AccuPAR ceptometer, a LiCor 1800-12S External Integrating Sphere (LI-1800) portable spectroradiometer, and an ASD handheld spectroradiometer. Leaf spectral data are provided in this data set. Leaf spectral measurements were made on samples from dominant tree, shrub, and grass species at 5 different Kalahari Transect sites - Mongu in Zambia and Pandamatenga, Maun, Okwa River, and Tshane in Botswana (from north to south) - where vegetation ranges from moist closed woodlands to arid sparsely-shrub-covered grasslands. Measurements were made on site with a LI-1800 portable spectroradiometer right after the leaves were cut from the trees or shrubs. Three or four sample leaves of each dominant species were measured.The data files, in ASCII comma-delimited (.csv) format, contain the wavelength of the measurement (from 400 nm to 1100 nm, at an interval of 1 nm) and the corresponding fraction of leaf reflectance, transmittance, and albedo (reflectance+transmittance). There is a separate data file for each tree and shrub species sampled at each site and a single file containing unidentified grass species collected from all of the sites. Average values for combined samples of trees and of shrubs at different sites are also provided.

The leaf spectra datasets contain visible and near infrared reflectance spectra data for both fresh and dry leaf samples collected in the ACCP. These samples are from Blackhawk Island, WI, Harvard Forest, MA, Howland, ME, Jasper Ridge, CA field sites and the Douglas fir and bigleaf maple seedling canopy study sites. Data reported for each sample is absorbance [log(1/Reflectance)] from 400-2498nm at 2nm intervals and a resolution of 10nm. These data were collected for the purpose of determining the relationship of foliar chemical concentrations with visible and near infrared wavelength reflectance spectra.. Both multiple linear regression and partial least square regression techniques have been used to relate lab chemistry data to spectral reflectance. ORNL DAAC maintains information on the entire ACCP.