TRY - a global database of plant traits

Jens Kattge; Sandra Diaz; Sandra Lavorel; I.C. Prentice; Paul Leadley; Gerhard Bonisch; Eric Garnier; Mark Westoby; Peter B. Reich; I. J. Wright; Johannes Hc Cornelissen; Cyrille Violle; Sandy P. Harrison; Peter M van Bodegom; Markus Reichstein; Brian J. Enquist; Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia; David D. Ackerly; Madhur Anand; Owen Atkin; Michael Bahn; T. R. Baker; D. Baldocchi; R. Bekker; Carolina C. Blanco; Benjamin Blonder; W. J. Bond; Ross Bradstock; Daniel E. Bunker; Fernando Casanoves; Jeannine Cavender-Bares; Jeffrey Q. Chambers; F. Stuart Chapin Iii; Jerome Chave; David Coomes; William K. Cornwell; Joseph M. Craine; B. H. Dobrin; L. Duarte; Walter Durka; James Elser; Gerd A. Esser; Marc Estiarte; William F. Fagan; Jingyun Fang; F. Fernandez-Mendez; Alessandra Fidelis; Brian Finegan; Olivier Flores; Hilary Ford; D. Frank; Grégoire T. Freschet; Nikolaos M. Fyllas; Rachael V. Gallagher; Walton A. Green; Alvaro G. Gutierrez; Thomas Hickler; Steven I. Higgins; J. G. Hodgson; Adel Jalili; Steven Jansen; Carlos A. Joly; Andrew J. Kerkhoff; Don Kirkup; Kaoru Kitajima; Michael Kleyer; Stefan Klotz; Johannes M. H. Knops; Koen Kramer; Ingolf Kuhn; Hiroko Kurokawa; D. Laughlin; T.D. Lee; Michelle Leishman; Frederic Lens; Simon L. Lewis; J. Lloyd; Joan Llusia; Frédérique Louault; S. Ma; M. D. Mahecha; Pete Manning; T. Massad; Belinda E. Medlyn; Julie Messier; Angela T. Moles; Sandra Cristina Muller; Karin Nadrowski; Shahid Naeem; Stephanie Nollert; A. Nuske; Roma Ogaya; Jacek Oleksyn; Vladimir G. Onipchenko; Yusuke Onoda; J. Ordonez; G. Overbeck; Wim Ozinga; S. Patiño; Susana Paula; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Amy E Zanne

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02451.x

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TRY - a global database of plant traits

Jens Kattge, Sandra Diaz, Sandra Lavorel, I.C. Prentice, Paul Leadley, Gerhard Bonisch, Eric Garnier, Mark Westoby, Peter B. Reich, I. J. Wright, …

Global change biology, Vol.17(9), pp.2905-2935

2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02451.x

PMCID: PMC3627314

Abstract

Biodiversity and Ecology

Environmental Sciences

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants and their organs - determine how primary producers respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, influence ecosystem processes and services and provide a link from species richness to ecosystem functional diversity. Trait data thus represent the raw material for a wide range of research from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology to biogeography. Here we present the global database initiative named TRY, which has united a wide range of the plant trait research community worldwide and gained an unprecedented buy-in of trait data: so far 93 trait databases have been contributed. The data repository currently contains almost three million trait entries for 69 000 out of the world's 300 000 plant species, with a focus on 52 groups of traits characterizing the vegetative and regeneration stages of the plant life cycle, including growth, dispersal, establishment and persistence. A first data analysis shows that most plant traits are approximately log-normally distributed, with widely differing ranges of variation across traits. Most trait variation is between species (interspecific), but significant intraspecific variation is also documented, up to 40% of the overall variation. Plant functional types (PFTs), as commonly used in vegetation models, capture a substantial fraction of the observed variation - but for several traits most variation occurs within PFTs, up to 75% of the overall variation. In the context of vegetation models these traits would better be represented by state variables rather than fixed parameter values. The improved availability of plant trait data in the unified global database is expected to support a paradigm shift from species to trait-based ecology, offer new opportunities for synthetic plant trait research and enable a more realistic and empirically grounded representation of terrestrial vegetation in Earth system models.

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.40 Forestry; 3.40.86 Seed Dispersal
Web Of Science research areas: Biodiversity Conservation; Ecology; Environmental Sciences
ESI research areas: Environment/Ecology

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Title: TRY - a global database of plant traits
Creators: Jens Kattge - Max Planck Society
Sandra Diaz - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
Sandra Lavorel - French National Centre for Scientific Research
I.C. Prentice - Macquarie University
Paul Leadley - University of Paris-Sud
Gerhard Bonisch - Max Planck Society
Eric Garnier - French National Centre for Scientific Research
Mark Westoby - Macquarie University
Peter B. Reich - Western Sydney University
I. J. Wright - Macquarie University
Johannes Hc Cornelissen - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Cyrille Violle - French National Centre for Scientific Research
Sandy P. Harrison - Macquarie University
Peter M van Bodegom - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Markus Reichstein - Max Planck Society
Brian J. Enquist - University of Arizona
Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
David D. Ackerly - University of California, Berkeley
Madhur Anand - University of Guelph
Owen Atkin - Australian National University
Michael Bahn - Universität Innsbruck
T. R. Baker - Earth and Biosphere Institute
D. Baldocchi - University of California, Berkeley
R. Bekker - University of Groningen
Carolina C. Blanco - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Benjamin Blonder - University of Arizona
W. J. Bond - University of Cape Town
Ross Bradstock - University of Wollongong
Daniel E. Bunker - New Jersey Institute of Technology
Fernando Casanoves - Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza Catie
Jeannine Cavender-Bares - University of Minnesota
Jeffrey Q. Chambers - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
F. Stuart Chapin Iii - Institute of Arctic Biology
Jerome Chave - French National Centre for Scientific Research
David Coomes - University of Cambridge
William K. Cornwell - Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Joseph M. Craine - Kansas State University
B. H. Dobrin - University of Arizona
L. Duarte - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul [Porto Alegre]
Walter Durka - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
James Elser - Arizona State University
Gerd A. Esser - University of Giessen
Marc Estiarte - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
William F. Fagan - University of Maryland, College Park
Jingyun Fang - University of Peking
F. Fernandez-Mendez - University of Tolima
Alessandra Fidelis - Universidade de São Paulo
Brian Finegan - Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza Catie
Olivier Flores - University of Reunion Island
Hilary Ford - University of York
D. Frank - Max Planck Society
Grégoire T. Freschet - University of Sydney
Nikolaos M. Fyllas - University of Leeds
Rachael V. Gallagher - Macquarie University
Walton A. Green - Harvard University
Alvaro G. Gutierrez - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
Thomas Hickler - Ecosystem
Steven I. Higgins - Goethe University Frankfurt
J. G. Hodgson - University of Sheffield
Adel Jalili - Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands
Steven Jansen - University of Ulm
Carlos A. Joly - Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)
Andrew J. Kerkhoff - Kenyon College
Don Kirkup - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Kaoru Kitajima - University of Florida
Michael Kleyer - Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
Stefan Klotz - Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
Johannes M. H. Knops - University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Koen Kramer - Ecosystem
Ingolf Kuhn - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Hiroko Kurokawa - Tohoku University
D. Laughlin - Northern Arizona University
T.D. Lee - University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire
Michelle Leishman - Macquarie University
Frederic Lens - Naturalis Biodiversity Center
Simon L. Lewis - University of Leeds
J. Lloyd - James Cook University
Joan Llusia - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Frédérique Louault - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
S. Ma - University of California, Berkeley
M. D. Mahecha - Max Planck Society
Pete Manning - University of New South Wales [Sydney]
T. Massad - Max Planck Society
Belinda E. Medlyn - Macquarie University
Julie Messier - University of Arizona
Angela T. Moles - UNSW Sydney
Sandra Cristina Muller - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Karin Nadrowski - Leipzig University
Shahid Naeem - Columbia University
Stephanie Nollert - Max Planck Society
A. Nuske - Max Planck Society
Roma Ogaya - Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Jacek Oleksyn - Polish Academy of Sciences
Vladimir G. Onipchenko - Lomonosov Moscow State University
Yusuke Onoda - Kyushu University
J. Ordonez - Wageningen University & Research
G. Overbeck - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Wim Ozinga - Wageningen University & Research
S. Patiño - University of Leeds
Susana Paula - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Amy E Zanne - A&S - Biology
Publication Details: Global change biology, Vol.17(9), pp.2905-2935
Publisher: Wiley
Academic Unit: A&S - Biology; College of A&S
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
PMCID: PMC3627314
Record Identifier: 991031757986502976