TRY – a global database of plant traits

Publication: Research - peer-reviewJournal article – Annual report year: 2011

  • Author: Kattge, J.

    Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

  • Author: Diaz, S.

    Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (AR)

  • Author: Lavorel, S.

    Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA), CNRS (FR)

  • Author: Prentice, I. C.

    Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University (AU)

  • Author: Leadley, P.

    Laboratoire d'Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution (ESE), Université Paris‐Sud (FR)

  • Author: Bönisch, G.

    Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

  • Author: Garnier, E.

    Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS (FR)

  • Author: Westoby, M.

    Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University (AU)

  • Author: Reich, P. B.

    Department of Forest Resources and Institute of the Environment, University of Minnesota (US)

  • Author: Wright, I. J.

    Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University (AU)

  • Author: Cornelissen, J. H. C.

    Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)

  • Author: Violle, C.

    Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CNRS (FR)

  • Author: Harrison, S. P.

    Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University (AU)

  • Author: Van Bodegom, P. M.

    Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)

  • Author: Reichstein, M.

    Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

  • Author: Enquist, B. J.

    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona (US)

  • Author: Soudzilovskaia, N. A.

    Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)

  • Author: Ackerly, D. D.

    Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley (US)

  • Author: Anand, M.

    School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph (CA)

  • Author: Atkin, O.

    Research School of Biology, Australian National University (AU)

  • Author: Bahn, M.

    Institute of Ecology, University of Innsbruck (AT)

  • Author: Baker, T. R.

    School of Geography, University of Leeds (GB)

  • Author: Baldocchi, D.

    Department of Environmental Science & Atmospheric Science Center, University of California (US)

  • Author: Bekker, R.

    Centre for Life Sciences, University of Groningen (NL)

  • Author: Blanco, C. C.

    Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)

  • Author: Blonder, B.

    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona (US)

  • Author: Bond, W. J.

    Department of Botany, University of Cape Town (ZA)

  • Author: Bradstock, R.

    School of Biological Science, University of Wollongong (AU)

  • Author: Bunker, D. E.

    Department of Biological Sciences, New Jersey Institute of Technology (US)

  • Author: Casanoves, F.

    Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Higher Education (CATIE) (CR)

  • Author: Cavender-Bares, J.

    Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota (US)

  • Author: Chambers, J. Q.

    Climate Sciences Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)

  • Author: Chapin III, F. S.

    Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks (US)

  • Author: Chave, J.

    Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, CNRS (FR)

  • Author: Coomes, D.

    Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge (GB)

  • Author: Cornwell, W. K.

    Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)

  • Author: Craine, J. M.

    Division of Biology, Kansas State University (US)

  • Author: Dobrin, B. H.

    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona (US)

  • Author: Duarte, L.

    Departamento de Ecologia, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (BR)

  • Author: Durka, W.

    Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE)

  • Author: Elser, J.

    School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University (US)

  • Author: Esser, G.

    Institute for Plant Ecology, Justus‐Liebig‐University (DE)

  • Author: Estiarte, M.

    Global Ecology Unit CREAF‐CEAB‐CSIC, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)

  • Author: Fagan, W. F.

    Department of Biology, University of Maryland (US)

  • Author: Fang, J.

    Departamento de Ecologia, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (BR)

  • Author: Fernández-Méndez, F.

    Departamento de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad del Tolima (CO)

  • Author: Fidelis, A.

    Department of Ecology, Universidade de São Paulo (BR)

  • Author: Finegan, B.

    Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Higher Education (CATIE) (CR)

  • Author: Flores, O.

    PVBMT, Université de la Réunion (FR)

  • Author: Ford, H.

    Department of Biology, University of York (GB)

  • Author: Frank, D.

    Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

  • Author: Freschet, G. T.

    Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney (AU)

  • Author: Fyllas, N. M.

    School of Geography, University of Leeds (GB)

  • Author: Gallagher, R. V.

    Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University (AU)

  • Author: Green, W. A.

    Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University (US)

  • Author: Gutierrez, A. G.

    Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE)

  • Author: Hickler, T.

    LOEWE Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (DE)

  • Author: Higgins, S. I.

    Institut für Physische Geographie, Goethe‐University Frankfurt (DE)

  • Author: Hodgson, J. G.

    Department of Botany, University of Sheffield (GB)

  • Author: Jalili, A.

    Department of Botany, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands (IR)

  • Author: Jansen, S.

    Institute for Systematic Botany and Ecology, Ulm University (DE)

  • Author: Joly, C. A.

    Department of Plant Biology, State University of Campinas (BR)

  • Author: Kerkhoff, A. J.

    Departments for Biology and Mathematics, Kenyon College (US)

  • Author: Kirkup, D.

    Herbarium, Library Art and Archives, The Royal Botanic Gardens (GB)

  • Author: Kitajima, K.

    Department of Biology, University of Florida (US)

  • Author: Kleyer, M.

    Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg (DE)

  • Author: Klotz, S.

    Department of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE)

  • Author: Knops, J. M. H.

    School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln (US)

  • Author: Kramer, K.

    Vegetation and Landscape Ecology (NL)

  • Author: Kühn, I.

    Departamento de Ecologia, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (BR)

  • Author: Kurokawa, H.

    Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University (JP)

  • Author: Laughlin, D.

    School of Forestry, Northern Arizona University (US)

  • Author: Lee, T. D.

    Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin‐Eau Claire (US)

  • Author: Leishman, M.

    Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University (AU)

  • Author: Lens, F.

    The Netherlands Centre for Biodiversity Naturalis (NL)

  • Author: Lenz, T.

    Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University (AU)

  • Author: Lewis, S. L.

    School of Geography, University of Leeds (GB)

  • Author: Lloyd, J.

    School of Geography, University of Leeds (GB)

  • Author: Llusia, J.

    Global Ecology Unit CREAF‐CEAB‐CSIC, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)

  • Author: Louault, F.

    Grassland Ecosystem Research, INRA (FR)

  • Author: Ma, S.

    Department of Environmental Science, University of California (US)

  • Author: Mahecha, M. D.

    Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

  • Author: Manning, P.

    School of Agriculture, Newcastle University (GB)

  • Author: Massad, T.

    Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

  • Author: Medlyn, B. E.

    Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University (AU)

  • Author: Messier, J.

    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona (US)

  • Author: Moles, A. T.

    School of Biological Earth and Environmental Sciences, University New South Wales (AU)

  • Author: Müller, S. C.

    Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)

  • Author: Nadrowski, K.

    Institute for Special Botany and Functional Biodiversity, University of Leipzig (DE)

  • Author: Naeem, S.

    Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia (US)

  • Author: Niinemets, Ü.

    Department of Plant Physiology, Estonian University of Life Sciences (EE)

  • Author: Nöllert, S.

    Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

  • Author: Nüske, A.

    Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

  • Author: Ogaya, R.

    Global Ecology Unit CREAF‐CEAB‐CSIC, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)

  • Author: Oleksyn, J.

    Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)

  • Author: Onipchenko, V. G.

    Department of Geobotany, Moscow State University (RU)

  • Author: Onoda, Y.

    Department Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University (JP)

  • Author: Ordonez, J.

    Law and Governance Group, Wageningen University (NL)

  • Author: Overbeck, G.

    Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)

  • Author: Ozinga, W. A.

    Centre for Ecosystem Studies, Alterra (NL)

  • Author: Patino, S.

    School of Geography, University of Leeds (GB)

  • Author: Paula, S.

    Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación, Spanish National Research Council (ES)

  • Author: Pausas, J. G.

    Centro de Investigaciones sobre Desertificación, Spanish National Research Council (ES)

  • Author: Penuelas, J.

    Global Ecology Unit CREAF‐CEAB‐CSIC, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)

  • Author: Phillips, O. L.

    School of Geography, University of Leeds (GB)

  • Author: Pillar, V.

    Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (BR)

  • Author: Poorter, H.

    Plant Sciences, Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)

  • Author: Poorter, L.

    Center for Ecosystem Studies, Wageningen University (NL)

  • Author: Poschlod, P.

    Institute of Botany, University of Regensburg (DE)

  • Author: Prinzing, A.

    Laboratoire Ecobio, Université de Rennes (FR)

  • Author: Proulx, R.

    Biologie Systémique de la Conservation, Université du Québec (CA)

  • Author: Rammig, A.

    Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (DE)

  • Author: Reinsch, Sabine

    Ecosystems, Biosystems Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark

  • Author: Reu, B.

    Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

  • Author: Sack, L.

    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California (US)

  • Author: Salgado-Negret, B.

    Tropical Agricultural Centre for Research and Higher Education (CATIE) (CR)

  • Author: Sardans, J.

    Global Ecology Unit CREAF‐CEAB‐CSIC, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES)

  • Author: Shiodera, S.

    Center for Sustainability Science, Hokkaido University (JP)

  • Author: Shipley, B.

    Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbrooke (CA)

  • Author: Siefert, A.

    Department of Biology, Syracuse University (US)

  • Author: Sosinski, E.

    Laboratory of Environmental Planning, Embrapa Temperate Agriculture (BR)

  • Author: Soussana, J.‐F.

    Grassland Ecosystem Research, INRA (FR)

  • Author: Swaine, E.

    Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen (GB)

  • Author: Swenson, N.

    Department of Plant Biology & Ecology, Michigan State University (US)

  • Author: Thompson, K.

    Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield (GB)

  • Author: Thornton, P.

    Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)

  • Author: Waldram, M.

    Department of Geography, Leicester University (GB)

  • Author: Weiher, E.

    Department of Biology, University of Wisconsin‐Eau Claire (US)

  • Author: White, M.

    Department of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University (US)

  • Author: White, S.

    School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph (CA)

  • Author: Wright, S. J.

    Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (PA)

  • Author: Yguel, B.

    Laboratoire Ecobio Université de Rennes, CNRS (FR)

  • Author: Zaehle, S.

    Max‐Planck‐Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)

  • Author: Zanne, A. E.

    Department of Biology, University of Missouri, St. Louis (US)

  • Author: Wirth, C.

    Department Biology, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University (JP)

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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.
Original languageEnglish
JournalGlobal Change Biology
Publication date2011
Volume17
Journal number9
Pages2905-2935
ISSN1354-1013
DOIs
StatePublished
CitationsWeb of Science® Times Cited: 64

Keywords

  • Environment and climate

ID: 5682863