TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives. EEA Santa Cruz Fil: Kattge, Jens. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry; Alemania Fil: Kattge, Jens. German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). Halle-Jena Leipzig; Alemania Fil: Bönisch, Gerhard. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry; Alemania Fil: Díaz, Sandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV); Argentina. Fil: Díaz, Sandra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales; Argentina. Fil: Lavorel, Sandra. Université Grenoble Alpes. CNRS; Francia. Fil: Lavorel, Sandra. Université Savoie Mont Blanc. LECA; Francia. Fil: Colin Prentice, Iain. Imperial College; Reino Unido Fil: Leadley, Paul. University of Paris-Sud. Ecologie Systématique Evolution. CNRS; Francia Fil: Leadley, Paul. Université Paris-Saclay. AgroParisTech; Francia. Fil: Wirth, Christian. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry; Alemania Fil: Wirth, Christian. German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). Halle-Jena Leipzig; Alemania Fil: Wirth, Christian. University of Leipzig; Alemania Fil: Tautenhahn, Susanne. Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry; Alemania Fil: Tautenhahn, Susanne. German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). Halle-Jena Leipzig; Alemania Fil: Werner, Gijsbert D.A. University of Oxford. Department of Zoology; Reino Unido Fil: Werner, Gijsbert D.A. University of Oxford. Balliol College; Reino Unido Fil: Gargaglione Verónica Beatriz. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Fil: Gargaglione Verónica Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina. Fil: Gargaglione Verónica Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina. Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia Austral; Argentina. Fil: Peri, Pablo Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.