TRY – a global database of plant traits

Jens Kattge(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), Soledad Dı́az(Universidad Nacional de Córdoba), Sandra Lavorel(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), I. Colin Prentice(Macquarie University), Paul Leadley(Université Paris-Sud), Gerhard Bönisch(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), Éric Garnier(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Mark Westoby(Macquarie University), Peter B. Reich(University of Minnesota), Ian J. Wright(Macquarie University), J. H. C. Cornelissen(Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Cyrille Violle(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Sandy P. Harrison(Macquarie University), Peter M. van Bodegom(Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Markus Reichstein(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), Brian J. Enquist(University of Arizona), Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia(Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), David D. Ackerly(Integra (United States)), M. Anand(University of Guelph), Owen K. Atkin(Australian National University), Michael Bahn(Universität Innsbruck), Timothy R. Baker(University of Leeds), Dennis Baldocchi(University of California, Berkeley), R.M. Bekker(University of Groningen), C. Blanco(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Benjamin Blonder(University of Arizona), William J. Bond(University of Cape Town), Ross A. Bradstock(University of Wollongong), Dan 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(University of Alaska Fairbanks), Jérôme Chave(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), David A. Coomes(University of Cambridge), William K. Cornwell(Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Joseph M. Craine(Kansas State University), Barbara Dobrin(University of Arizona), Leandro Duarte(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Walter Durka(Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research), James J. Elser(Arizona State University), G. Esser(Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen), Marc Estiarte(Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), William F. Fagan(University of Maryland, College Park), Jinwei Fang(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Fernando Fernández‐Méndez(University of Tolima), Alessandra Fidélis(Universidade de São Paulo), Bryan Finegan(Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza Catie), Olivier Flores(Peuplements végétaux et bioagresseurs en milieu tropical), HENRY FORD(University of Bath), Dorothea Frank(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), Grégoire T. Freschet(Western Sydney University), Nikolaos M. Fyllas(University of Leeds), Rachael V. Gallagher(Macquarie University), W. A. GREEN(Harvard University), Álvaro G. Gutiérrez(Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research), Thomas Hickler(LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics), Steven I. Higgins(Goethe University Frankfurt), J. G. Hodgson(University of Sheffield), Amir Jalili(Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands), Steven Jansen(Universität Ulm), Carlos Alfredo Joly(Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)), Andrew J. Kerkhoff(Kenyon College), Donald W. 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), K. Krämer, Ingolf Kühn(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), H. Kurokawa(Tohoku University), Daniel C. Laughlin(Northern Arizona University), Tali D. Lee(University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire), Michelle R. Leishman(Macquarie University), Frederic Lens(Naturalis Biodiversity Center), Tanja I. Lenz(Macquarie University), Simon L. Lewis(University of Leeds), Jon Lloyd(University of Leeds), Joan Llusià(Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Frédérique Louault, Sai Ma(University of California, Berkeley), Miguel D. Mahecha(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), Peter Manning(Newcastle University), Tara Joy Massad(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), Belinda E. Medlyn(Macquarie University), J. Messier(University of Arizona), Angela T. Moles(Environmental Earth Sciences), Sandra Cristina Müller(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Karin Nadrowski(Leipzig University), S. NAEEM(Columbia University), Ülo Niinemets(Estonian University of Life Sciences), Stephanie Nöllert(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), Alison Nuske(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), Romà Ogaya(Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Jacek Oleksyn(Institute of Dendrology), V. G. Onipchenko(Lomonosov Moscow State University), Yusuke Onoda(Kyushu University), Jenny Ordóñez(Wageningen University & Research), Gerhard E. Overbeck(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), W.A. Ozinga(Wageningen University & Research), S. Patiño(University of Leeds), Susana Paula(Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Juli G. Pausas(Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), Josep Peñuelas(Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Oliver L. Phillips(University of Leeds), Valério D. Pillar(Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul), Hendrik Poorter(Forschungszentrum Jülich), Lourens Poorter(Wageningen University & Research), Peter Poschlod(University of Regensburg), Andréas Prinzing(Ecosystèmes, Biodiversité, Evolution), Raphaël Proulx(Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières), Anja Rammig(Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research), Sabine Reinsch, Björn Reu(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), Lawren Sack(University of California, Los Angeles), Beatriz Salgado‐Negret(Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza Catie), Jordi Sardans(Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Satomi Shiodera(Hokkaido University), Bill Shipley(Université de Sherbrooke), Andrew Siefert(Syracuse University), Ênio Sosinski(Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), Jean‐François Soussana, Emily K. Swaine(University of Aberdeen), Nathan G. Swenson(Michigan State University), Ken Thompson(University of Sheffield), Peter Thornton(Oak Ridge National Laboratory), Matthew Waldram(University of Leicester), Evan Weiher(University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire), Michael A. White(Utah State University), Sue White(University of Guelph), S. Joseph Wright‬(Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute), Benjamin Yguel(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Sönke Zaehle(Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry), Amy E. Zanne(University of Missouri–St. Louis), Christian Wirth(Kyushu University)
Global Change Biology
April 26, 2011
10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02451.x
Cited by 2,662Open Access
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Abstract

Abstract 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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