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

Floristic and structural patterns in South Brazilian coastal grasslands

ABSTRACT The natural vegetation of Southern Brazil's coastal region includes grasslands formations that are poorly considered in conservation policy, due to the lack of knowledge about these systems. This study reports results from a regional-scale survey of coastal grasslands vegetation along a 536 km gradient on southern Brazil. We sampled 16 sites along the coastal plain with 15 plots (1 m²) per site. All sites were grazed by cattle. We estimated plant species cover, vegetation height, percentage of bare soil, litter and manure, and classified species according to their growth forms. We found 221 species, 14 of them exotic and two threatened. The prostate grasses: Axonopus aff.affinis, Paspalum notatum and P. pumilumwere among the most important species. Prostrate graminoids species represented the most important vegetation cover, followed by cespitose grasses. Vegetation height, bare soil, litter and manure were similar among all areas, highlighting the homogeneity of sampling sites due to similar management. In comparison to other grasslands formations in Southern Brazil, the coastal grasslands presented rather low species richness. The presence of high values for bare soil at all sampling sites indicates the need to discuss management practices in the region, especially with regard to the intensity of livestock grazing

Poaceae pollen grain size as a tool to distinguish past grasslands in South America: a new methodological approach

Despite the dominance of grasslands during the last glacial period, especially in South America, the highly uniform morphology of Poaceae pollen grains has so far allowed only very few palynological studies based on Poaceae pollen. In our study we compare two methods of distinguishing between South American grassland ecosystems based on quantitative morphology of Poaceae pollen grains. We investigated data sets from Paramo in southern Ecuador, Campos de Altitude and Campos in south-eastern and southern Brazil as well as data sets from the Pampa in Argentina by measuring the pollen grain length, grain width, pore diameter and annulus width. Firstly we investigated the potential influence of chemical treatment of pollen grains on pollen grain size as well as the measurement setting for defining the boundary conditions for using Poaceae pollen grains in a palaeoecological investigation. Finally the measured pollen grain parameters were analyzed by comparison of average grain length using statistical tests. This approach reveals highly significant differences in average grain size between all grassland ecosystems. Assuming that a certain grain size range can be assigned to a certain Poaceae taxon, conclusions about differences and similarities in taxa composition can be derived. We used two methods of multivariate data analysis. One uses the pollen grain parameters directly for a Principle Component Analysis (PCA). The other is an already established method in grassland ecology which defines parameter based pollen grain types to investigate similarities between grassland ecosystems. Both approaches confirm the results of the grain length analysis. In this work we demonstrate that the method we developed has the potential to provide acquisition of so far inaccessible information on spatial and temporal patterns and dynamics of South American grasslands

The program for biodiversity research in Brazil: The role of regional networks for biodiversity knowledge, dissemination, and conservation

The Program for Biodiversity Research (PPBio) is an innovative program designed to integrate all biodiversity research stakeholders. Operating since 2004, it has installed long-term ecological research sites throughout Brazil and its logic has been applied in some other southern-hemisphere countries. The program supports all aspects of research necessary to understand biodiversity and the processes that affect it. There are presently 161 sampling sites (see some of them at Supplementary Appendix), most of which use a standardized methodology that allows comparisons across biomes and through time. To date, there are about 1200 publications associated with PPBio that cover topics ranging from natural history to genetics and species distributions. Most of the field data and metadata are available through PPBio web sites or DataONE. Metadata is available for researchers that intend to explore the different faces of Brazilian biodiversity spatio-temporal variation, as well as for managers intending to improve conservation strategies. The Program also fostered, directly and indirectly, local technical capacity building, and supported the training of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students. The main challenge is maintaining the long-term funding necessary to understand biodiversity patterns and processes under pressure from global environmental changes

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

Palynological analysis of a late Holocene core from Santo Antônio da Patrulha, Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil

A sedimentar core collected at Santo Antônio da Patrulha, Rio Grande do Sul State, southmost Brazil, was submitted to pollen analysis to provide the vegetational history of this region, and the paleoecological and paleoclimatic changes. A total of 98 taxa of palynomorphs was identified from 35 subsamples. Three radiocarbonic datings were obtained along a section of 115 cm depth, including the basal age of 4730 ± 50 yr BP. Pollen diagrams and cluster analysis were performed based on palynomorphs frequencies, demonstrating five distinct phases (SAP-I to SAP-V), which reflected different paleoecological conditions. The predominance of plants associated with grasslands in the phase SAP-I suggests warm and dry climate conditions. A gradual increasing of humidity conditions was observed mainly from the beginning of the phase SAP-III, when the vegetation set a mosaic of grasslands and Atlantic rainforest. Furthermore, the presence of some forest taxa ( Acacia-type, Daphnopsis racemosa, Erythrina-type and Parapiptadenia rigida-type), from the phase SAP-IV, is interpreted as an influence of the seasonal semideciduous forest in the study region. From the phase SAP-V (ca. 4000 yrs BP), the vegetation became similar to the modern one (extant Atlantic rainforest Biome), especially after 2000 yrs BP (calibrated age).Um testemunho de sondagem coletado em Santo Antônio da Patrulha, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil, foi submetido para análise polínica a fim de revelar a história vegetacional e mudanças paleoecológicas e paleoclimáticas. Um total de 98 táxons foi identificado a partir de 35 subamostras. Três datações radiocarbônicas foram obtidas ao longo de uma seção de 115 cm de profundidade, incluindo a idade basal de 4730 ± 50 anos AP. Diagramas polínicos e análises de agrupamentos foramrealizadas com base nas freqüências dos palinomorfos, demonstrando cinco fases distintas (SAP-I a SAP-V), as quais refletiram diferentes condições paleoecológicas. A predominância de plantas relacionadas à vegetação campestre na fase SAP-I sugere condições climáticas quentes e secas. Um gradual aumento nas condições de umidade foi observado principalmente no início da fase SAP-III, quando a vegetação conformou um mosaico de Campos e Floresta Atlântica. Além disso, a presença de certos táxons florestais (tipo- Acacia, Daphnopsis racemosa, tipo Erythrina e tipo Parapiptadenia rigida), a partir da fase SAP-IV, é interpretada como influência da Floresta Estacional Semidecidual na região de estudo. A partir da fase SAP-V (ca. 4000 anos AP) a vegetação tornou-se similar à moderna (atual Bioma da Floresta Atlântica), especialmente após 2000 anos AP (idade calibrada)