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

Nickel isotope fractionation in komatiites and associated sulfides in the hart deposit, Late Archean Abitibi Greenstone Belt, Canada

Extremely light and highly variable δ60Ni values have been observed in komatiite-associated magmatic sulfides in recent studies. In this study, we examine the mechanisms of Ni isotope fractionation between silicate and sulfide liquids in the Hart komatiite-associated Fe-Ni-Cu-sulfide system. We assess the petrogenetic significance of these mechanisms using Ni isotope and concentration data. The concentration of Ni in bulk rock varies from 774 to 2690 ppm in komatiite samples with no sulfide minerals to 8380–39,300 ppm in samples almost entirely consisting of sulfide minerals. The δ60Ni values vary from +0.14‰ in komatiite samples with no sulfide minerals to −1.06‰ in samples dominantly consisting of sulfide minerals. A theoretical model of fractionation between the komatiitic lava and sulfide xenomelt with nickel isotope exchange followed by fractional crystallization during crystallization of the sulfide melt can produce a range of δ60Ni values from +0.17‰ to −1.02‰ in sulfide-rich rocks depending on the extent of fractional crystallization and the amount of trapped melt between the sulfide mineral grains, which corresponds well with the range of values observed in these rocks. This proposed model requires fractionation of Ni isotopes between sulfide liquid and the earliest formed sulfide crystals during crystallization. Effects of later crystallization during peritectic reactions and subsolidus exsolution could be tested by in situ measurements of Ni isotopes in different textural varieties of pentlandite that formed over a large range of temperatures during cooling

Walking rover trafficability - Presenting a comprehensive analysis and prediction tool

Although walking rovers perform well in rocky terrain, their performance over sands and other deformable materials has not been well studied. A better understanding of walking rover terramechanics will be essential if they are to be actually deployed on a space mission. This paper presents a comprehensive walking rover terramechanics model incorporating slip and sinkage dependencies. In addition to quantifying the leg / soil forces, the superior trafficability potential of a walking rover in deformable terrain is demonstrated, and a control approach is described which can reduce the risk inherent in traversing soils with unknown physical parameters. This work enhances the state of the art of legged rover trafficability and highlights some potential benefits from deploying micro-legged rovers for future surface exploration missions