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

The role of power in financial statement fraud schemes

In this paper, we investigate a large-scale financial statement fraud to better understand the process by which individuals are recruited to participate in financial statement fraud schemes. The case reveals that perpetrators often use power to recruit others to participate in fraudulent acts. To illustrate how power is used, we propose a model, based upon the classical French and Raven taxonomy of power, that explains how one individual influences another individual to participate in financial statement fraud. We also provide propositions for future research

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

Distribution patterns of riodinid butterflies (Lepidoptera: Riodinidae) from southern Brazil

Background: The aim of this study was to synthesize the knowledge of Riodinidae butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) in Rio Grande do Sul state (RS), southern Brazil, evaluating the role of climatic, topographic, and vegetational variables on the observed patterns of occurrence and distribution of these butterflies in the Pampa and Atlantic Forest biomes. The records of riodinid butterflies in RS were collected from published studies and the examination of museum collections in Brazil. Results: A total of 97 taxa of Riodinidae were recorded, distributed in 92 municipalities. The NMDS analysis and the Constrained Analysis of Principal Coordinates grouped the municipalities according to the phytogeographic regions and biomes - Pampa and Atlantic Forest domains - in which the species records were made. Distance from the ocean, precipitation and temperature were the environmental variables which most contributed to explain the distribution patterns of these butterflies. The multivariate Mantel correlogram suggests that over short distances, the composition of species shows significant levels of spatial autocorrelation, and as geographic distance increases, these levels tend to present negative values. Conclusions: The results suggest that the observed distribution pattern of Riodinidae in the different biomes and phytogeographic regions in the extreme southern Brazil could be explained by climatic, environmental variables and geographic distance

Restoration of a terrestrialized soak lake of an irish raised bog: Results of field experiments

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