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

Self-Organizing Maps to determine global distribution patterns of mangrove plant species and analysis of threats using socio-economic indicators

Présentation avec posterinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedHexennial International Conference ‘Meeting on Mangrove ecology, functioning and Management – MMM3’, 2-6 juillet, Galle, Sri Lank

Fundamental niche of the trees in mangroves forests

Présentation avec posterinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedYoung Marine Scientists’ Day Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee (VLIZ), 24 février, Brugge, Belgiqu

Delimitation of global mangrove biogeographic regions based on species composition using Self-Organizing Maps

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedHexennial International Conference ‘Meeting on Mangrove ecology, functioning and Management – MMM3’, 2-6 juillet, Galle, Sri Lank

Species distribution modelling of the trees in mangrove forests

info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

Seasonal atmospheric and oceanographic factors influencing poleward mangrove expansion in the southeastern American coast

Mangrove ecosystems are distributed worldwide, along tropical and subtropical coastlines. For a long time, mangrove biogeographers have been challenged by the question: why is mangrove distribution restricted to its current latitudinal limits? The Araranguá estuary in Brazil is located ~75 km beyond the eastern South America mangrove limit. Despite its geomorphology apparently being suitable for mangrove colonization, mangroves have been reported absent from this estuary. In this work, we analyze key environmental variables (such as the longest available observational in-situ records of air temperature) and provide an assessment of other environmental players (such as the adjacent ocean circulation and upwelling system) to better understand which factors could be determinant in the species range limits in eastern South America. Our results and assessment suggest that, depending on the season, multiple factors could combine to prevent a poleward dispersion of mangrove species. These are mainly the northward-directed longshore drift which dominates throughout the year and the high occurrence of chilling events during winter, although seasonal upwelling of cold waters in spring and summer could also influence the propagules’ viability