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News Archive


Data release currently delayed
Due to the high number of requests to TRY, the data release is currently delayed. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you very much for your patience. (link)
Pub.date2024-10-31
Exp.date2019-12-31

Website down on 25.09.2024
The TRY website will be down on 25.09.2024 for a short time due to maintenance of the Internet connection. (link)
Pub.date2024-09-24
Exp.date2019-12-31

50 Billion Data Served
As of today, TRY has released more than 50,000,000,000 data from the database: 5 billion traits and 45 billion auxiliary data. Thus, from 2022 to 2024, TRY published 10 billion more data than in the entire period 2007-2021. (link)
Pub.date2024-06-03
Exp.date2099-12-31

Data release currently delayed
Due to the high number of requests to TRY, the data release is currently delayed. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you very much for your patience. (link)
Pub.date2024-05-30
Exp.date2019-12-31

Mourning for Gerhard Bönisch
We mourn the loss of our long-time companion and friend Gerhard Bönisch, who passed away very suddenly on May 6, 2024 at the age of 62 after a long and severe illness. Gerhard was a founding member of the TRY initiative and a member of the Steering Committee. He was responsible for developing and maintaining the data infrastructure and the TRY website. A Physicist by training, he first worked with Wallace Broecker at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in New York, where he recognized the great importance of professional data management at an early stage and built extensive expertise in this area. In 1999, he joined the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry as Scientific Data Manager. Based on Gerhards proven excellence in data management, in 2007, DIVERSITAS and IGBP asked the MPI-BGC to support the development of a global database of plant traits for ecosystem and biodiversity research. This soon became the TRY Plant Trait Database. Now, the TRY database has reached unprecedented coverage of plant trait data, routinely serves about 20 requests per day, and has contributed to numerous publications. The launch of the TRY initiative in 2007 required vision, trust, dedication, and scientific understanding. But it was Gerhards unique role, his excellence in scientific data management and web service development, that genuinely brought TRY to life and ensured its success. He transformed the concept of a global plant trait database and incentive-based data sharing into a tangible reality. With Gerhard, we have lost a much-loved and always-helpful colleague. We will remember him as a brilliant, polite, cheerful, empathetic, and brave friend and colleague. Farewell, Gerhard, we miss you dearly. Our deepest sympathy goes to his mother, wife and sons. You are warmly invited to participate in Gerhards Kudoboard, filling it with your memories and thoughts of Gerhard or saying “thank you” one last time. The TRY Steering Committee (link)
Pub.date2024-05-17
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Najm et al.: Integrating data and knowledge to support the selection of service plant species in agroecology. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture (link)
Pub.date2024-05-16
Exp.date2019-12-31

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try to introduce paragraphs try to introduce paragraphs (link)
Pub.date2024-05-13
Exp.date2019-12-31

Data release currently delayed
Due to an exceptionally high volume of requests to TRY, data release is currently delayed. However, requested data will be made available within days. We apologize for inconveniences. Thank you very much for your patience. (link)
Pub.date2024-02-08
Exp.date2009-12-31

EGU General Assembly 2024, 14-19 April in Vienna, Autstria
(link)
Pub.date2024-01-03
Exp.date2019-12-31

EGU General Assembly 2024, 14-19 April in Vienna, Autstria
(link)
Pub.date2024-01-03
Exp.date2019-12-31

EGU General Assembly 2024, 14-19 April in Vienna, Autstria
(link)
Pub.date2024-01-03
Exp.date2019-12-31

EGU General Assembly 2024, 14-19.April in Vienna, Austria
(link)
Pub.date2024-01-03
Exp.date2019-12-31

EGU General Assembly: 14-19 April 2024 in Vienna, Austria
(link)
Pub.date2024-01-02
Exp.date2019-12-31

Website offline
On 2023-10-08 until the next morning, the TRY website was offline due to an expired certificate. We are sorry for the inconvenience and apologize (link)
Pub.date2023-10-09
Exp.date2023-10-15

15 Years Data Availability From TRY
After being founded at a meeting in Alicante, Spain, in April 2007, TRY made the first data available in October 2008, exactly 15 years ago. The first years, demand was limited and rather sporadic. Nowadays, we receive requests on a two hourly basis 24/7. (link)
Pub.date2023-10-05
Exp.date2099-12-31

Assembly of functional diversity in an oceanic island flora
Oceanic island floras are well known for their morphological peculiarities and exhibit striking examples of trait evolution1. These morphological shifts are commonly attributed to insularity and are thought to be shaped by the biogeographical processes and evolutionary histories of oceanic islands. Here the authors describe the functional trait space of the native flora of an oceanic island (Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain) using extensive field and laboratory measurements, and relate it to global trade-offs in ecological strategies. They find that the island trait space exhibits a remarkable functional richness but that most plants are concentrated around a functional hotspot dominated by shrubs with a conservative life-history strategy. Their results also suggest that colonization via long-distance dispersal and the interplay between inter-island dispersal and archipelago-level speciation processes drive functional divergence and trait space expansion. By combining biogeography, ecology and evolution, the approach opens new avenues for trait-based insights into how dispersal, speciation and persistence shape the assembly of entire native island floras. (Barajas Barbosa et al. 2023, Nature) (link)
Pub.date2023-08-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Assembly of functional diversity in an oceanic island flora. Barajas Barbosa, et al. (2023) Nature 619, 545–550. (link)
Pub.date2023-08-18
Exp.date2019-12-31

The global spectrum of plant form and function
Earth is home to a remarkable diversity of plant forms and life histories, yet comparatively few essential trait combinations have proved evolutionarily viable in todays terrestrial biosphere. By analysing worldwide variation in six major traits critical to growth, survival and reproduction within the largest sample of vascular plant species ever compiled, we found that occupancy of six-dimensional trait space is strongly concentrated, indicating coordination and trade-offs. Three-quarters of trait variation is captured in a two-dimensional global spectrum of plant form and function. One major dimension within this plane reflects the size of whole plants and their parts; the other represents the leaf economics spectrum, which balances leaf construction costs against growth potential. The global plant trait spectrum provides a backdrop for elucidating constraints on evolution, for functionally qualifying species and ecosystems, and for improving models that predict future vegetation based on continuous variation in plant form and function. (Diaz et al. 2016, Nature) (link)
Pub.date2023-08-18
Exp.date2019-12-31

New Server
We have a new server. Please report any issues to boenisch at bgc-jena.mpg.de (link)
Pub.date2023-06-08
Exp.date2023-06-22

Consolidated ‘Plant Growth Form’ data for >200.000 species from the GIFT database now publicly available via TRY
The Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT) database has contributed highly consolidated data for ‘Plant Growth Form’ (tree, shrub, herb) for more than 200.000 species to TRY. These data are now publicly available. The GIFT database is a global archive of regional plant checklists, floras, and plant functional traits. It contains information about the floristic status of 367,854 species across 3,485 geographic regions. Functional trait information is available for 281,836 species and 109 traits. (link)
Pub.date2023-05-05
Exp.date2019-12-31

Consolidated ‘Plant Growth Form’ data for >200,000 species from the GIFT database now publicly available via TRY
Highly consolidated data for ‘Plant Growth Form’ (tree, shrub, herb) for more than 200,000 species contributed to TRY by the Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT) database are now publicly available via TRY. GIFT is a global archive of regional plant checklists and floras, and plant functional traits. It contains information about the floristic status of 367,854 species across 3,485 geographic regions. In addition, functional trait information is available for 281,836 species and 109 traits. (link)
Pub.date2023-05-05
Exp.date2099-12-31

rtry - an R package to process TRY database output files
rtry is designed to support the application of plant trait data providing easily applicable functions for the basic steps of data preprocessing, e.g. data import, data exploration, selection of columns and rows, excluding trait data according to different attributes, geocoding, long- to wide-table transformation, and data export. rtry makes use of specific features of data released from the TRY database but can be used for other datasets as well. The use of rtry does not need in-depth knowledge of R. (Lam et al. 2022, CRAN R Archive) (link)
Pub.date2023-04-25
Exp.date2099-12-31

Intercomparison of global foliar trait maps
The intercomparison of global foliar trait maps reveals fundamental differences in upscaling approaches. Dechant et al. compare global upscaled foliar trait maps at 0.5° spatial resolution (six maps for SLA, five for N, and three for P). Their findings indicate the importance of within-grid-cell trait variation and of the approach to account for this variation in the upscaling. (Dechant et al. 2023, EarthArXiv) (link)
Pub.date2023-04-25
Exp.date2099-12-31

Preprint published
Dechant et al.: Intercomparison of global foliar trait maps reveals fundamental differences and limitations of upscaling approaches (link)
Pub.date2023-04-25
Exp.date2019-12-31

R package published
Lam et al.: rtry - Preprocessing Plant Trait Data (link)
Pub.date2023-04-25
Exp.date2019-12-31

Citizen science plant observations encode global trait patterns
With the increasing popularity of species identification apps, citizen scientists contribute to growing vegetation data collections. Wolf et al. show that global trait patterns can be mapped by complementing vascular plant observations from the global citizen science project iNaturalist with measurements from the plant trait database TRY. The maps are evaluated against traits in the global vegetation plot dataset sPlotOpen and show correlations up to 0.69. As citizen science data collections continue to grow, they expect them to play a significant role in further improving maps of plant functional traits. (Wolf et al. 2022, Nature Ecology & Evolution) (link)
Pub.date2023-04-25
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Wolf et al.: Citizen science plant observations encode global trait patterns. (link)
Pub.date2023-04-25
Exp.date2019-12-31

Activity Report 2022
The main TRY event in 2022 was the release of version 6 of the TRY database. Data request remained high in 2022, 782 million trait records were given out for 5464 requests. (link)
Pub.date2023-01-03
Exp.date2024-12-31

Data release delayed
Due to the holiday season and sickness of staff, the release of trait data from the TRY database is currently slowed down and delayed. We are very sorry for this and apologise for the inconvenience. Many thanks for your patience and understanding. (link)
Pub.date2022-04-21
Exp.date2019-12-31

Data release delayed
Due to the holiday season and sickness of staff, the release of trait data from the TRY database is currently slowed down and delayed. We are very sorry for this and apologise for the inconvenience. Many thanks for your patience and understanding. (link)
Pub.date2022-04-21
Exp.date2019-12-31

Database down on 11./12. February 2022
Due to IT maintenance at the Institute, the TRY Website and Database may be down on 11./12.February 2022. (link)
Pub.date2022-02-11
Exp.date2022-02-28

PhD Opportunities
PhD opportunities with Ian Wright at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University, Australia. (link)
Pub.date2022-01-31
Exp.date2022-03-31

Climatic and soil factors explain the two-dimensional spectrum of global plant trait variation
Plant functional traits can predict community assembly and ecosystem functioning and are thus widely used in global models of vegetation dynamics and land–climate feedbacks. Still, we lack a global understanding of how land and climate affect plant traits. A previous global analysis of six traits observed two main axes of variation: (1) size variation at the organ and plant level and (2) leaf economics balancing leaf persistence against plant growth potential. The orthogonality of these two axes suggests they are differently influenced by environmental drivers. The authors find that these axes persist in a global dataset of 17 traits across more than 20,000 species. The authors find a dominant joint effect of climate and soil on trait variation. Additional independent climate effects are also observed across most traits, whereas independent soil effects are almost exclusively observed for economics traits. Variation in size traits correlates well with a latitudinal gradient related to water or energy limitation. In contrast, variation in economics traits is better explained by interactions of climate with soil fertility. These findings have the potential to improve our understanding of biodiversity patterns and our predictions of climate change impacts on biogeochemical cycles. (Joswig et al. 2021, Nature Ecology and Evolution) (link)
Pub.date2022-01-03
Exp.date2099-12-31

20 Billion Data Served
As of today, TRY has released more than 20,000,000,000 data from the database: 2.3 billion traits and 17.7 billion auxiliary data. In 2021, TRY has thus published approximately as many data as in the entire period 2007-2020. (link)
Pub.date2022-01-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Data Output Delayed
Due to an unusual large number of requests and some computer trouble, data output is currently delayed. (link)
Pub.date2021-08-03
Exp.date2021-08-06

Activity Report
In June 2021, TRY received 471 requests and released 54.3 million trait data for 454 requests; 3 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 15540 received requests, 1908 million trait records released for 13942 requests, and 394 recorded publications. This will be last monthly report for the time being, because there do not seem to be any big monthly differences. (link)
Pub.date2021-07-01
Exp.date2021-08-01

Activity Report
In May 2021, TRY received 324 requests and released 66.5 million trait data for 304 requests; 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 15069 received requests, 1854 million trait records released for 13488 requests, and 391 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2021-06-01
Exp.date2021-07-01

Activity Report
In April 2021, TRY received 415 requests and released 78.2 million trait data for 384 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 14745 received requests, 1788 million trait records released for 13184 requests, and 390 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2021-05-03
Exp.date2021-06-01

Activity Report
In March 2021, TRY received 398 requests and released 79.3 million trait data for 492 requests; 25 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 14330 received requests, 1710 million trait records released for 12800 requests, and 388 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2021-04-01
Exp.date2021-05-01

Data Output Delayed
Due to an exceptional large number of requests that have been submitted, data output for new requests is delayed a few days. We hope to be back on track by the end of the week. (link)
Pub.date2021-03-02
Exp.date2021-03-03

Activity Report
In February 2021, TRY received 428 requests and released 58.2 million trait data for 313 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 13932 received requests, 1629 million trait records released for 12308 requests, and 353 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2021-03-01
Exp.date2021-04-01

Activity Report
In January 2021, TRY received 394 requests and released 51.3 million trait data for 383 requests; 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 13504 received requests, 1571 million trait records released for 11995 requests, and 350 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2021-02-02
Exp.date2021-03-01

A reporting format for leaf-level gas exchange data and metadata
Leaf-level gas exchange data support the mechanistic understanding of plant fluxes of carbon and water. The high value of these data is exemplified by the many publications that reuse and synthesise gas exchange data. However, the lack of metadata and data reporting conventions makes full and efficient use of these data difficult. The authors propose a reporting format for leaf-level gas exchange data and metadata to guide data contributors on storing data in repositories to maximize their discoverability, facilitate their efficient reuse, and add value to individual datasets (Ely et al. 2021 Ecological Informatics). (link)
Pub.date2021-02-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In December 2020, TRY received 340 requests and released 40.0 million trait data for 288 requests; 5 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 13110 received requests, 1521 million trait records released for 11612 requests, and 349 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2021-01-04
Exp.date2021-02-01

Activity Report
In November 2020, TRY received 312 requests and released 42.2 million trait data for 303 requests; 8 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 12769 received requests, 1481 million trait records released for 11325 requests, and 344 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-12-01
Exp.date2021-01-01

Activity Report
In October 2020, TRY received 391 requests and released 47.8 million trait data for 357 requests; 28 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 12457 received requests, 1439 million trait records released for 11022 requests, and 336 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-11-05
Exp.date2020-12-01

Activity Report
In September 2020, TRY received 531 requests and released 47.0 million trait data for 472 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 12066 received requests, 1391 million trait records released for 10665 requests, and 308 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-10-01
Exp.date2020-11-01

Activity RTeport
In August 2020, TRY received 238 requests and released 36.6 million trait data for 212 requests; 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 11535 received requests, 1344 million trait records released for 10193 requests, and 305 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-09-15
Exp.date2020-10-01

10 Billion Data Served
As of today, TRY has released more than 10,000,000,000 data from the database, 1.3 billion traits and 8.7 billion auxiliary data. (link)
Pub.date2020-08-11
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In July 2020, TRY received 556 requests and released 80.1 million (new record high) trait data for 651 (new record high) requests; 6 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 11297 received requests, 1307 million trait records released for 9981 requests, and 304 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-08-03
Exp.date2020-09-01

New Publication
Byun, Blois and Brisson: Restoring functionally diverse communities enhances invasion resistance in a freshwater wetland. Journal of Ecology. (link)
Pub.date2020-07-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

New Publication
Bergmann et al.: The fungal collaboration gradient dominates the root economics space in plants. Science Advances. (link)
Pub.date2020-07-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In June 2020, TRY received 593 requests and released 43.7 million trait data for 466 requests; 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 10741 received requests, 1227 million trait records released for 9310 requests, and 298 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-07-01
Exp.date2020-08-01

Activity Report
In May 2020, TRY received 671 requests and released 62 million trait data for 630 requests (new record high, third time in a row and probably last time for a long time); 6 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 10148 received requests, 1183 million trait records released for 8864 requests, and 297 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-06-02
Exp.date2020-07-01

Request 10.000
TRY has just received the 10.000th request for data from the Plant Trait Database (link)
Pub.date2020-05-20
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In April 2020, TRY received 392 requests and released 51 million trait data for 359 requests (new record high again); 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 9477 received requests, 1121 million trait records released for 8234 requests, and 291 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-05-04
Exp.date2020-06-01

Global maps of leaf traits using remote sensing, climatological data, the TRY database, and machine learning
Moreno-Martínez et al. have published global high-resolution maps of SLA, LDMC, leaf nitrogen content per area, and leaf phosphorus content per area at the TRY File Archive: https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Data.php#59 and https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Data.php#60. The data are available at two spatial resolutions: 3km and 1km. The maps are an updated version based on Moreno-Martínez et al. (2018) A methodology to derive global maps of leaf traits using remote sensing and climate data (Remote Sensing of Environment, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.09.006). The new algorithm prevents extrapolation and uses an updated categorical trait table. More detailed information at: https://isp.uv.es/code/try.html (link)
Pub.date2020-04-09
Exp.date2019-12-31

Global maps of leaf traits using remote sensing, climatological data, the TRY database, and machine learning
Moreno-Martínez et al. have published global high-resolution maps of SLA, LDMC, leaf nitrogen content per area, and leaf phosphorus content per area at the TRY File Archive. The maps are an updated version based on Moreno-Martínez et al. (2018) A methodology to derive global maps of leaf traits using remote sensing and climate data (Remote Sensing of Environment, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.09.006). The new algorithm prevents extrapolation and uses an updated categorical trait table. The data are available at two spatial resolutions: 3km and 1km, and can be downloaded from: https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Data.php#59 and https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Data.php#60. More detailed information at: https://isp.uv.es/code/try.html. (link)
Pub.date2020-04-09
Exp.date2019-12-31

Global maps of leaf traits using remote sensing, climatological data, the TRY database, and machine learning
Moreno-Martínez et al. have published global high-resolution maps of leaf traits. In particular, they present global maps of specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf nitrogen and phosphorus content per area. The methodology combines MODIS and Landsat data, climatological data, the TRY database and machine learning algorithms. It is an updated version of Moreno-Martínez et al. 2018 (A methodology to derive global maps of leaf traits using remote sensing and climate data. Remote Sensing of Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.09.006), which prevents extrapolation and uses an updated categorical trait table. The data are available at two spatial resolutions: 3km and 1km. They can be downloaded from the TRY File Archive: https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Data.php#59 and https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Data.php#60. (link)
Pub.date2020-04-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Global maps of leaf traits
Moreno-Martínez et al. have published global high-resolution (1km, 3km) maps of the leaf traits: specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), leaf nitrogen and phosphorus content per area. The data can be downloaded from the TRY File Archive: https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Data.php#59 and https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Data.php#60. (link)
Pub.date2020-04-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In March 2020, TRY received 318 requests and released 57 million trait data for 317 requests (new record high); 4 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 9085 received requests, 1070 million trait records released for 7875 requests, and 290 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-04-01
Exp.date2020-05-01

A Billion trait values out
As of this day, TRY has given out out more than a billion (10^9) trait measurements (accompanied by nearly 6 billion auxiliary data) on requests to the database. (link)
Pub.date2020-03-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In Febuary 2020, TRY received 293 requests and released 48 million trait data for 273 requests; 4 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 8767 received requests, 1013 million trait records released for 7558 requests, and 286 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-03-02
Exp.date2020-04-01

Activity Report
In January 2020, TRY received 315 requests and released 40.8 million trait data for 279 requests; 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 8474 received requests, 965 million trait records released for 7285 requests, and 282 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-02-03
Exp.date2020-03-01

13th Clonal Plant Meeting in Camerino Italy - postponed to 2021
The 13th Clonal plant meeting at Camerino, Italy has been postponed to 2012. Clonal meetings are a series of conferences that were initiated by Jan van Groenendael, Hans de Kroon and Mike Hutchings about 35 years ago, and have addressed primarily the role of clonality in physiology, ecology and evolution of plants. These meetings have been informal gatherings of plant ecologists for exchanging ideas and communication of new achievements in this branch of science. (link)
Pub.date2020-01-30
Exp.date2020-08-30

Activity Report
In December 2019, TRY received 334 requests and released 31.7 million trait data for 297 requests (new record again); 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 8159 received requests, 924 million trait records released for 7006 requests, and 281 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2020-01-06
Exp.date2020-02-01

New TRY Reference Publication
Kattge, Boenisch, Diaz et al., TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access (10.1111/gcb.1490) has been published replacing Kattge et al. 2011 as the TRY reference (link)
Pub.date2020-01-06
Exp.date2099-12-31

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. (Kattge et al. 2019 GCB) (link)
Pub.date2020-01-03
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY - A plant trait database of databases
Plant traits, such as height or specific leaf area, are expressions of plant performance and are important indicators of ecosystem function. Here, the TRY plant database is highlighted as the most comprehensive archive of global plant data, with open access to the public (Fraser 2019 Global Change Biology) (link)
Pub.date2020-01-03
Exp.date2009-12-31

TRY - A plant trait database of databases
Plant traits, such as height or specific leaf area, are expressions of plant performance and are important indicators of ecosystem function. Here, the TRY plant database is highlighted as the most comprehensive archive of global plant data, with open access to the public (Fraser 2019 Global Change Biology) (link)
Pub.date2020-01-03
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In November 2019, TRY received 282 requests and released 63.7 million trait data (new record again) for 277 requests (new record too); 5 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 7825 received requests, 893 million trait records released for 6709 requests, and 280 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2019-12-02
Exp.date2020-01-01

Paper published
Hejda et al: Impacts of dominant plant species on trait composition of communities: comparison between the native and invaded ranges. Ecosphere (link)
Pub.date2019-11-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

5 Billion Data Released
As of today, TRY has released more than 5 billion data, 837 million trait records and 4.2 billion auxiliary data. (link)
Pub.date2019-11-05
Exp.date2099-12-31

Global imprint of mycorrhizal fungi on whole-plant nutrient economics
Most plants on Earth form a symbiosis with root-associated (i.e., mycorrhizal) fungi, trading plant photosynthate for fungal-acquired soil nutrients. Ecologists have long thought that different types of mycorrhizal fungi—arbuscular vs. ectomycorrhizal—represent adaptations to high vs. low soil nutrient availability. Here we show that these different mycorrhizal associations are linked to differences in a suite of plant traits related to nutrient economic strategies. Ectomycorrhizal plant species are more nutrient use-conservative than arbuscular mycorrhizal plant species, an effect that is robust to controlling for plant growth form and evolutionary history. These findings bolster emerging theories in ecosystem ecology that leverage the ecology of mycorrhizal fungi to better predict ecosystem carbon-nutrient cycle interactions (Averill et al. 2019 PNAS). (link)
Pub.date2019-11-04
Exp.date2021-12-31

Activity Report
In October 2019, TRY received 221 requests and released 53.0 million trait data (new record) for 196 requests; 17 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 7543 received requests, 829 million trait records released for 6432 requests, and 275 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2019-11-01
Exp.date2019-12-01

Activity Report
In September 2019, TRY received 167 requests and released 37.0 million trait data for 176 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 7322 received requests, 776 million trait records released for 6236 requests, and 258 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2019-10-09
Exp.date2019-11-01

Power Down
The power will shut down at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry on 2019-09-25 15:00 GMT for the rest of the day and part of the next. So, TRY will go offline for this time. We are sorry for the inconvenience. (link)
Pub.date2019-09-19
Exp.date2019-09-26

Activity Report
In August 2019, TRY received 197 requests and released 26.1 million trait data for 172 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 7155 received requests, 739 million trait records released for 6060 requests, and 255 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2019-09-16
Exp.date2019-10-01

Inferring plant functional diversity from space: the potential of Sentinel-2
Plant functional diversity (FD) is an important component of biodiversity that characterizes the variability of functional traits within a community, landscape, or even large spatial scales. It can influence ecosystem processes and stability. Hence, it is important to understand how and why FD varies within and between ecosystems, along resources availability gradients and climate gradients, and across vegetation successional stages. Usually, FD is assessed through labor-intensive field measurements, while assessing FD from space may provide a way to monitor global FD changes in a consistent, time and resource efficient way. The potential of operational satellites for inferring FD, however, remains to be demonstrated. Here we studied the relationships between FD and spectral reflectance measurements taken by ESAs Sentinel-2 satellite over 117 field plots located in 6 European countries, with 46 plots having in-situ sampled leaf traits and the other 71 using traits from the TRY database. Based on spaceborne observations we could predicted 55% of the variation in the observed FDis. The novelty of this study is the effective integration of spaceborne and in-situ measurements at a continental scale, and hence represents a key step towards achieving rapid global biodiversity monitoring schemes. (Ma et al. 2019 Remote Sensing of Environment) (link)
Pub.date2019-08-29
Exp.date2009-12-31

Inferring plant functional diversity from space: the potential of Sentinel-2
Plant functional diversity (FD) is an important component of biodiversity that characterizes the variability of functional traits within a community, landscape, or even large spatial scales. It can influence ecosystem processes and stability. Hence, it is important to understand how and why FD varies within and between ecosystems, along resource availability gradients and climate gradients, and across vegetation successional stages. Usually, FD is assessed through labor-intensive field measurements, while assessing FD from space may provide a way to monitor global FD changes in a consistent, time and resource-efficient way. The potential of operational satellites for inferring FD, however, remains to be demonstrated. Here we studied the relationships between FD and spectral reflectance measurements taken by ESAs Sentinel-2 satellite over 117 field plots located in 6 European countries, with 46 plots having in-situ sampled leaf traits and the other 71 using traits from the TRY database. Based on spaceborne observations we could predict 55% of the variation in the observed FDis. The novelty of this study is the effective integration of space-borne and in-situ measurements at a continental scale, and hence represents a key step towards achieving rapid global biodiversity monitoring schemes. (link)
Pub.date2019-08-29
Exp.date2009-12-31

Inferring plant functional diversity from space: the potential of Sentinel-2
Plant functional diversity (FD) is an important component of biodiversity that characterizes the variability of functional traits within a community, landscape, or even large spatial scales. It can influence ecosystem processes and stability. Hence, it is important to understand how and why FD varies within and between ecosystems, along resource availability gradients and climate gradients, and across vegetation successional stages. Usually, FD is assessed through labor-intensive field measurements, while assessing FD from space may provide a way to monitor global FD changes in a consistent, time and resource-efficient way. The potential of operational satellites for inferring FD, however, remains to be demonstrated. Here we studied the relationships between FD and spectral reflectance measurements taken by ESAs Sentinel-2 satellite over 117 field plots located in 6 European countries, with 46 plots having in-situ sampled leaf traits and the other 71 using traits from the TRY database. Based on spaceborne observations we could predict 55% of the variation in the observed FDis. The novelty of this study is the effective integration of space-borne and in-situ measurements at a continental scale, and hence represents a key step towards achieving rapid global biodiversity monitoring schemes. (Ma et al. 2019 Remote Sensing of Environment) (link)
Pub.date2019-08-29
Exp.date2021-12-31

Google Maps replaced by Open Street Maps
The maps in the TRY Data Explorer are no longer based on Google Maps. TRY is using Open Street Maps now. (link)
Pub.date2019-08-02
Exp.date2019-12-31

Activity Report
In July 2019, TRY received 191 requests and released 17.3 million trait data for 188 requests; 6 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 6958 received requests, 713 million trait records released for 5888 requests, and 253 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2019-08-01
Exp.date2019-09-01

A major alien tree filters understory plant traits in novel forest ecosystems
The abandonment of agricultural use is a common driver of spontaneous reforestation by alien trees. The N-fixing black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is a major alien invader of old fields in Europe. In their work, published in the journal Scientific Reports in 2018, the authors show that canopy dominance by this tree may filter the frequency distribution of plant functional traits in the understory of secondary woodlands. Higher soil C/N ratio and available P have been found to be associated with black locust stands, while higher soil phenols associated with native tree stands. These environmental effects result in differences in understory flowering periods, reproduction types and life forms. These findings emphasize the effect of a major alien tree on functional plant trait composition in the early stages of spontaneous reforestation of abandoned lands, implying the development of a novel forest ecosystem on a large geographical scale. (Sitzia et al. 2019 Scientific Reports) (link)
Pub.date2019-07-03
Exp.date2021-07-31

Activity Report
In June 2019, TRY received 296 requests and released 35.7 million trait data for 253 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 6767 received requests, 695 million trait records released for 5700 requests, and 247 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2019-07-01
Exp.date2019-08-01

Call for papers on intra-specific variation of plant traits for Annals of Botany
There will be a special issue in Annals of Botany that focuses on the breadth and importance of intraspecific variation in plant traits. Submissions are due by December 1st. More information can be found here: https://www.botany.one/2019/05/call-for-papers-intraspecific-variation-in-plant-functional-traits-for-annals-of-botany/ (link)
Pub.date2019-06-06
Exp.date2019-12-01

Call for papers on intra-specific variation of plant traits for Annals of Botany
There will be a special issue in Annals of Botany that focuses on the breadth and importance of intraspecific variation in plant traits. Submissions are due by December 1st. More information can be found under the link: (link)
Pub.date2019-06-06
Exp.date2019-12-01

Activity Report
In May 2019, TRY received 218 requests and released 39.3 million trait data for 191 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 6471 received requests, 660 million trait records released for 5447 requests, and 245 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2019-06-03
Exp.date2019-07-01

Activity Report
April 2019 was really busy. Probably because the new version had been announced to all TRY members, TRY received 259 requets and released 39.6 million trait records for 262 requests, all record numbers. Fortunately, the output had been advanced to run unattended. Otherwise, we would have had to run shifts. Anyway, this brings the totals to 6253 received requests and 620 million trait records released for 5256 requests. Since the half yearly IPG awareness email had been sent out too, 26 new publications had been reported, which now results to 242 in total. (link)
Pub.date2019-05-01
Exp.date2019-06-01

Paper published
Moradi and Oldeland: Climatic stress drives plant functional diversity in the Alborz Mountains, Iran. Ecological Research (link)
Pub.date2019-04-04
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In March 2019, TRY vs. 5 went online. Furthermore, TRY received 188 requests and released 19.7 million trait data for 153 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 5994 received requests, 581 million trait records released for 4994 requests, and 216 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2019-04-01
Exp.date2019-05-01

TRY Database version 5 is online - Invitation to contribute new datasets for TRY version 6
Version 5 of the TRY Database has been released on March 26, 2019. The number of trait records has increased from about 7 to 12 million, the number of species from about 148000 to 280000. Trait data are now publicly available under a CC BY license. However, access may be restricted temporarily on request, normally for up to years, until data are published in the scientific literature. We are now inviting new datasets for TRY version 6. All contributors of datasets contributed by July 1, 2019 will be offered authorship in a publication to be submitted to Global Change Biology, which is supposed to replace Kattge et al. 2011 as reference for the TRY database. Please upload your dataset(s) at: https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Submission.php (link)
Pub.date2019-03-28
Exp.date2019-07-01

Contribute new datasets for TRY version 6
We are now inviting new datasets for TRY version 6. All contributors of datasets contributed by July 1, 2019 will be offered authorship in a publication to be submitted to Global Change Biology, which is supposed to replace Kattge et al. 2011 as reference for the TRY database. Please upload your dataset(s) at: https://www.try-db.org/TryWeb/Submission.php (link)
Pub.date2019-03-28
Exp.date2019-07-01

TRY Version 5 Online
TRY Version 5 is online: 50 % more traits and species (11.8 million and 280,000, resp.); open access (CC BY). (link)
Pub.date2019-03-26
Exp.date2020-12-31

Activity Report
In February 2019, TRY received 129 requests and released 20.2 million trait data for 130 requests; no new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 5806 received requests, 561 million trait records released for 4841 requests, and 214 recorded publications (2 had to be removed) (link)
Pub.date2019-03-01
Exp.date2019-04-01

International Summer School on Plant Traits in Porquerolles (France), 19-24 May 2019
Between 19 - 24 May 2019 CNRS/CEFE (Montpellier) offers a Summer School on Functional Traits on the island of Porquerolles, France. The course includes lectures from international speakers (e.g. Eric Garnier, Bill Shipley, Monique Weemstra et al.) on various trait-related topics, and field work exercises on trait measurements with a focus on plant traits. The course is open to PhD students, postdocs and permanent staff. The registration costs (see link) include meals and accommodation. Application is open at: https://framaforms.org/application-to-the-international-trait-school-porquerolles-france-19-24-may-2019-1548263189. The deadline of application is 28 March 2019. (link)
Pub.date2019-02-27
Exp.date2019-05-24

Plant Traits at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2019
For the upcoming General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), 7-12 April 2019 in Vienna, we have organized a session on "Plant traits, adaptation and biogeochemical cycles – from measurements to models" (Conveners: Jens Kattge, Han Wang, Michael Bahn, Oskar Franklin). The session will be on Thursday 11 April, with poster presentations in the morning and oral presentations in the afternoon. (link)
Pub.date2019-02-22
Exp.date2019-04-12

Activity Report
In January 2019, TRY received 178 requests and released 14.3 million trait data for 150 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 5677 received requests, 541 million trait records released for 4708 requests, and 216 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2019-02-01
Exp.date2019-03-01

Activity Report
In December 2018, TRY received 88 requests and released 3.5 million trait data for 87 requests; 8 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 5499 received requests, 526 million trait records released for 4558 requests, and 214 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2019-01-07
Exp.date2019-02-01

Global trait–environment relationships of plant communities
Plant functional traits directly affect ecosystem functions. At the species level, trait combinations depend on trade-offs representing different ecological strategies, but at the community level trait combinations are expected to be decoupled from these trade-offs because different strategies can facilitate co-existence within communities. A key question is to what extent community-level trait composition is globally filtered and how well it is related to global versus local environmental drivers. Here, the authors perform a global, plot-level analysis of trait–environment relationships, using a database with more than 1.1 million vegetation plots and 26,632 plant species with trait information. Although the authors find a strong filtering of 17 functional traits, similar climate conditions support communities differing greatly in mean trait values. The results indicate that, at fine spatial grain, macro-environmental drivers are much less important for functional trait composition than has been assumed from floristic analyses of large grid cells. Instead, trait combinations seem to be predominantly filtered by local-scale factors such as disturbance, soil conditions, niche partitioning and biotic interactions. (Bruelheide et al. 2018 Nature Ecology and Evolution) (link)
Pub.date2018-12-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY Data Output Suspended Over Holidays
Between 2018-12-22 and 2019-1-4 TRY data output will be suspended or not regularly. (link)
Pub.date2018-12-07
Exp.date2019-01-07

Activity Report
In November 2018, TRY received 176 requests and released 22.5 million trait data for 163 requests (new record); 4 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 5411 received requests, 523 million trait records released for 4471 requests, and 206 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2018-12-03
Exp.date2019-01-01

Paper published
Jimenez-Rodríguez et al.: Structural and functional traits predict short term response of tropical dry forests to a high intensity hurricane. Forest Ecology and Management. (link)
Pub.date2018-11-21
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In October 2018, TRY received 141 requests and released 11.3 million trait data for 116 requests; 12 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 5235 received requests, 500 million trait records released for 4308 requests, and more than 202 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2018-11-01
Exp.date2018-12-01

Half a Billion
As of 2018-10-23, TRY has released half a billion (500 million) trait records. (link)
Pub.date2018-10-23
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Byun and Lee: Giant Ragweed Invasion is Not Well Controlled by Biotic Resistance. Journal of Plant Biology. (link)
Pub.date2018-10-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Santiago et al.: Coordination and trade-offs among hydraulic safety, efficiency and drought avoidance traits in Amazonian rainforest canopy tree species. New Phytologist. (link)
Pub.date2018-10-01
Exp.date2099-12-31

Plant functional trait change across a warming tundra biome
Until now, the Arctic tundra has been the domain of low-growing grasses and dwarf shrubs. Defying the harsh conditions, these plants huddle close to the ground and often grow only a few centimeters high. But new, taller plant species have been slowly taking over this chilly neighborhood, report an international group of nearly 130 biologists led by scientists from the German Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) today in Nature. This has led to an overall increase in the height of tundra plant communities over the past three decades. (Bjorkman et al. 2018 Nature) (link)
Pub.date2018-10-01
Exp.date2099-12-31

A methodology to derive global maps of leaf traits using remote sensing and climate data
This paper introduces a modular processing chain to derive global high-resolution maps of leaf traits. The paper presents global maps at 500 m resolution of specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus content per dry mass, and leaf nitrogen/phosphorus ratio. The processing chain exploits machine learning techniques along with optical remote sensing data (MODIS/Landsat) and climate data for gap filling and up-scaling of in-situ measured leaf traits. (Moreno-Martinez et al. 2018 Remote Sensing of Environment) (link)
Pub.date2018-10-01
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In August and September 2018, TRY received 204 requests and released 27.6 million trait data for 193 requests; more than 10 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 5094 received requests, 489 million trait records released for 4192 requests, and more than 190 recorded publications. Due to the high number of publication reports at the end of September, we are still figuring out the correct number, e.g. eliminating duplicates. (link)
Pub.date2018-10-01
Exp.date2018-11-01

TRY Data Output Suspended
Due to our vacation, TRY data output will be suspended between 2018-08-29 and 2018-09-14 (link)
Pub.date2018-08-13
Exp.date2018-09-17

Activity Report
In July 2018, TRY received 109 requests and released 12.2 million trait data for 102 requests; 2 new publication were reported. This brings the totals to 4890 received requests, 461 million trait records released for 3999 requests, and 180 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2018-08-01
Exp.date2018-09-01

Late Quaternary climate legacies in contemporary plant functional composition
Climate may determine functional composition if there is variation in the rates of immigration and exclusion linked to functional traits. The authors show strong Pleistocene legacies on the contemporary functional composition in the New World plant assemblages consistent with slow community assembly processes. (Blonder et al. 2018 Global Change Biology) (link)
Pub.date2018-07-30
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Blonder et al.: Late Quaternary climate legacies in contemporary plant functional composition. Global Change Biology. (link)
Pub.date2018-07-30
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Ma et al.: Variations and determinants of carbon content in plants: a global synthesis. Biogeosciences (link)
Pub.date2018-07-27
Exp.date2099-12-31

AGU 2018 Session: Plant Traits, Biogeochemical Cycles and Optimality Driven Model Development (B11E posters, B13D oral)
A session on plant traits at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) 10-14 Dec 2018 in Washington, D.C., titled: "Plant Traits, Biogeochemical Cycles and Optimality Driven Model Development". Plant traits extend the range of earth observations to the level of individual organisms, providing a link to ecosystem function and modeling in the context of rapid global changes. However, overcoming the differences in temporal and spatial scales between plant trait data and biogeochemical cycles remains a challenge. This session will address the role of plant species, biodiversity, acclimation and adaptation in the biogeochemical cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Conceptual, observational, experimental and modeling approaches, and studies from the local to the global scale, including e.g. remote sensing observations are welcome. (link)
Pub.date2018-07-23
Exp.date2018-12-24

Activity Report
In June 2018, TRY received 129 requests and released 16.8 million trait data for 125 requests; 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 4781 received requests, 449 million trait records released for 3897 requests, and 178 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2018-07-02
Exp.date2018-08-01

Activity Report
In May 2018, TRY received 136 requests and released 13.7 million trait data for 111 requests; 4 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 4652 received requests, 432 million trait records released for 3772 requests, and 177 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2018-06-01
Exp.date2018-07-01

Paper published
Zeeman et a.: Non-native plant cover and functional trait composition of urban temperate grasslands in relation to local- and landscape-scale road density. Biological Invasions. (link)
Pub.date2018-05-22
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY Data Output Suspended
Due to a vacation, TRY data output will be suspended between 2018-05-21 and 2018-05-25. (link)
Pub.date2018-05-14
Exp.date2018-05-14

Data Output Temporally Suspended
Due to a German national holiday, TRY data output will be suspended on 2018-05-10 and 2018-05-11. (link)
Pub.date2018-05-07
Exp.date2018-05-13

Symbiont switching and alternative resource acquisition strategies drive mutualism breakdown
Cooperative interactions among species — mutualisms — are major sources of evolutionary innovation. However, despite their importance, two species that formerly cooperated sometimes cease their partnership. Why do mutualisms break down? We asked this question in the partnership between arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and their plant hosts, one of the most ancient mutualisms. We analyze two potential trajectories toward evolutionary breakdown of their cooperation, symbiont switching and mutualism abandonment. We find evidence that plants stop interacting with AM fungi when they switch to other microbial mutualists or when they evolve alternative strategies to extract nutrients from the environment. Our results show vital cooperative interactions can be lost, but only if successful alternatives evolve. (link)
Pub.date2018-05-02
Exp.date2009-12-31

Symbiont switching and alternative resource acquisition strategies drive mutualism breakdown
Cooperative interactions among species—mutualisms—are major sources of evolutionary innovation. However, despite their importance, two species that formerly cooperated sometimes cease their partnership. Why do mutualisms break down? We asked this question in the partnership between arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and their plant hosts, one of the most ancient mutualisms. We analyze two potential trajectories toward evolutionary breakdown of their cooperation, symbiont switching and mutualism abandonment. We find evidence that plants stop interacting with AM fungi when they switch to other microbial mutualists or when they evolve alternative strategies to extract nutrients from the environment. Our results show vital cooperative interactions can be lost, but only if successful alternatives evolve. (Werner et al. 2018 PNAS) (link)
Pub.date2018-05-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In April 2018, TRY received 134 requests and released 17.9 million trait data for 119 requests; 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 4516 received requests, 419 million trait records released for 3661 requests, and 173 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2018-05-01
Exp.date2018-06-01

Activity Report
In March 2018, TRY received 122 requests and released 10.8 million trait data for 100 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 4382 received requests, 401 million trait records released for 3542 requests, and 172 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2018-04-04
Exp.date2018-05-01

TRY Data Output suspended
TRY data output will be suspended between 2018-03-30 and 2018-04-03 due to Easter holidays. (link)
Pub.date2018-03-26
Exp.date2018-04-04

10th International Conference on Ecological Informatics (Call Open for Poster and Computer Demonstration - Submission Deadline July 15th, 2018)
The 10th International Conference on Ecological Informatics: “Translating Ecological Data into Knowledge and Decisions in a Rapidly Changing World” aims to bring together researchers interested in data-intensive ecology – both from an ecological and a computer science point of view. After successful biennial conferences in France, Australia, Italy, South Korea, United States, Mexico, Belgium, Brazil, and China, the 10th International Conference on Ecological Informatics will be hosted in Jena, Germany, 24-28 September. Several sessions related to “Plant Traits” have been organized. Additional information is provided on the conference website: http://icei2018.uni-jena.de/ . In case of interest to present a poster or computer demonstration please submit your abstract by July 15 at: http://icei2018.uni-jena.de/calls/ (link)
Pub.date2018-03-08
Exp.date2017-09-28

Job Opportunities
Ian Wright has advertised two three-year postdoc position at Macquarie University aimed towards candidates with strong publication record in plant functional ecology: http://jobs.mq.edu.au/cw/en/job/502513/postdoctoral-research-fellow-in-data-analysis-and-modelling-plant-functional-ecology-level-bc and http://jobs.mq.edu.au/cw/en/job/502514/postdoctoral-research-fellow-in-plant-functional-ecology-field-ecophysiologist-level-bc. The closing date for both applications is 14th April. (link)
Pub.date2018-03-08
Exp.date2018-04-14

Job opportunity
Ian Wright at Macquarie University has advertised a three-year postdoc position aimed towards candidates with a strong publication record in plant functional ecology / field ecophysiology. The closing date for applications is 14th April. (link)
Pub.date2018-03-08
Exp.date2018-03-19

10th International Conference on Ecological Informatics (Call Open for Poster and Computer Demonstration - Submission Deadline July 15th, 2018)
The 10th International Conference on Ecological Informatics: “Translating Ecological Data into Knowledge and Decisions in a Rapidly Changing World” aims to bring together researchers interested in data-intensive ecology – both from an ecological and a computer science point of view. After successful biennial conferences in France, Australia, Italy, South Korea, United States, Mexico, Belgium, Brazil, and China, the Conference will be hosted in Jena, Germany, 24-28 September. Additional information is provided on the conference website: http://icei2018.uni-jena.de. Several sessions related to “Plant Traits” have been organized. In case of interest to present a poster or a computer demonstration please submit your abstract by July 15 at: http://icei2018.uni-jena.de/calls/ (link)
Pub.date2018-03-08
Exp.date2018-09-28

Activity Report
In Febrary 2018, TRY received 114 requests and released 18.8 million trait data for 121 requests; 5 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 4260 received requests, 390 million trait records released for 3442 requests, and 170 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2018-03-01
Exp.date2018-04-01

Paper published
Schneider et al.: Mapping functional diversity from remotely sensed morphological and physiological forest traits. Nature Communications. (link)
Pub.date2018-02-26
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Kattenborn et al.: Linking plant strategies and plant traits derived by radiative transfer modelling. Journal of Vegetation Science (link)
Pub.date2018-02-26
Exp.date2099-12-31

Future global productivity will be affected by plant trait response to climate
Plant traits are both responsive to local climate and strong predictors of primary productivity. The authors hypothesized that future climate change might promote a shift in global plant traits resulting in changes in Gross Primary Productivity (GPP). They characterized the relationship between key plant traits, namely Specific Leaf Area (SLA), height, and seed mass, and local climate and primary productivity. They found that by 2070, tropical and arid ecosystems will be more suitable for plants with relatively lower canopy height, SLA and seed mass, while far northern latitudes will favor woody and taller plants than at present. Using a network of tower eddy covariance CO2 flux measurements and the extrapolated plant trait maps, thet estimated the global distribution of annual GPP under current and projected future plant community distribution. They predict that annual GPP in northern biomes (≥45 °N) will increase by 31% (+8.1 ± 0.5 Pg C), but this will be offset by a 17.9% GPP decline in the tropics (−11.8 ± 0.84 Pg C). These findings suggest that regional climate changes will affect plant trait distributions, which may in turn affect global productivity patterns. (link)
Pub.date2018-02-26
Exp.date2017-12-31

Future global productivity will be affected by plant trait response to climate
Plant traits are both responsive to local climate and strong predictors of primary productivity. The authors hypothesized that future climate change might promote a shift in global plant traits resulting in changes in Gross Primary Productivity (GPP). They characterized the relationship between key plant traits, local climate and primary productivity. Using a network of tower eddy covariance CO2 flux measurements and the extrapolated plant trait maps, they predict that by 2070 annual GPP in northern biomes (≥45 °N) will increase by 31% (+8.1 ± 0.5 Pg C), but this will be offset by a 17.9% GPP decline in the tropics (−11.8 ± 0.84 Pg C). These findings suggest that regional climate changes will affect plant trait distributions, which may in turn affect global productivity patterns. (Madani et al. 2018 Scientific Reports) (link)
Pub.date2018-02-26
Exp.date2018-12-31

Paper published
Madani et al.: Future global productivity will be affected by plant trait response to climate. Scientific Reports (link)
Pub.date2018-02-26
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In January 2018, TRY received 132 requests and released 25.1 million trait data (new record) for 107 requests; 6 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 4146 received requests, 371 million trait records released for 3321 requests, and 165 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2018-02-01
Exp.date2018-02-28

Spatial patterns and climate relationships of major plant traits in the New World differ between woody and herbaceous species
A new paper by Irena Simova and Coauthors, published in Journal of Biogeography, reports that trait variations of woody and herbaceous assemblages reflect alternative strategies and differing environmental constraints. They conclude that the strikingly different biogeographic patterns indicate the needed for a synthetic framework addressing how suites of traits within and across broad functional groups respond to the environment. Despite several recent efforts to map plant traits and to identify their climatic drivers, there are still major gaps. Global trait patterns for major functional groups, in particular, the differences between woody and herbaceous plants, have yet to be identified. Using the largest currently available databases of plant occurrences and traits, they provide maps of 200 × 200 km grid-cell trait means and variances for both woody and herbaceous species and identify environmental drivers related to these patterns. They focus for six plant traits: maximum plant height, specific leaf area, seed mass, wood density, leaf nitrogen concentration and leaf phosphorus concentration. They find a strong climate signal for both means and variances of most of the studied traits for woody plants, consistent with strong environmental filtering. In contrast, for herbaceous assemblages, spatial patterns of trait means and variances are more variable and the climate signal is often different and weaker. (link)
Pub.date2018-01-16
Exp.date2017-12-31

Spatial patterns and climate relationships of major plant traits in the New World differ between woody and herbaceous species
A new paper by Irena Simova and Coauthors, published in Journal of Biogeography, reports that trait variations of woody and herbaceous assemblages seem to reflect alternative strategies and differing environmental constraints. Using the largest currently available databases of plant occurrences and traits, they provide maps of 200 × 200 km grid-cell trait means and variances for both woody and herbaceous species and identify environmental drivers related to these patterns. They focus for six plant traits: maximum plant height, specific leaf area, seed mass, wood density, leaf nitrogen concentration and leaf phosphorus concentration. They find a strong climate signal for both means and variances of most of the studied traits for woody plants, consistent with strong environmental filtering. In contrast, for herbaceous assemblages, spatial patterns of trait means and variances are more variable and the climate signal is often different and weaker. (Simova et al. 2018 Journal of Biogeography) (link)
Pub.date2018-01-16
Exp.date2018-12-31

Global leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry and their scaling exponent
Leaf nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations reflect photosynthetic and metabolic processes, growth, and productivity of plants. In this study (published in National Science Review) Tian Di and coauthors compiled a global data set of leaf N and P concentrations and N:P ratios. The global overall mean leaf N and P concentrations show higher concentrations in herbaceous than woody plants. Both leaf N and P showed higher concentrations at high than low latitudes. The scaling exponents of N:P concentrations of herbaceous and woody plants were 0.659 and 0.705, respectively, with significant latitudinal patterns decreasing from tropical to temperate to boreal zones. At sites with a sample size > 9, the values fluctuated from 0.366 to 1.928, with an average of 0.841. (Tian et al. 2017 National Science Review) (link)
Pub.date2018-01-16
Exp.date2018-12-31

Advances in flowering phenology across the Northern Hemisphere are explained by functional traits
Numerous studies have reported changes in first flowering day (FFD-changes) in response to changes in climate. However, regarding the direction (advances versus delays) and the intensity of FFD-changes, species show differences even when observed in the same location. Patrizia König, Susanne Tautenhahn, Christine Römermann and coauthors compiled literature data from eighteen sites distributed over the Northern Hemisphere for 562 species (published in Global Ecology and Biogeography). They related FFD-changes to changes in climate, to local site conditions and plant traits. Of all FDD-changes, 80.4% were FFD-advances, 10.5% exceeding 5 days/decade. FFD-advances were strongest in polar tundra and in dry and warm habitats. The intensity of FFD-advances (number of days/decade) could be explained by predictor variables from all three groups. Overall, decreasing precipitation was more important than increasing temperature. Traits related to competition and growth rate contributed substantially to explain variation of FFD-change intensity, with highest importance for trees and grasses, while for herbs they were of equal importance with changes in climate. For shrubs, site conditions best explained the variation of FFD-advance intensities. (König et al. 2018 Global Ecology and Biogeography) (link)
Pub.date2018-01-16
Exp.date2018-12-31

Paper published
Simova et al.: Spatial patterns and climate relationships of major plant traits in the New World differ between woody and herbaceous species. Journal of Biogeography (link)
Pub.date2018-01-16
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In December 2017, TRY received 74 requests and released 16.7 million trait data for 67 requests; 10 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 4014 received requests, 345 million trait records released for 3214 requests, and 159 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2018-01-08
Exp.date2018-02-01

Paper published
Tian D. et al.: Global leaf nitrogen and phosphorus stoichiometry and their scaling exponent. National Science Review. (link)
Pub.date2018-01-04
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
König et al.: Advances in flowering phenology across the Northern Hemisphere are explained by functional traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography (link)
Pub.date2018-01-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Moradi et al.: Plant functional type approach for a functional interpretation of altitudinal vegetation zones in the Alborz Mts., Iran. Journal of Mountain Science. (link)
Pub.date2017-12-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Butler et al.: Mapping local and global variability in plant trait distributions. PNAS (link)
Pub.date2017-12-12
Exp.date2099-12-31

Mapping local and global variability in plant trait distributions
A new paper by Ethan Butler et al. has been published in PNAS, providing global maps of plant trait distributions. Using data from the TRY database and state of the art Bayesian modeling, the authors created fine-grained global maps of plant trait distributions that can be applied to Earth system models. Focusing on a set of plant traits closely coupled to photosynthesis and foliar respiration - specific leaf area and dry mass-based concentrations of leaf nitrogen and phosphorus - they characterize how traits vary within and among over 50,000 50x50 km cells across the entire vegetated land surface. The maps reveal that the most diverse grid cells possess trait variability close to the range of global means. (Butler et al. 2017 PNAS) (link)
Pub.date2017-12-12
Exp.date2018-12-31

TRY Output Suspended Over Holidays
TRY output will be suspended over the holidays between 2017-12-23 and 2018-01-01 (link)
Pub.date2017-12-04
Exp.date2018-01-01

Activity Report
In November 2017, TRY received 122 requests and released 9.7 million trait data for 118 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 3940 received requests, 329 million trait records released for 3147 requests, and 149 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2017-12-01
Exp.date2018-01-01

Paper published
Kollas et al.: Mistletoe-induced growth reductions at the forest stand scale. Tree Physiology (link)
Pub.date2017-11-29
Exp.date2099-12-31

Call for abstracts: Plant Traits at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2018
The European Geosciences Union (EGU) has opened abstract submission for its General Assembly 2018 (8–13 April 2018, in Vienna, Austria). We have organized a session on plant traits and biogeochemical cycles. This session will address the role of plant species, biodiversity and adaptation / acclimation in the biogeochemical cycles of water, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. We welcome conceptual, observational, experimental and modeling approaches, and studies from the local to the global scale, including e.g. remote sensing observations. The session is co-organized with a session on optimality, acclimation and adaptation in land ecosystem models. We therefore expect an interesting range of oral and poster contributions. The abstract submission deadline is 10 January 2018, 13:00 CET. (link)
Pub.date2017-11-27
Exp.date2018-01-11

TRY 4.0 - the new release of the TRY database
The new release of the TRY Database (TRY version 4.0) has been published in July 2017. It is based on 329 contributed datasets and provides 6.9 million trait records for 148,333 plant taxa (mostly species) and 1832 traits. In addition TRY version 4 is based on an improved data curation: Taxon names are consolidated against The Plant List using the Taxon Name Resolution Service. Traits are defined according to the Thesaurus Of Plant Characteristics. (link)
Pub.date2017-11-27
Exp.date2018-12-31

Paper pubished
Goll et al: A representation of the phosphorus cycle for ORCHIDEE (revision 4520). Geoscientific Model Development. (link)
Pub.date2017-11-03
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In October 2017, TRY received 138 requests and released 16.8 million trait data (new record) for 139 requests (new record); 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 3818 received requests, 319 million trait records released for 3029 requests, and 146 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2017-11-01
Exp.date2017-12-01

Paper pubished
Borgy et al.: Plant community structure and nitrogen inputs modulate the climate signal on leaf traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography. (link)
Pub.date2017-10-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In August and September 2017, TRY received 258 (94, 164) requests and released 10.6 (5.5, 5.1) million trait records for 185 (79, 106) requests; 8 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 3680 received requests, 302 million trait records released for 2890 requests, and 143 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2017-10-02
Exp.date2017-11-01

Paper pubished
Kaarlejärvi et al.: Herbivores rescue diversity in warming tundra by modulating trait-dependent species losses and gains. Nature Communications (link)
Pub.date2017-09-05
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Li et al.: Planting accelerates restoration of tropical forest but assembly mechanisms appear insensitive to initial composition. J Appl Ecol. (link)
Pub.date2017-09-05
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Uyttenbroeck et al.: Increasing plant functional diversity is not the key for supporting pollinators in wildflower strips. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (link)
Pub.date2017-09-04
Exp.date2099-12-31

Global Wood Density Database
The Global Wood Density Database will be extended. More information and data contribution at (link)
Pub.date2017-08-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

Citation of data sources
Global Ecology and Biogeography (GEB) has established citation of data sources such that citation indexing services will capture them. Please check GEB Author Guidelines (link)
Pub.date2017-08-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

Job vacancy (tenure-track)
The Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) is seeking a tenure-track plant biologist at the level of Senior Lecturer / Associate Professor (possibly even full Professor). Applications due by 27th August. (link)
Pub.date2017-08-11
Exp.date2017-08-28

TRY Version 4 Online
More trait records and improved data curation. All requests to TRY version 3 asking for permission are kept open and data will be released from TRY version 3. All requests on hold were closed. (link)
Pub.date2017-08-10
Exp.date2099-12-31

Job vacancy (tenure-track)
The Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) is seeking a tenure-track plant biologist at the level of Senior Lecturer / Associate Professor (possibly even full Professor). Applications due by 27th August. (link)
Pub.date2017-08-10
Exp.date2009-12-31

Paper published
Riibak et al.: Dispersal limitation determines large-scale dark diversity in Central and Northern Europe. Journal of Biogeography (link)
Pub.date2017-08-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Le Bagousse-Pinguet et al: Testing the environmental filtering concept in global drylands. Journal of Ecology (link)
Pub.date2017-08-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Shipley et al.: Predicting habitat affinities of plant species using commonly measured functional traits. Journal of Vegetation Science (link)
Pub.date2017-08-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY Version 4 Online
More trait records and improved data curation. All requests to TRY version 3 asking for permission are kept open and data will be released from TRY version 3. All requests on hold were closed. (link)
Pub.date2017-08-09
Exp.date2009-12-31

Activity Report
In July 2017, TRY vs. 4 went online. TRY received 93 requests and released 5.9 million trait records for 90 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 3422 received requests, 292 million trait records released for 2705 requests, and 135 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2017-08-01
Exp.date2017-09-01

TRY Version 4 Online
All requests to TRY version 3 asking for permission are kept open and data will be released from TRY version 3. All requests on hold were closed. (link)
Pub.date2017-07-20
Exp.date2099-12-31

Release of TRY version 4
On Monday 2017-07-24, the TRY website will undergo maintenance to bring TRY version 4 online. All requests to TRY version 3 asking for permission will be kept open and data will be released from TRY version 3. All requests on hold will be closed. (link)
Pub.date2017-07-19
Exp.date2017-07-18

Activity Report
In June 2017, TRY received 119 requests and released 10.7 million trait records for 83 requests; 10 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 3329 received requests, 286 million trait records released for 2615 requests, and 133 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2017-07-03
Exp.date2017-08-01

Network Slow
Currently, the TRY network is slow. We hope to have it fixed shortly and are sorry for this. (link)
Pub.date2017-06-28
Exp.date2017-06-28

Activity Report
In May 2017, TRY received 109 requests and released 4.7 million trait records for 87 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 3210 received requests, 275 million trait records released for 2532 requests, and 123 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2017-06-01
Exp.date2017-07-01

Nature News: The Biodiversity Revolution
Ecologists are increasingly looking at traits - rather than species - to measure the health of ecosystems. In this context Rachel Cernansky mentions the TRY database. (link)
Pub.date2017-06-01
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Ghimire et al.: A global trait-based approach to estimate leaf nitrogen functional allocation from observations. Ecological Applications. (link)
Pub.date2017-05-25
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY Data Output suspended
Due to a national holiday in Germany, TRY data output will be suspended between 2017-05-25 and 2017-05-28 (link)
Pub.date2017-05-24
Exp.date2017-05-28

Activity Report
In April 2017, TRY received 76 requests and released 8.4 million trait records for 77 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 3101 received requests, 270 million trait records released for 2445 requests, and 121 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2017-05-02
Exp.date2017-06-01

TRY Data Output Suspended
Between 2017-04-13 and 2017-04-23, TRY data output will be suspended due to vacation (link)
Pub.date2017-04-07
Exp.date2017-04-23

TRY Activity Report
In March 2017, TRY received 109 requests and released 10.1 million trait records for 79 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 3025 received requests, 262 million trait records released for 2368 requests, and 118 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2017-04-03
Exp.date2017-05-01

Paper published
Byun and Lee: Ecological application of biotic resistance to control the invasion of an invasive plant, Ageratina altissima. Ecology and Evolution. (link)
Pub.date2017-03-08
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY New Version (4) Development
In Spring 2017, we finished importing new datasets and standardized the taxonomy against The Plant List using the Taxon Name Resolution Service. Next step will be the reorganization of first important traits according to the Thesaurus Of Plant Characteristics. We expect version 4 of TRY to go online Summer/Autumn 2017. (link)
Pub.date2017-03-02
Exp.date2017-07-18

Activity Report
In February 2017, TRY received 91 requests and released 6.5 million trait records for 74 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 2916 received requests, 252 million trait records released for 2289 requests, and 115 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2017-03-01
Exp.date2017-04-01

Paper published
Lukács et al.: Growth-form and spatiality driving the functional difference of native and alien aquatic plants in Europe. Ecology and Evolution (link)
Pub.date2017-02-27
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Greenwood et al.: Tree mortality across biomes is promoted by drought intensity, lower wood density and higher specific leaf area. Ecology Letters (link)
Pub.date2017-02-24
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY reference paper highly cited
The TRY reference paper (Kattge et al. 2011) is among the most accessed and most cited papers in Global Change Biology. (link)
Pub.date2017-02-13
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper highlighting TRY
Parr et al.: GlobalAnts: a new database on the geography of ant traits (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (link)
Pub.date2017-02-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In January 2017, TRY received 80 requests and released 8.1 million trait records for 71 requests; 4 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 2825 received requests, 245 million trait records released for 2215 requests, and 112 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2017-02-01
Exp.date2017-03-01

Paper published
Barros et al.: Extreme climate events counteract the effects of climate and land-use changes in Alpine tree lines. Journal of Applied Ecololgy (link)
Pub.date2017-01-27
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Barros et al.: N-dimensional hypervolumes to study stability of complex ecosystems. Ecology Letters (link)
Pub.date2017-01-27
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In December 2016, TRY received 76 requests and released 3.5 million trait records for 65 requests; 9 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 2745 received requests, 238 million trait records released for 2144 requests, and 108 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2017-01-02
Exp.date2017-02-01

Holidays
TRY data output will be suspended between 2016-12-24 and 2017-01-01. Happy Holidays! (link)
Pub.date2016-12-12
Exp.date2017-01-01

100 TRY Publications
As of 2016-12-07, TRY has more than 100 publications (link)
Pub.date2016-12-08
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Hoehndorf et al.: The flora phenotype ontology (FLOPO): tool for integrating morphological traits and phenotypes of vascular plants. Journal of Biomedical Semantics. (link)
Pub.date2016-12-08
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Garnier et al.: Towards a thesaurus of plant characteristics: an ecological contribution. Journal of Ecology. (link)
Pub.date2016-12-08
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In November 2016, TRY received 107 requests and released 7.5 million trait records for 96 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 2669 received requests, 234 million trait records released for 2079 requests, and 99 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2016-12-01
Exp.date2017-01-01

Paper published
Engemann et al.: A plant growth form dataset for the New World. Ecology. (link)
Pub.date2016-11-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In October 2016, TRY received 93 requests and released 10.9 million trait records for 69 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 2562 received requests, 226 million trait records released for 1983 requests, and 96 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2016-11-01
Exp.date2016-12-01

Project funded
New software to automatically recognize plant traits will be developed in the context of the MAMUDS (Managing Multimedia Data for Science) project. (link)
Pub.date2016-10-20
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper highlighting TRY
Franklin et al. (2016) Big data for forecasting the impacts of global change on plant communities. Global Ecology and Biogeography (link)
Pub.date2016-10-20
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Musavi et al.: Potential and limitations of inferring ecosystem photosynthetic capacity from leaf functional traits. Ecology and Evolution. (link)
Pub.date2016-10-20
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In September 2016, TRY received 88 requests and released 6.8 million trait records for 69 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 2469 received requests, 216 million trait records released for 1914 requests, and 93 recorded publications (link)
Pub.date2016-10-04
Exp.date2016-11-01

Paper published
Pierce S. et al.: A global method for calculating plant CSR ecological strategies applied across biomes world-wide. Functional Ecology. (link)
Pub.date2016-09-12
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Ruiz-Benito P. et al.: Functional diversity underlies demographic responses to environmental variation in European forests. Global Ecology and Biogeography (link)
Pub.date2016-09-12
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In August 2016, TRY received 104 requests and released 10.3 million trait records for 90 requests; 3 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 2381 received requests, 208 million trait records released for 1845 requests, and 91 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2016-09-01
Exp.date2016-10-01

Paper published
Lee M. R. et al.: Invasive species’ leaf traits and dissimilarity from natives shape their impact on nitrogen cycling: a meta-analysis. New Phytologist. (link)
Pub.date2016-08-22
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In July 2016, TRY received 80 requests and released 10.2 million trait records for 70 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 2277 received requests, 198 million trait records released for 1765 requests, and 88 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2016-08-08
Exp.date2016-09-01

Paper published
Neuschulz E. et al.: Pollination and seed dispersal are the most threatened processes of plant regeneration. Scientific Reports (link)
Pub.date2016-08-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In June 2016, TRY received 92 requests and released 8.9 million trait records for 91 requests; 10 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 2197 received requests, 188 million trait records released for 1695 requests, and 86 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2016-07-11
Exp.date2016-08-01

Paper published
Hébert F. et al.: Recovery of plant community functional traits following severe soil perturbation in plantations: a case-study, International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management. (link)
Pub.date2016-06-15
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Negoita L. et al.: Isolation-driven functional assembly of plant communities on islands. Ecography. (link)
Pub.date2016-06-13
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY offline 2016-06-14
On 2016-06-14 power will be switched off at the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry. TRY will be offline during this time. Sorry about this! (link)
Pub.date2016-06-03
Exp.date2016-06-14

Activity Report
In May 2016, TRY received 133 requests and released 9.7 million trait records for 92 requests; 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 2105 received requests, 179 million trait records released for 1594 requests, and 76 recorded publications. (link)
Pub.date2016-06-01
Exp.date2016-07-01

Paper published
Zeiter M. et al.: Timing of extreme drought modifies reproductive output in semi-natural grassland. Journal of Vegetation Science. (link)
Pub.date2016-06-01
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In April 2016, TRY received 91 requests and released 9.3 million trait records for 75 requests; 2 new publication were reported. This brings the totals to 1972 received requests, 169 million trait records released for 1502 requests, and 75 recorded publications. We are still importing data for the next version of the TRY database (4). If you have data you want to have included, this is the time to submit them. (link)
Pub.date2016-05-02
Exp.date2016-05-31

Data Release suspended between 2016-05-05 and 2016-05-08
Due to a German national holiday there will be no data releases between 2016-05-05 and 2016-05-08 (link)
Pub.date2016-05-02
Exp.date2016-05-08

Paper published
Ratcliffe S. et al.: Modes of functional biodiversity control on tree productivity across the European continent. Global Ecology and Biogeography. (link)
Pub.date2016-04-05
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Le Bagousse-Pinguet Y. et al.: Climate, topography and soil factors interact to drive community trait distributions in global drylands. (link)
Pub.date2016-04-05
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In March 2016, TRY received 152 requests and released 15 million trait records for 124 requests; 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 1880 received requests, 160 million trait records released for 1427 requests, and 73 recorded publications. We are still importing data for the next version of the TRY database (4). If you have data you want to have included, this is the time to submit them. (link)
Pub.date2016-04-01
Exp.date2016-05-01

TRY back online, after maintenance
On Monday 2016-03-14 TRY was offline for maintenance from 8 am to 1 pm Central European Time. Now the server should be working fine again. (link)
Pub.date2016-03-08
Exp.date2016-03-15

Activity Report
In February 2016, TRY received 108 requests and released 10.4 million trait records for 105 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 1728 received requests, 145 million trait records released for 1303 requests, and 72 recorded publications. We are still importing data for the next version of the TRY database (4). If you have data you want to have included, this is the time to submit them (link)
Pub.date2016-03-01
Exp.date2016-03-31

Paper published
Harper A et al.: Improved representation of plant functional types and physiology in the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES v4.2) using plant trait information. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions. (link)
Pub.date2016-02-10
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Liebergesell et al.: Functional Resilience against Climate-Driven Extinctions - Comparing the Functional Diversity of European and North American Tree Floras. PlosOne (link)
Pub.date2016-02-08
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In January 2016, TRY received 120 requests and released 15 million trait records for 90 requests; 2 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 1620 received requests, 134 million trait records released for 1198 requests, and 70 recorded publications. We are still importing data for the next version of the TRY database (4). If you have data you want to have included this is the time to submit them (link)
Pub.date2016-02-01
Exp.date2016-03-01

Paper published
Schwery et al: As old as the mountains: the radiations of the Ericaceae. New Phytologist. (link)
Pub.date2016-01-29
Exp.date2099-12-31

Activity Report
In December 2015, TRY received 59 requests and released 8,6 million trait records for 46 requests; 4 new publications were reported. This brings the totals to 1500 received requests, 119 million trait records released for 1108 requests, and 68 recorded publications. We have started to import data for the next version of the TRY database (4). If you have data you want to have included this is the time to submit them. (link)
Pub.date2016-01-04
Exp.date2016-01-31

Paper published
Kunstler et al.: Plant functional traits have globally consistent effects on competition. Nature. (link)
Pub.date2015-12-30
Exp.date2012-12-31

Paper published
Diaz et al.: The global spectrum of plant form and function. Nature. (link)
Pub.date2015-12-30
Exp.date2012-12-31

Commentary in NATURE
Levine, Jonathan M.: Ecology: A trail map for trait-based studies. Nature. (link)
Pub.date2015-12-30
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Diaz et al.: The global spectrum of plant form and function. Nature. (link)
Pub.date2015-12-30
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Kunstler et al.: Plant functional traits have globally consistent effects on competition. Nature. (link)
Pub.date2015-12-30
Exp.date2099-12-31

Holidays
Data release for requests will be suspended between 2015-12-19 and 2016-01-03. Happy Holidays! (link)
Pub.date2015-12-04
Exp.date2016-01-03

Activity Report
In November 2015, TRY received 121 requests and released 11.5 million trait records for 94 requests; 1 new publication was reported. This brings the totals to 1441 received requests, 111 million trait records released for 1062 requests, and 64 recorded publications. Progress on the next version of the database (4) was small. (link)
Pub.date2015-12-01
Exp.date2016-01-04

Paper published
Martin & Isaac: Plant functional traits in agroecosystems: a blueprint for research. Journal of Applied Ecology. (link)
Pub.date2015-11-23
Exp.date2099-12-31

1000th TRY Data Release
As of 2015-11-09 TRY has released data for 1000 requests. From a total of 1350 received requests, 94 are still being configured by their PIs (on hold), 29 are currently reviewed by dataset custodians, 161 were abandoned by their PIs before asking for data and 66 were rejected. In the last view months, only requests that ask for a single dataset whose owner has not granted permission within 90 days have been considered rejected. TRY itself does not reject any requests any more, might however ask for meaningful titles and descriptions. More than 104 million trait records were released for these 1000 requests. 63 publications use data from TRY as of this day. (link)
Pub.date2015-11-10
Exp.date2099-12-31

100 million Trait Records Released
As of 2015-11-03, TRY has released more than 100 million trait records to the community. (link)
Pub.date2015-11-03
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Larkin et al.: Phylogenetic measures of plant communities show long-term change and impacts of fire management in tallgrass prairie remnants. Journal of Applied Ecology. (link)
Pub.date2015-09-07
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY Down
On 2015-08-26, the TRY website will not be available due to a power down of the server. There will also be no data output on this day. We are sorry about the inconvenience. (link)
Pub.date2015-08-24
Exp.date2015-08-27

From August 8 to 16 no regular data release
From August 8 to 16 the TRY Administration will be on holiday or at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA). During this week data release will not be regular. We apologize for inconveniences. (link)
Pub.date2015-08-07
Exp.date2015-08-17

TRY at the 2015 ESA Annual Meeting
Meet TRY at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) in Baltimore: "sPlot and TRY - Characterizing the trait composition of plant communities across the worlds biomes" (Jens Kattge et al.) Wednesday, August 12, 2015: 10:30 AM, 322, Baltimore Convention Center (link)
Pub.date2015-08-07
Exp.date2015-08-14

Paper published
Schrodt et al.: BHPMF – a hierarchical Bayesian approach to gap-filling and trait prediction for macroecology and functional biogeography. Global Ecology and Biogeography. (link)
Pub.date2015-07-16
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Naudts et al.: A vertically discretised canopy description for ORCHIDEE (SVN r2290) and the modifications to the energy, water and carbon fluxes. Geoscientific Model Development. (link)
Pub.date2015-07-13
Exp.date2099-12-31

Progress
On 2015-07-01 TRY has received data request number 1000. Up to this date, more than 77 million trait records have been provided to request PIs by TRY. (link)
Pub.date2015-07-03
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Manning et. al.: Simple measures of climate, soil properties and plant traits predict national scale grassland soil carbon stocks. Journal of Applied Ecology. (link)
Pub.date2015-06-25
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Paine et al.: Globally, functional traits are weak predictors of juvenile tree growth, and we do not know why. Journal of Ecology. (link)
Pub.date2015-06-19
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Werner et al.: Evolutionary signals of symbiotic persistence in the legume–rhizobia mutualism. PNAS (link)
Pub.date2015-06-08
Exp.date2099-12-31

Request data release suspended on 2015-05-25
There is a national holiday in Germany on 2015-05-25. So no data will be released for requests between 2015-05-23 and 2015-05-25 (link)
Pub.date2015-05-20
Exp.date2015-05-25

No Request Data Releases
Thursday 2015-05-14 is a national holiday in Germany. No data for requests will be released between 2015-05-14 and 2015-05-17. (link)
Pub.date2015-05-11
Exp.date2015-05-17

Paper published
Sakschewski et al.: Leaf and stem economics spectra drive functional diversity in a dynamic global vegetation model. Global Change Biology (link)
Pub.date2015-05-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Sandel et al.: Estimating the missing species bias in plant trait measurements. Journal of Vegetation Science (link)
Pub.date2015-05-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Vanderwel et al.: Global convergence in leaf respiration from estimates of thermal acclimation across time and space. New Phytologist (link)
Pub.date2015-05-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Verheijen et al.: Inclusion of ecologically based variation in plant functional types reduces the projected land carbon sink in an earth system model. Global Change Biology (link)
Pub.date2015-05-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Violle et al.: Vegetation ecology meets ecosystem science: Permanent grasslands as a functional biogeography case study. Science of The Total Environment (link)
Pub.date2015-05-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

No Data Release Friday 5/1/2015
Due to a public holiday in Germany, no data will be released between 5/1/2015 and 5/3/2015 (link)
Pub.date2015-04-27
Exp.date2015-05-03

TRY Website Limited Access
On Monday 4/13/2015 from 7:30 to 12:30 European Daylight Savings Time, the TRY website might not be reachable due to network maintenance (link)
Pub.date2015-04-09
Exp.date2015-04-14

Paper published
Haase et al.: Contrasting effects of tree diversity on young tree growth and resistance to insect herbivores across three biodiversity experiments. Oikos (link)
Pub.date2015-04-08
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Newbold et al.: Global effects of land use on local terrestrial biodiversity. Nature. (link)
Pub.date2015-04-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Fazayeli et al.: Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization. 13th International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications (ICMLA), Detroit, USA December 3-6, 2014. (link)
Pub.date2015-03-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY 3.0: site information updated
The climate and soil information for geo-referenced observations has been updated to TRY 3.0 and is public available for download. (link)
Pub.date2015-02-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

Research Fellowship at KEW Gardens
KEW Gardens is looking for an Early Career Research Fellow (PostDoc, 3-years, extendable to 5) to work on the theme of seed ‘behaviour’ prediction. Experience in up-to-date statistical modelling (including Bayesian approaches) and data mining is of advantage. Closing date for applications is 15 February. In case of interest please contact John Dickie (j.dickie@kew.org) or follow the link. (link)
Pub.date2015-02-02
Exp.date2015-02-15

Paper published
Atkin et al.: Global variability in leaf respiration among plant functional types in relation to climate and leaf traits. New Phytologist. (link)
Pub.date2015-01-19
Exp.date2099-12-31

Registration Table Cleaned
Since we literally had thousands of invalid registrations in TRY, we had to clean the registration table. Preserved were all registrations of TRY members and people who have downloaded files from TRY. In case you can no longer log in, please register again. Sorry for the inconvenience! (link)
Pub.date2015-01-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Christmas Break
Due to Christmas break we cannot guarantee the release of data from the TRY database from 2014/12/23 to 2015/01/05. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. TRY coordination and database management (link)
Pub.date2014-12-19
Exp.date2015-01-04

TRY 3.0: more traits, public data, new website
The new version of the TRY database is online since 2014-12-09. It contains all traits contributed by spring 2014. TRY now includes more than 5 million trait records, of which more than 3 million are public. (link)
Pub.date2014-12-09
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Madani N et al.: Improving ecosystem productivity modeling through spatially explicit estimation of optimal light use efficiency. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences. (link)
Pub.date2014-11-12
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Kattge, Diaz & Wirth: Of carrots and sticks. Nature geoscience. (link)
Pub.date2014-11-12
Exp.date2099-12-31

Highly cited scientists in TRY
Several members and supporters of the TRY initiative are among the most frequently cited researchers worldwide: David Ackerly, Dennis Baldocchi, Richard Bardgett, William Bond, Stuart Chapin, Jerome Chave, Johannes Cornelissen, Sandra Diaz, Jonathan Foley, Eric Garnier, Stefan Klotz, Ingolf Kühn, Sandra Lavorel, Josep Penuelas, Colin Prentice, Peter Reich, Markus Reichstein, Stephen Sitch, Mark Westoby and Ian Wright. Congratulations! (link)
Pub.date2014-08-28
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Walker AP et al.: The relationship of leaf photosynthetic traits – Vcmax and Jmax – to leaf nitrogen, leaf phosphorus, and specific leaf area: a meta-analysis and modeling study. Ecology and Evolution (link)
Pub.date2014-08-01
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Scheffer et al.: Why trees and shrubs but rarely trubs? Trends in Ecology & Evolution. (link)
Pub.date2014-06-23
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Werner et al.: A single evolutionary innovation drives the deep evolution of symbiotic N2-fixation in angiosperms. Nature Communications. (link)
Pub.date2014-06-13
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Moles AT et al.: Which is a better predictor of plant traits: temperature or precipitation? Journal of Vegetation Science. (link)
Pub.date2014-05-16
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
van Mechelen C. et al.: Plant trait analysis delivers an extensive list of potential green roof species for Mediterranean France. Ecological Engineering (link)
Pub.date2014-04-26
Exp.date2099-12-31

New guidelines for trait measurements
The new handbook for standardized measurement of plant functional traits worldwide is now freely available at the DIVERSUS website (link)
Pub.date2014-04-07
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
van Mechelen et al.: Mediterranean open habitat vegetation offers great potential for extensive green roof design. Landscape and Urban Planning. (link)
Pub.date2014-03-31
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Stahl U. et al.: Whole-plant trait spectra of North American woody plant species reflect fundamental ecological strategies. Ecosphere. (link)
Pub.date2014-03-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Adler PB et. al: Functional traits explain variation in plant life history strategies. PNAS. (link)
Pub.date2014-03-02
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Brunbjerg AK et al.: Multi-scale phylogenetic structure in coastal dune plant communities across the globe. Journal of Plant Ecology. (link)
Pub.date2014-01-30
Exp.date2099-12-31

Workshop Report Online
The report of the 5th workshop of the TRY initiaitve (September 2013, Leipzig, Germany) is now online. The workshop was supported by DIVERSITAS and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). (link)
Pub.date2014-01-27
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Ruiz-Benito P et al. Diversity increases carbon storage and tree productivity in Spanish forests. Global Ecology and Biogeography. (link)
Pub.date2014-01-19
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Mulder C et al.: Connecting the Green and Brown Worlds: Allometric and Stoichiometric Predictability of Above- and Below-Ground Networks. Advances in Ecological Research. (link)
Pub.date2013-11-25
Exp.date2099-12-31

Post-Doctoral Researcher in Tropical Forest Plant Ecophysiology
Post-Doctoral Researcher in Tropical Forest Plant Ecophysiology: São Paulo, Brazil; Applications by December 6, 2013 to Prof. Carlos A. Joly at ecofor@biota.org.br (link)
Pub.date2013-11-18
Exp.date2013-12-06

Tenure-track position in Ecosystem ecology
The Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières’s Départment des Sciences de l’Environnement invites applications for a tenure-track position in Ecosystem ecology, starting June 1st, 2014. Deadline for applying is January 11th, 2014 to the following URL address: (link)
Pub.date2013-11-18
Exp.date2014-01-11

Congratulations!
Angela Moles has received the Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year 2013 by the Australian Government. (link)
Pub.date2013-10-31
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper on plant traits and climate change
Soudzilovskaia et al.: Functional traits predict relationship between plant abundance dynamic and long-term climate warming. PNAS (link)
Pub.date2013-10-30
Exp.date2099-12-31

Congratulations!
Angela Moles has received the Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year 2013 by the Australian Government. (link)
Pub.date2013-10-30
Exp.date2013-10-30

Congratulations!
Angela Moles has received the Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year 2013 by the Australian Government. (link)
Pub.date2013-10-30
Exp.date2012-12-31

Paper published
Nock et al.: Effects of Urbanization on Tree Species Functional Diversity in Eastern North America. Ecosystems (link)
Pub.date2013-08-22
Exp.date2099-12-31

Postdoc Position Plant Trait Ecology (Westoby Lab Sydney)
The Westoby Lab at the Macquarie University, Sydney, offers a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2yr) to synthesize vegetation data in relation to an evolutionary community-assembly model driven by plant species traits. Good knowledge about vegetation dynamics and strong quantitative skills, and a passion about theoretical ecology required. (link)
Pub.date2013-08-07
Exp.date2013-09-08

New guidelines for trait measurements
The new handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide is now freely available at the DIVERSUS website. (link)
Pub.date2013-07-30
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Garcia-Palacios et al. Climate and litter quality differently modulate the effects of soil fauna on litter decomposition across biomes. Ecology Letters (link)
Pub.date2013-06-15
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY accepted as DFG research infrastructure
The German Science Foundation (DFG) has accepted TRY as a resource for the DFG research infrastructure portal. (link)
Pub.date2013-05-24
Exp.date2099-12-31

Upcoming Open TRY Workshop
5th Open Workshop of the TRY initiative: 3-5 September 2013, Leipzig, Germany. (link)
Pub.date2013-05-06
Exp.date2099-12-31

New guidelines for trait measurements
N. Pérez-Harguindeguy et al. New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide. Australian Journal of Botany (link)
Pub.date2013-04-28
Exp.date2012-12-31

Paper published
Loranger et al. Predicting invertebrate herbivory from plant traits: polycultures show strong non-additive effects. Ecology. (link)
Pub.date2013-04-05
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Kazakou et al. Are trait-based species’ rankings consistent across datasets and spatial scales? Journal of Vegetation Science. (link)
Pub.date2013-04-05
Exp.date2099-12-31

Call for trait data
We are working on an improved version of the TRY database. In this context we are also looking for new datasets of plant traits. Please contact Jens Kattge (jkattge@bgc-jena.mpg.de). Details for data contribution: (link)
Pub.date2013-03-22
Exp.date2013-05-31

Paper published
Demey et al.: Nutrient input from hemiparasitic litter favors plant species with a fast-growth strategy. Plant and Soil. (link)
Pub.date2013-03-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

PhD scholarship at the Wright Lab (Macquarie University)
The Wright Lab at Macquarie University has just advertised a 3.5 year PhD scholarship: “Scaling functional traits to whole-plant growth”. Closing date is 7th April 2013. (link)
Pub.date2013-02-25
Exp.date2013-04-07

Paper about TRY highly cited
Kattge et al. (2011) "TRY - a global database of plant traits" is among the 3% most cited articles in Global Change Biology for 2012 (43 citations) (link)
Pub.date2013-01-15
Exp.date2013-04-03

Paper published
Verheijen, et al.: Impacts of trait variation through observed trait-climate relationships on performance of a representative Earth System model: a conceptual analysis. Biogeosciences Discussion. (link)
Pub.date2012-12-20
Exp.date2099-12-31

Linking vegetation and plant trait databases
12th meeting on vegetation databases. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig, 4th- 6th March 2013 (link)
Pub.date2012-12-05
Exp.date2013-03-04

Plant Traits at EGU 2013
European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 7-12 April 2013 Vienna, Austria; Abstract submission is now open. Session: Plant traits and biogeochemical cycles (link)
Pub.date2012-11-28
Exp.date2013-04-07

Paper published
Gallagher RV, MR Leishman: A global analysis of trait variation and evolution in climbing plants. Journal of Biogeography (link)
Pub.date2012-09-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
de Vries et al.: Abiotic drivers and plant traits explain landscape-scale patterns in soil microbial communities. Ecology Letters (link)
Pub.date2012-09-17
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Goll et al.: Nutrient limitation reduces land carbon uptake in simulations with a model of combined carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Biogeosciences 9:3547–3569 (link)
Pub.date2012-09-06
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Kunstler et al.: Competitive interactions between forest trees are driven by species’ trait hierarchy, not phylogenetic or functional similarity: implications for forest community assembly. Ecology Letters (link)
Pub.date2012-08-25
Exp.date2099-12-31

Open Positions at iDiv
Application deadline Sept. 15

The German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) invites applications for eight full professor positions (salary W3), five scientific positions, one position in adminstration. More scientific positions will be announced soon. (link)
Pub.date2012-08-25
Exp.date2012-09-16

Paper published
Bonan et al.: Reconciling leaf physiological traits and canopy flux data: Use of the TRY and FLUXNET databases in the Community Land Model version 4. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences 117, G02026 (link)
Pub.date2012-08-21
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
He et al.: Relationships between net primary productivity and forest stand age in U.S. forests. Global Biochemical Cycles (link)
Pub.date2012-08-14
Exp.date2099-12-31

Open Positions at iDiv
The German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) invites applications for eight full professor positions (salary W3), five scientific positions, one position in adminstration. More scientific positions will be announced soon. (link)
Pub.date2012-07-19
Exp.date2012-07-30

Paper published
Shan et al.: Gap Filling in the Plant Kingdom - Trait Prediction Using Hierarchical Probabilistic Matrix Factorization. Proceedings of the International Conference on Machine Learning (link)
Pub.date2012-06-20
Exp.date2099-12-31

iDiv funded by DFG
The German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) will be based in Leipzig; Christian Wirth has been appointed director. 85 new scientific positions will be announced soon. (link)
Pub.date2012-05-15
Exp.date2011-12-31

Job opportunities
Two postdocs advertised at Macquarie U., Australia, to work with Ian Wright & Colin Prentice: Research Fellow in (1) Plant Functional Ecology and (2) Data Analysis and Modelling. (link)
Pub.date2012-05-14
Exp.date2012-06-10

New dataset published
A new dataset has been published and contributed to TRY: Akhmetzhanova et al.: A rediscovered treasure: mycorrhizal intensity database for 3000 vascular plant species across the former Soviet Union. Ecology (link)
Pub.date2012-04-23
Exp.date2012-08-01

Paper published
Goll et. al.: Nutrient limitation reduces land carbon uptake in simulations with a model of combined carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycling. Biogeosciences Discussion (link)
Pub.date2012-04-19
Exp.date2012-08-01

Paper published
highlighted in Nature

Knapp et. al.: Phylogenetic and functional characteristics of household yard floras and their changes along an urbanization gradient, Ecology (link)
Pub.date2012-04-19
Exp.date2099-12-31

Free downloads from TRY website
The new website allows free downloads. Currently, TRY site climate and soil information and the categorical traits for the species used in TRY are available. (link)
Pub.date2012-04-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

Kattge et al 2011 chosen by Faculty of 1000
Kirk Moloney from Iowa State University evaluated it for this post-publication peer review list (link)
Pub.date2012-01-18
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY Data Explorer
Now including maps and downloads (link)
Pub.date2011-11-01
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY highlighted in FLUXNET newsletter
October 2011 Vol 4 No 2 TRY – a global database of plant traits – meets FLUXNET (link)
Pub.date2011-09-01
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Kattge et al.: TRY - a global database of plant traits, Global Change Biology, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02451.x (link)
Pub.date2011-08-01
Exp.date2099-12-31

TRY in the media
A new global database of plant traits – TRY, Resilience Science (link)
Pub.date2011-07-01
Exp.date2099-12-31

Paper published
Kattge et al.: A generic structure for plant trait databases, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, doi: 10.1111/j.2041-210X.2010.00067.x (link)
Pub.date2011-06-01
Exp.date2099-12-31


Disclaimer Page calls: 22835 Gerhard Boenisch, Jens Kattge, created 2012-05-16, modified 2018-11-23