Global Root Traits (GRooT) Database

Motivation Trait data are fundamental to quantitatively describe plant form and function. Although root traits capture key dimensions related to plant responses to changing environmental conditions and effects on ecosystem processes, they have rarely been included in large-scale comparative studies and global models. For instance, root traits remain absent from nearly all studies that define the global spectrum of plant form and function. Thus, to overcome conceptual and methodological roadblocks preventing a widespread integration of root trait data into large-scale analyses we created the Global Root Trait (GRooT) Database. GRooT provides ready-to-use data by combining the expertise of root ecologists with data mobilization and curation. Specifically, we (i) determined a set of core root traits relevant to the description of plant form and function based on an assessment by experts, (ii) maximized species coverage through data standardization within and among traits, and (iii) implemented data quality checks. Main types of variables contained GRooT contains 114,222 trait records on 38 continuous root traits. Spatial location and grain Global coverage with data from arid, continental, polar, temperate, and tropical biomes. Data on root traits derived from experimental studies and field studies. Time period and grain Data recorded between 1911 and 2019 Major taxa and level of measurement GRooT includes root trait data for which taxonomic information is available. Trait records vary in their taxonomic resolution, with sub-species or varieties being the highest and genera the lowest taxonomic resolution available. It contains information for 184 sub-species or varieties, 6,214 species, 1,967 genera and 254 families. Due to variation in data sources, trait records in the database include both individual observations and mean values. Software format GRooT includes two csv file. A GitHub repository contains the csv files and a script in R to query the database.

[1]  Arthur Gessler,et al.  A starting guide to root ecology: strengthening ecological concepts and standardising root classification, sampling, processing and trait measurements , 2020, The New phytologist.

[2]  Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia,et al.  FungalRoot: Global online database of plant mycorrhizal associations. , 2020, The New phytologist.

[3]  Xiao Feng,et al.  Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life , 2020, Nature Ecology & Evolution.

[4]  Jens Kattge,et al.  The fungal collaboration gradient dominates the root economics space in plants , 2020, Science Advances.

[5]  Denis Bastianelli,et al.  TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access. , 2019, Global change biology.

[6]  Fine-root morphological trait variation in tropical forest ecosystems: an evidence synthesis , 2019, Plant Ecology.

[7]  A. Zanne,et al.  What we (don't) know about global plant diversity , 2019, Ecography.

[8]  M. Dietze,et al.  Global imprint of mycorrhizal fungi on whole-plant nutrient economics , 2019, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[9]  F. Schweingruber,et al.  Handbook of standardized protocols for collecting plant modularity traits , 2019, Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics.

[10]  Vanessa Minden,et al.  Plant traits and species interactions along gradients of N, P and K availabilities , 2019, Functional Ecology.

[11]  Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia,et al.  FungalRoot: Global online database of plant mycorrhizal associations , 2019, bioRxiv.

[12]  H. Zeng,et al.  Nonlinearity of root trait relationships and the root economics spectrum , 2019, Nature Communications.

[13]  Daniel S. Falster,et al.  The Open Traits Network: Using Open Science principles to accelerate trait-based science across the Tree of Life , 2019 .

[14]  Margaret Kosmala,et al.  Traits linked with species invasiveness and community invasibility vary with time, stage and indicator of invasion in a long-term grassland experiment. , 2019, Ecology letters.

[15]  Christian König,et al.  GIFT – A Global Inventory of Floras and Traits for macroecology and biogeography , 2019, bioRxiv.

[16]  Lisa Patrick Bentley,et al.  Climate shapes and shifts functional biodiversity in forests worldwide , 2018, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[17]  Anne D. Bjorkman,et al.  Global trait–environment relationships of plant communities , 2018, Nature Ecology & Evolution.

[18]  Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia,et al.  Multiple facets of biodiversity drive the diversity–stability relationship , 2018, Nature Ecology & Evolution.

[19]  Juli G Pausas,et al.  A functional trait database for Mediterranean Basin plants , 2018, Scientific Data.

[20]  H. Bruelheide,et al.  Using co-occurrence information and trait composition to understand individual plant performance in grassland communities , 2018, Scientific Reports.

[21]  Meelis Pärtel,et al.  Global database of plants with root‐symbiotic nitrogen fixation: NodDB , 2018 .

[22]  Dali Guo,et al.  Evolutionary history resolves global organization of root functional traits , 2018, Nature.

[23]  Christopher B. Blackwood,et al.  Fine-Root Ecology Database (FRED): A Global Collection of Root Trait Data with Coincident Site, Vegetation, Edaphic, and Climatic Data, Version 2. , 2018 .

[24]  M. Isaac,et al.  Functional traits in agroecology: Advancing description and prediction in agroecosystems , 2018 .

[25]  Emanuela W. A. Weidlich,et al.  Accuracy and bias of methods used for root length measurements in functional root research , 2017 .

[26]  Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia,et al.  Climate, soil and plant functional types as drivers of global fine‐root trait variation , 2017 .

[27]  C. Roumet,et al.  A worldview of root traits: the influence of ancestry, growth form, climate and mycorrhizal association on the functional trait variation of fine-root tissues in seed plants. , 2017, The New phytologist.

[28]  C. Roumet,et al.  Sampling roots to capture plant and soil functions , 2017 .

[29]  Jens Kattge,et al.  A global Fine-Root Ecology Database to address below-ground challenges in plant ecology. , 2017, The New phytologist.

[30]  P. Reich,et al.  Building a better foundation: improving root-trait measurements to understand and model plant and ecosystem processes. , 2017, The New phytologist.

[31]  Tomáš Herben,et al.  CLO-PLA: a database of clonal and bud-bank traits of the Central European flora. , 2017, Ecology.

[32]  E. Laliberté.  Below-ground frontiers in trait-based plant ecology. , 2017, The New phytologist.

[33]  Anthony R. Taylor,et al.  Traits to stay, traits to move: a review of functional traits to assess sensitivity and adaptive capacity of temperate and boreal trees to climate change , 2016 .

[34]  S. Wright,et al.  The global spectrum of plant form and function , 2015, Nature.

[35]  Richard D. Bardgett,et al.  Plant community controls on short‐term ecosystem nitrogen retention , 2016, The New phytologist.

[36]  S. Naeem,et al.  Functional traits in agriculture: agrobiodiversity and ecosystem services. , 2015, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[37]  Dali Guo,et al.  Redefining fine roots improves understanding of below-ground contributions to terrestrial biosphere processes. , 2015, The New phytologist.

[38]  L. Mommer,et al.  Going underground: root traits as drivers of ecosystem processes. , 2014, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[39]  Jens Kattge,et al.  The emergence and promise of functional biogeography , 2014, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[40]  M. Kleyer,et al.  Internal and external regulation of plant organ stoichiometry. , 2014, Plant biology.

[41]  Ellen L. Fry,et al.  Seasonal Variation in the Capacity for Plant Trait Measures to Predict Grassland Carbon and Water Fluxes , 2014, Ecosystems.

[42]  Ellen L. Fry,et al.  Seasonal Variation in the Capacity for Plant Trait Measures to Predict Grassland Carbon and Water Fluxes , 2014, Ecosystems.

[43]  René van der Wal,et al.  Root traits predict decomposition across a landscape-scale grazing experiment , 2014, The New phytologist.

[44]  P. Reich.  The world‐wide ‘fast–slow’ plant economics spectrum: a traits manifesto , 2014 .

[45]  Peter Manning,et al.  Trait?based classification and manipulation of plant functional groups for biodiversity?ecosystem function experiments , 2014 .

[46]  Peter B. Adler,et al.  Functional traits explain variation in plant life history strategies , 2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[47]  Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia,et al.  Functional traits predict relationship between plant abundance dynamic and long-term climate warming , 2013, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[48]  Eric G. Lamb,et al.  Limited effects of simulated acidic deposition on seedling survivorship and root morphology of endemic plant taxa of the Athabasca Sand Dunes in well-watered greenhouse trials , 2013 .

[49]  Eduard Szöcs,et al.  taxize: taxonomic search and retrieval in R , 2013, F1000Research.

[50]  Zhenyuan Lu,et al.  The taxonomic name resolution service: an online tool for automated standardization of plant names , 2013, BMC Bioinformatics.

[51]  Justin P. Wright,et al.  Does the leaf economic spectrum hold within local species pools across varying environmental conditions , 2012 .

[52]  M. Kleyer,et al.  Plant trait-environment relationships in salt marshes: Deviations from predictions by ecological concepts , 2012 .

[53]  Sean C. Thomas,et al.  Carbon Content of Tree Tissues: A Synthesis , 2012 .

[54]  Erle C. Ellis,et al.  Mapping where ecologists work: biases in the global distribution of terrestrial ecological observations , 2012, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

[55]  Vladimir G. Onipchenko,et al.  A rediscovered treasure: mycorrhizal intensity database for 3000 vascular plant species across the former Soviet Union , 2012 .

[56]  Christian Ammer,et al.  Biomass allocation to roots and shoots is more sensitive to shade and drought in European beech than in Norway spruce seedlings , 2012 .

[57]  S. Higgins,et al.  TRY – a global database of plant traits , 2011, Global Change Biology.

[58]  J. Craine,et al.  Physiological drought tolerance and the structuring of tallgrass prairie assemblages , 2011 .

[59]  Peter B Reich,et al.  Multi-trait interactions, not phylogeny, fine-tune leaf size reduction with increasing altitude. , 2011, Annals of botany.

[60]  John M. Briggs,et al.  Regeneration niche differentiates functional strategies of desert woody plant species , 2010, Oecologia.

[61]  J. Cornelissen,et al.  Evidence of the ‘plant economics spectrum’ in a subarctic flora , 2010 .

[62]  Josep Peñuelas,et al.  Global patterns of foliar nitrogen isotopes and their relationships with climate, mycorrhizal fungi, foliar nutrient concentrations, and nitrogen availability. , 2009, The New phytologist.

[63]  Juli G. Pausas,et al.  Fire-related traits for plant species of the Mediterranean Basin , 2009 .

[64]  J. Chave,et al.  Towards a Worldwide Wood Economics Spectrum 2 . L E a D I N G D I M E N S I O N S I N W O O D F U N C T I O N , 2022 .

[65]  J. Richards,et al.  Patterns of nocturnal rehydration in root tissues of Vaccinium corymbosum L. under severe drought conditions , 2009, Journal of experimental botany.

[66]  Jeremy W. Lichstein,et al.  The Imprint of Species Turnover on Old-Growth Forest Carbon Balances - Insights From a Trait-Based Model of Forest Dynamics , 2009 .

[67]  L. Sack,et al.  Relating leaf photosynthetic rate to whole-plant growth: drought and shade effects on seedlings of four Quercus species. , 2008, Functional plant biology : FPB.

[68]  Peter B Reich,et al.  Scaling of respiration to nitrogen in leaves, stems and roots of higher land plants. , 2008, Ecology letters.

[69]  C. Violle,et al.  Let the concept of trait be functional , 2007 .

[70]  William F. Fagan,et al.  Phylogenetic and Growth Form Variation in the Scaling of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Seed Plants , 2006, The American Naturalist.

[71]  L. Sack,et al.  Bacterial leaf nodule symbiosis in Ardisia (Myrsinaceae): does it contribute to seedling growth capacity? , 2005, Plant biology.

[72]  P. Reich,et al.  Assessing the generality of global leaf trait relationships. , 2005, The New phytologist.

[73]  Joseph M. Craine,et al.  ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS ON A GLOBAL RELATIONSHIP AMONG LEAF AND ROOT TRAITS OF GRASSES , 2005 .

[74]  P. Bodegom,et al.  Radial oxygen loss, a plastic property of dune slack plant species , 2005, Plant and Soil.

[75]  L. Sack.  Responses of temperate woody seedlings to shade and drought: do trade‐offs limit potential niche differentiation? , 2004 .

[76]  Sean C. Thomas,et al.  The worldwide leaf economics spectrum , 2004, Nature.

[77]  Jon E. Keeley,et al.  PLANT FUNCTIONAL TRAITS IN RELATION TO FIRE IN CROWN-FIRE ECOSYSTEMS , 2004 .

[78]  Josep Peñuelas,et al.  Comparative field study of Quercus ilex and Phillyrea latifolia: photosynthetic response to experimental drought conditions , 2003 .

[79]  Alastair Fitter,et al.  Thermal acclimation of leaf and root respiration: An investigation comparing inherently fast- and slow-growing plant species , 2003 .

[80]  M. Maestro,et al.  Functional traits of woody plants: correspondence of species rankings between field adults and laboratory-grown seedlings? , 2003 .

[81]  M. Geber,et al.  Inheritance and Natural Selection on Functional Traits , 2003, International Journal of Plant Sciences.

[82]  P. Reich,et al.  The Evolution of Plant Functional Variation: Traits, Spectra, and Strategies , 2003, International Journal of Plant Sciences.

[83]  S. Lavorel,et al.  Predicting changes in community composition and ecosystem functioning from plant traits: revisiting the Holy Grail , 2002 .

[84]  Bill Shipley,et al.  Dry matter content as a measure of dry matter concentration in plants and their parts , 2002 .

[85]  S. Díaz,et al.  Vive la différence: plant functional diversity matters to ecosystem processes , 2001 .

[86]  Peter E. Thornton,et al.  Parameterization and Sensitivity Analysis of the BIOME–BGC Terrestrial Ecosystem Model: Net Primary Production Controls , 2000 .

[87]  P. De Angelis,et al.  Effects of elevated (CO2) on photosynthesis in European forest species: a meta-analysis of model parameters , 1999 .

[88]  John R. Evans,et al.  The response of fast- and slow-growing Acacia species to elevated atmospheric CO2: an analysis of the underlying components of relative growth rate , 1999, Oecologia.

[89]  Paul A. Keddy,et al.  Assembly and response rules: two goals for predictive community ecology , 1992 .

[90]  P. Calow.  Towards a definition of functional ecology , 1987 .

[91]  J. P. Grime,et al.  Evidence for the Existence of Three Primary Strategies in Plants and Its Relevance to Ecological and Evolutionary Theory , 1977, The American Naturalist.

[92]  J. P. Grime.  Vegetation classification by reference to strategies , 1974, Nature.