Global plant traits – a biodiversity database for Earth system sciences

The traits of living organisms define their interaction with the environment and are an essential basis of ecological research. At the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry the TRY initiative has united and consolidated worldwide collections of plant traits in a global database and makes them available for further research. The improved usage of plant trait data is expected to promote a paradigm shift from species- to trait-based ecology. Moreover, it facilitates accounting for biodiversity aspects in Earth system sciences.