PalmTraits 1.0, a species-level functional trait database of palms worldwide.

ABSTRACT: Plant traits are critical to plant form and function -including growth, survival and reproduction- and therefore shape fundamental aspects of population and ecosystem dynamics as well as ecosystem services. Here, we present a global species-level compilation of key functional traits for palms (Arecaceae), a plant family with keystone importance in tropical and subtropical ecosystems. We derived measurements of essential functional traits for all (>2500) palm species from key sources such as monographs, books, other scientific publications, as well as herbarium collections. This includes traits related to growth form, stems, armature, leaves and fruits. Although many species are still lacking trait information, the standardized and global coverage of the data set will be important for suppo

SUBMITTER: Kissling WD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6760217 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature