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J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 wileyonlinelibrarycomjournaljvsemsp|emsp161
Journal of Vegetation Science
Received5October2018emsp |emsp Revised5November2018emsp |emsp Accepted15November2018DOI 101111jvs12710
R E P O R T
sPlot ndash A new tool for global vegetation analyses
Helge Bruelheide12 emsp| Juumlrgen Dengler234 emsp| Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro125 emsp| Oliver Purschke12 emsp| Stephan M Hennekens6emsp| Milan Chytryacute7 emsp| Valeacuterio D Pillar8 emsp| Florian Jansen9emsp| Jens Kattge210 emsp| Brody Sandel11emsp| Isabelle Aubin12emsp| Idoia Biurrun13 emsp| Richard Field14 emsp| Sylvia Haider12emsp| Ute Jandt12emsp| Jonathan Lenoir15 emsp| Robert K Peet16 emsp| Gwendolyn Peyre17emsp| Francesco Maria Sabatini12 emsp| Marco Schmidt18 emsp| Franziska Schrodt14 emsp| Marten Winter2emsp| Svetlana Aćić19emsp| Emiliano Agrillo20 emsp| Miguel Alvarez21 emsp| Didem Ambarlı22emsp| Pierangela Angelini23 emsp| Iva Apostolova24emsp| Mohammed A S Arfin Khan2526 emsp| Elise Arnst27emsp| Fabio Attorre20 emsp| Christopher Baraloto2829emsp| Michael Beckmann30 emsp| Christian Berg31emsp| Yves Bergeron32 emsp| Erwin Bergmeier33 emsp| Anne D Bjorkman3435emsp| Viktoria Bondareva36emsp| Peter Borchardt37emsp| Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet38 emsp| Brad Boyle39emsp| Amy Breen40emsp| Henry Brisse41emsp| Chaeho Byun42 emsp| Marcelo R Cabido43emsp| Laura Casella23 emsp| Luis Cayuela44 emsp| Tomaacuteš Černyacute45 emsp| Victor Chepinoga46 emsp| Jaacutenos Csiky47 emsp| Michael Curran48emsp| Renata Ćušterevska49emsp| Zora Dajić Stevanović19emsp| Els De Bie50 emsp| Patrice de Ruffray51emsp| Michele De Sanctis20 emsp| Panayotis Dimopoulos52emsp| Stefan Dressler53emsp| Rasmus Ejrnaeligs54emsp| Mohamed Abd El-Rouf Mousa El-Sheikh5556emsp| Brian Enquist39emsp| Joumlrg Ewald57emsp| Jaime Faguacutendez58 emsp| Manfred Finckh59emsp| Xavier Font60 emsp| Estelle Forey61 emsp| Georgios Fotiadis62emsp| Itziar Garciacutea-Mijangos13emsp| Andreacute Luis de Gasper63 emsp| Valentin Golub36emsp| Alvaro G Gutierrez64 emsp| Mohamed Z Hatim65emsp| Tianhua He66 emsp| Pedro Higuchi67 emsp| Dana Holubovaacute7emsp| Norbert Houmllzel68 emsp| Juumlrgen Homeier69emsp| Adrian Indreica70emsp| Deniz Işık Guumlrsoy71emsp| Steven Jansen72 emsp| John Janssen6emsp| Birgit Jedrzejek68emsp| Martin Jiroušek773 emsp| Norbert Juumlrgens59 emsp| Zygmunt Kącki74emsp| Ali Kavgacı75 emsp| Elizabeth Kearsley76 emsp| Michael Kessler77 emsp| Ilona Knollovaacute7emsp| Vitaliy Kolomiychuk78emsp| Andrey Korolyuk79emsp| Maria Kozhevnikova80emsp| Łukasz Kozub81emsp| Daniel Krstonošić82emsp| Hjalmar Kuumlhl283emsp| Ingolf Kuumlhn1284 emsp| Anna Kuzemko85emsp| Filip Kuumlzmič86emsp|
These authors should be considered joint first authors
ThisisanopenaccessarticleunderthetermsoftheCreativeCommonsAttributionLicensewhichpermitsusedistributionandreproductioninanymediumprovidedtheoriginalworkisproperlycitedcopy2019TheAuthorsJournal of Vegetation SciencepublishedbyJohnWileyampSonsLtdonbehalfofInternationalAssociationofVegetationScience
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Flavia Landucci7 emsp| Michael T Lee87emsp| Aurora Levesley88emsp| Ching-Feng Li89 emsp| Hongyan Liu90emsp| Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez88emsp| Tatiana Lysenko9192emsp| Armin Macanović93emsp| Parastoo Mahdavi94emsp| Peter Manning35 emsp| Corrado Marcenograve13 emsp| Vassiliy Martynenko95emsp| Maurizio Mencuccini96 emsp| Vanessa Minden97 emsp| Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund54 emsp| Marco Moretti98 emsp| Jonas V Muumlller99emsp| Jeacuterocircme Munzinger100 emsp| Uumllo Niinemets101 emsp| Marcin Nobis102emsp| Jalil Noroozi103emsp| Arkadiusz Nowak104 emsp| Viktor Onyshchenko85emsp| Gerhard E Overbeck8 emsp| Wim A Ozinga6 emsp| Anibal Pauchard105emsp| Hristo Pedashenko106 emsp| Josep Pentildeuelas107108 emsp| Aaron Peacuterez-Haase109110 emsp| Tomaacuteš Peterka7emsp| Petr Petřiacutek111 emsp| Oliver L Phillips88 emsp| Vadim Prokhorov80emsp| Valerijus Rašomavičius112emsp| Rasmus Revermann59emsp| John Rodwell113emsp| Eszter Ruprecht114emsp| Solvita Rūsiņa115emsp| Cyrus Samimi116 emsp| Joop HJ Schamineacutee6emsp| Ute Schmiedel59emsp| Jozef Šibiacutek117 emsp| Urban Šilc86emsp| Željko Škvorc82 emsp| Anita Smyth118emsp| Tenekwetche Sop283emsp| Desislava Sopotlieva24emsp| Ben Sparrow118emsp| Zvjezdana Stančić119emsp| Jens-Christian Svenning34 emsp| Grzegorz Swacha74 emsp| Zhiyao Tang90emsp| Ioannis Tsiripidis120emsp| Pavel Dan Turtureanu121emsp| Emin Uğurlu122 emsp| Domas Uogintas112emsp| Milan Valachovič117emsp| Kim Andreacute Vanselow123emsp| Yulia Vashenyak124emsp| Kiril Vassilev24emsp| Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin8 emsp| Roberto Venanzoni125 emsp| Alexander Christian Vibrans126emsp| Cyrille Violle127emsp| Risto Virtanen2128129 emsp| Henrik von Wehrden130emsp| Viktoria Wagner131emsp| Donald A Walker132emsp| Desalegn Wana133emsp| Evan Weiher134 emsp| Karsten Wesche2135136emsp| Timothy Whitfeld137 emsp| Wolfgang Willner103138emsp| Susan Wiser27 emsp| Thomas Wohlgemuth139emsp| Sergey Yamalov140emsp| Georg Zizka53emsp| Andrei Zverev141
1InstituteofBiologyGeobotanyandBotanicalGardenMartinLutherUniversityHalle-WittenbergHalleGermany2GermanCentreforIntegrativeBiodiversityResearch(iDiv)Halle-Jena-LeipzigLeipzigGermany3VegetationEcologyGroupInstituteofNaturalResourceSciences(IUNR)ZurichUniversityofAppliedSciences(ZHAW)WaumldenswilSwitzerland4PlantEcologyBayreuthCenterofEcologyandEnvironmentalResearch(BayCEER)UniversityofBayreuthBayreuthGermany5ResearchUnitofBiodiversity(CSUCUOPA)UniversityofOviedoMieresSpain6WageningenEnvironmentalResearch(Alterra)WageningenUniversityandResearchWageningenTheNetherlands7DepartmentofBotanyandZoologyMasarykUniversityBrnoCzechRepublic8DepartmentofEcologyUniversidadeFederaldoRioGrandedoSulPortoAlegreBrazil9FacultyofAgriculturalandEnvironmentalSciencesUniversityofRostockRostockGermany10MaxPlanckInstituteforBiogeochemistryJenaGermany11DepartmentofBiologySantaClaraUniversitySantaClaraCalifornia12GreatLakesForestryCentreCanadianForestServiceNaturalResourcesCanadaSaultSteMarieOntarioCanada13PlantBiologyandEcologyUniversityoftheBasqueCountryUPVEHUBilbaoSpain14SchoolofGeographyUniversityofNottinghamNottinghamUK15EcologieetDynamiquesdesSystegravemesAnthropiseacutes(EDYSANUMR7058CNRS-UPJV)UniversiteacutedePicardieJulesVerneAmiensFrance16DepartmentofBiologyUniversityofNorthCarolinaChapelHillNorthCarolina17DepartmentofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineeringUniversityoftheAndesBogotaColombia18DataandModellingCentreSenckenbergBiodiversityandClimateResearchCentre(BiK-F)FrankfurtamMainGermany
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19DepartmentofAgrobotanyFacultyofAgricultureBelgrade-ZemunSerbia20DepartmentofEnvironmentalBiologyldquoSapienzardquoUniversityofRomeRomeItaly21PlantNutritionINRESUniversityofBonnBonnGermany22DepartmentofAgriculturalBiotechnologyFacultyofAgricultureandNaturalSciencesDuumlzceUniversityDuumlzceTurkey23BiodiversityConservationDepartmentISPRAndashItalianNationalInstituteforEnvironmentalProtectionandResearchRomeItaly24DepartmentofPlantandFungalDiversityandResourcesInstituteofBiodiversityandEcosystemResearchBulgarianAcademyofSciencesSofiaBulgaria25ForestryampEnvironmentalScienceShahjalalUniversityofScienceampTechnologySylhetBangladesh26DisturbanceEcologyBayreuthCenterofEcologyandEnvironmentalResearch(BayCEER)UniversityofBayreuthBayreuthGermany27ManaakiWhenuandashLandcareResearchLincolnNewZealand28InternationalCenterforTropicalBotany(ICTB)TheKampongoftheNationalTropicalBotanicalGardenCoconutGroveFlorida29DepartmentofBiologicalSciencesFloridaInternationalUniversityMiamiFlorida30LandscapeEcologyHelmholtzCentreforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZLeipzigGermany31BotanicalGardenUniversityofGrazGrazAustria32ForestResearchInstituteUniversiteacuteduQueacutebecenAbitibi-TeacutemiscamingueRouyn-NorandaQuebecCanada33VegetationEcologyandPhytodiversityUniversityofGoumlttingenGoumlttingenGermany34DepartmentofBioscienceCenterforBiodiversityDynamicsinaChangingWorld(BIOCHANGE)ampSectionforEcoinformaticsampBiodiversityAarhusUniversityAarhusCDenmark35SenckenbergBiodiversityandClimateResearchCentre(SBiK-F)FrankfurtamMainGermany36LaboratoryofPhytocoenologyInstituteofEcologyoftheVolgaRiverBasinTogliattiRussianFederation37InstituteofGeographyCENndashCenterforEarthSystemResearchandSustainabilityUniversityofHamburgHamburgGermany38InstituteofEcologyandBotanyMTACentreforEcologicalResearchVaacutecraacutetoacutetHungary39EcologyandEvolutionaryBiologyUniversityofArizonaTucsonArizona40InternationalArcticResearchCenterUniversityofAlaskaFairbanksAlaska41FaculteacutedesSciencesMEPMarseilleCedex20France42SchoolofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineeringYonseiUniversitySeoulSouthKorea43MultidisciplinaryInstituteforPlantBiology(IMBIVndashCONICET)UniversityofCordobandashCONICETCordobaArgentina44DepartmentofBiologyGeologyPhysicsandInorganicChemistryUniversidadReyJuanCarlosMoacutestolesSpain45DepartmentofForestEcologyFacultyofForestryandWoodSciencesCzechUniversityofLifeSciencesPraguePraha6ndashSuchdolCzechRepublic46LaboratoryofPhysicalGeographyandBiogeographyVBSochavaInstituteofGeographySBRASIrkutskRussianFederation47DepartmentofEcologyUniversityofPeacutecsPeacutecsHungary48InstituteofEnvironmentalEngineeringSwissFederalInstituteofTechnology(ETH)ZuumlrichZuumlrichSwitzerland49InstituteofBiologyFacultyofNaturalSciencesandMathematicsSkopjeRepublicofMacedonia50TeamBiotopeDiversityResearchInstituteforNatureandForest(INBO)BrusselsBelgium51InstitutdeBiologieMoleacuteculairedesPlantes(IBMP)UniversiteacutedeStrasbourgStrasburgFrance52DepartmentofBiologyDivisionofPlantBiologyLaboratoryofBotanyUniversityofPatrasPatrasGreece53DepartmentofBotanyandMolecularEvolutionSenckenbergResearchInstituteFrankfurtamMainGermany54DepartmentofBioscienceAarhusUniversityRoendeDenmark55BotanyandMicrobiologyDepartmentCollegeofScienceKingSaudUniversityRiyadhSaudiArabia56BotanyDepartmentFacultyofScienceDamanhourUniversityDamanhourEgypt57HochschuleWeihenstephan-TriesdorfUniversityofAppliedSciencesFreisingGermany58FacultyofScienceUniversityofACoruntildeaACoruntildeaSpain59BiodiversityEcologyandEvolutionofPlantsInstituteforPlantScienceampMicrobiologyUniversityofHamburgHamburgGermany60PlantBiodiversityResourceCentreUniversityofBarcelonaBarcelonaSpain61LaboratoireEcodivEA1293URAIRSTEANormandieUniversityMont-Saint-AignanFrance62DepartmentofForestryampNaturalEnvironmentManagementTEIofStereaElladaKarpenissiGreece63DepartmentofNaturalScienceRegionalUniversityofBlumenauBlumenauBrazil64DepartamentodeCienciasAmbientalesyRecursosNaturalesRenovablesFacultaddeCienciasAgronomicasUniversidaddeChileSantiagoChile65BotanyFacultyofScienceTantaUniversityTantaEgypt66SchoolofMolecularandLifeSciencesCurtinUniversityBentleyAustralia67ForestryDepartmentSantaCatarinaStateUniversityLagesBrazil68InstituteofLandscapeEcologyUniversityofMuumlnsterMuumlnsterGermany69PlantEcologyandEcosystemsResearchUniversityofGoumlttingenGoumlttingenGermany70DepartmentofSilvicultureTransilvaniaUniversityofBrasovBrasovRomania
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71DepartmentofBiologyCelalBayarUniversityManisaTurkey72InstituteofSystematicBotanyandEcologyFacultyofNaturalSciencesUlmUniversityUlmGermany73DepartmentofPlantBiologyMendelUniversityinBrnoBrnoCzechRepublic74BotanicalGardenUniversityofWrocławWrocławPoland75SilvicultureandForestBotanySouthwestAnatoliaForestResearchInstituteAntalyaTurkey76DepartmentofEnvironmentGhentUniversityGentBelgium77DepartmentofSystematicandEvolutionaryBotanyUniversityofZurichZurichSwitzerland78OVFominBotanicalGardenattheEducationalandScientificCentreInstituteofBiologyandMedicineTarasShevchenkoNationalUniversityofKyivKyivUkraine79GeosystemLaboratoryCentralSiberianBotanicalGardenSiberianBranchRussianAcademyofSciencesNovosibirskRussianFederation80InstituteofEnvironmentalSciencesKazanFederalUniversityKazanRussianFederation81DepartmentofPlantEcologyandEnvironmentalConservationFacultyofBiologyBiologicalandChemicalResearchCentreUniversityofWarsawWarsawPoland82FacultyofForestryUniversityofZagrebZagrebCroatia83PrimatologyMaxPlanckInstituteforEvolutionaryAnthropology(MPI-EVA)LeipzigGermany84DepartmentofCommunityEcologyHelmholtzCentreforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZHalleGermany85MGKholodnyInstituteofBotanyNationalAcademyofSciencesofUkraineKyivUkraine86InstituteofBiologyResearchCentreofSlovenianAcademyofSciencesandArts(ZRCSAZU)LjubljanaSlovenia87NatureServeDurhamNorthCarolina88SchoolofGeographyUniversityofLeedsLeedsUK89SchoolofForestryandResourceConservationNationalTaiwanUniversityHsinchuTaiwan90CollegeofUrbanandEnvironmentalSciencesPekingUniversityBeijingChina91DepartmentofthePhytodiversityProblemsInstituteofEcologyoftheVolgaRiverBasinRASTogliattiRussianFederation92LaboratoryofVegetationScienceKomarovBotanicalInstituteRASSaint-PetersburgRussia93DepartmentofBiologyCenterforEcologyandNaturalResourcesndashAcademicianSulejmanRedžićUniversityofSarajevoSarajevoBosniaandHerzegovina94ResearchGroupVegetationScienceampNatureConservationDepartmentofEcologyandEnvironmentalScienceCarlvonOssietzky-UniversityOldenburgOldenburgGermany95UfaInstituteofBiologyofUfaFederalScientificCentreoftheRussianAcademyofSciencesUfaRussianFederation96CentreResearchEcologyandForestryApplications(CREAF)ICREABarcelonaSpain97InstituteofBiologyanEnvironmentalSciencesCarlvonOssietzky-UniversityOldenburgOldenburgGermany98BiodiversityandConservationBiologySwissFederalResearchInstituteWSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland99ConservationScienceRoyalBotanicGardensKewUK100AMAPndashBotanyandModellingofPlantArchitectureandVegetationIRDCIRADCNRSINRAUniversiteacuteMontpellierMontpellierFrance101CropScienceandPlantBiologyEstonianUniversityofLifeSciencesTartuEstonia102InstituteofBotanyJagiellonianUniversityKrakoacutewPoland103DepartmentofBotanyandBiodiversityResearchUniversityofViennaViennaAustria104BotanicalGardenndashCenterforBiologicalDiversityConservationPolishAcademyofSciencesWarszawaPoland105LaboratoriodeInvasionesBioloacutegicas(LIB)UniversityofConcepcioacutenConcepcioacutenChile106AmsterdamTheNetherlands107GlobalEcologyUnitCREAF-CSIC-UABCSICBellaterraSpain108CREAFCerdanyoladelVallegravesSpain109DepartmentofEvolutionaryBiologyEcologyandEnvironmentalSciencesUniversityofBarcelonaBarcelonaSpain110ContinentalEcologyCenterforAdvancedStudiesofBlanesSpanishResearchCouncil(CEAB-CSIC)BlanesGironaSpain111DepartmentofGISandRemoteSensingInstituteofBotanyTheCzechAcademyofSciencesPrůhoniceCzechRepublic112InstituteofBotanyNatureResearchCentreVilniusLithuania113LancasterUK114HungarianDepartmentofBiologyandEcologyFacultyofBiologyandGeologyBabeș-BolyaiUniversityCluj-NapocaRomania115DepartmentofGeographyUniversityofLatviaRigaLatvia116ClimatologyBayreuthCenterofEcologyandEnvironmentalResearch(BayCEER)UniversityofBayreuthBayreuthGermany117InstituteofBotanyPlantScienceandBiodiversityCentreSlovakAcademyofSciencesBratislavaSlovakia118TERNUniversityofAdelaideAdelaideAustralia119FacultyofGeotechnicalEngineeringUniversityofZagrebVaraždinCroatia120SchoolofBiologyAristotleUniversityofThessalonikiThessalonikiGreece
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121ABorzaBotanicalGardenBabeș-BolyaiUniversityCluj-NapocaRomania122ForestEngineeringDepartmentFacultyofForestryBursaTechnicalUniversityYıldırımBursaTurkey123DepartmentofGeographyUniversityofErlangen-NurembergErlangenGermany124KhmelnytskyiInstituteofInterregionalAcademyofPersonnelManagementKhmelnytskyiUkraine125DepartmentofChemistryBiologyandBiotechnologyUniversityofPerugiaPerugiaItaly126DepartamentodeEngenhariaFlorestalUniversidadeRegionaldeBlumenauBlumenauBrazil127CentredEcologieFonctionnelleetEvolutive(UMR5175)CNRSndashUniversiteacutedeMontpellierndashUniversiteacutePaul-ValeacuteryMontpellierndashEPHEMontpellierFrance128EcologyandGeneticsResearchUnitBiodiversityUnitUniversityofOuluOuluFinland129DepartmentofPhysiologicalDiversityHelmholtzCenterforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZLeipzigGermany130InstituteofEcologyLeuphanaUniversityLuumlneburgGermany131DepartmentofBiologicalSciencesUniversityofAlbertaEdmontonCanada132InstituteofArcticBiologyUniversityofAlaskaFairbanksAlaska133DepartmentofGeographyampEnvironmentalStudiesAddisAbabaUniversityAddisAbabaEthiopia134DepartmentofBiologyUniversityofWisconsinndashEauClaireEauClaireWisconsin135BotanyDepartmentSenckenbergMuseumofNaturalHistoryGoumlrlitzGoumlrlitzGermany136InternationalInstituteZittauTechnicalUniversityDresdenZittauGermany137DepartmentofEcologyandEvolutionaryBiologyBrownUniversityHerbariumBrownUniversityProvidenceRhodeIsland138ViennaInstituteforNatureConservationampAnalysesViennaAustria139ResearchUnitForestDynamicsSwissFederalInstituteforForestSnowandLandscapeResearchWSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland140LaboratoryofWild-GrowingFloraBotanicalGarden-InstituteUfaScientificCentreRussianAcademyofSciencesUfaRussianFederation141DepartmentofBotanyTomskStateUniversityTomskRussianFederation
CorrespondenceHelgeBruelheideInstituteofBiologyGeobotanyandBotanicalGardenMartinLutherUniversityHalle-WittenbergHalleGermanyEmailhelgebruelheidebotanikuni-hallede
Co-ordinatingEditorAlessandroChiarucci
AbstractAims Vegetation-plot records provide information on the presence and cover orabundanceofplantsco-occurringinthesamecommunityVegetation-plotdataarespread across research groups environmental agencies and biodiversity researchcentersandthusarerarelyaccessibleatcontinentalorglobalscalesHerewepre-sentthesPlotdatabasewhichcollatesvegetationplotsworldwidetoallowfortheexplorationofglobalpatternsintaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticdiversityattheplantcommunitylevelResults sPlotversion21containsrecordsfrom1121244vegetationplotswhichcomprise23586216recordsofplantspeciesandtheirrelativecoverorabundanceinplotscollectedworldwidebetween1885and2015Wecomplementedtheinfor-mationforeachplotbyretrievingclimateandsoilconditionsandthebiogeographiccontext(egbiomes)fromexternalsourcesandbycalculatingcommunity-weightedmeansandvariancesoftraitsusinggap-filleddatafromtheglobalplanttraitdata-baseTRYMoreoverwecreatedaphylogenetic treefor50167outof the54519speciesidentifiedintheplotsWepresentthefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcom-munityrichnessandcommunity-weightedmeansofkeytraitsConclusions TheavailabilityofvegetationplotdatainsPlotoffersnewavenuesforvegetationanalysisattheglobalscale
K E Y W O R D S
biodiversitycommunityecologyecoinformaticsfunctionaldiversityglobalscalemacroecologyphylogeneticdiversityplotdatabasesPlottaxonomicdiversityvascularplantvegetationreleveacute
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1emsp |emspINTRODUCTION
Studyingglobalbiodiversitypatternsisatthecoreofmacroecologi-calresearch(CostelloWilsonampHoulding2012KreftampJetz2007Wiens2011)sincetheirexplorationmayprovideinsightsintotheecological and evolutionary processes acting at different spatio-temporalscales(Ricklefs2004)Theopportunitiesengenderedbythecompilationoflargecollectionsofbiodiversitydataintowidelyaccessibleglobal(GBIFwwwgbiforg)orcontinentaldatabases(egBIENwwwbiennceasucsbedubien)have recentlyadvancedourunderstandingofglobalbiodiversitypatternsespecially forverte-brates but also for vascular plants (Butler etal 2017 Engemannetal2016Lamannaetal2014Swensonetal2012)Althoughthisdevelopmenthasledtotheformulationofseveralmacroecolog-icaltheories(Currieetal2004PaumlrtelBennettampZobel2016)amoremechanisticunderstandingofhowassemblyprocessesshapeecological communities and consequently global biodiversity pat-terns is stillmissing (LessardBelmakerMyersChaseampRahbek2012)
Understanding the linksbetweenbiodiversitypatternsandas-semblyprocessesrequiresfine-graindataontheco-occurrenceofspecies in ecological communities sampled across continental orglobalspatialextents (Becketal2012Wiszetal2013)Forex-amplesuchco-occurrencedatahavebeenusedtocomparechangesin vegetation compositionover time spansofdecades (Jandt vonWehrdenampBruelheide2011Perringetal2018)Unfortunatelyup tonow informationonfine-grainvegetationdatahasnotbeenreadily available asmost of the continental to global biodiversity
datasets have been derived from occurrence data (ie presence-only data) and after being aggregated spatially have a relativelycoarse-grain scale (egone-degreegridcells)without informationonspeciesco-occurrenceatthemeaningfulscaleoflocalcommuni-ties(Boakesetal2010)Incontrastvegetation-plotdatarecordthecoverorabundanceofeachplantspeciesthatoccursinaplotofagivensizeatthedateofthesurveyrepresentingthemainreservoirofplantcommunitydataworldwide(Dengleretal2011)
Vegetation-plotdatadifferinfundamentalwaysfromdatabasesofoccurrencerecordsof individualspeciesaggregatedatthelevelofgridcellsorregionsofhundredsorthousandsofsquarekilome-ters(Figure1)Firstvegetationplotsusuallyprovideinformationontherelativecoverorrelativeabundanceofspeciesallowingforthetestingofcentraltheoriesofbiogeographysuchastheabundancendashrangesizerelationship(GastonampCurnutt1998)ortherelationshipbetween local abundanceandnichebreadth (Gastonetal2000)Secondtheycontaininformationonwhichplantspeciesco-occurinthesamelocality(Chytryacuteetal2016)whichisanecessaryprecon-dition fordirectbiotic interactions amongplant individualsThirdunrecorded species canbe considered truly absent from the abo-vegroundvegetationat this scalebecause thestandardizedmeth-odologyoftakingavegetationrecordrequiresasystematicsearchforallspeciesinaplotoratleastallspeciesofthedominantfunc-tional group Fourth many plots are spatially explicit and can beresurveyed through time to assess possible consequences of landuseandclimatechange(Perringetal2018Steinbaueretal2018)Fifthvegetationplotsrepresentasnapshotoftheprimaryproduc-ersof a terrestrial ecosystemwhich canbe functionally linked to
F IGURE 1emspConceptualfigurevisualizinghowfunctionalcomposition(inthiscaseplantheight)differsbetweencalculations based on mean traits for gridcellsandcommunitydatasampledinvegetationplotsOccurrencedata(egfromdistributionatlasesGBIFetc)canbe used to calculate mean trait values in gridcellsG1ndashG3Howevercommunityweightedmeans(CWMs)oftraitsdifferacrosslocalplots(P1ndashP6)whilethemeanvaluesofCWMsinthegridcellsdifferfromtheunweightedvaluescalculatedinthegridcellsThisexampleissimplifiedbyshowingfewspeciesandfewplotsInrealitydifferencesaregenerallymorepronounced
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organismsfromdifferenttrophicgroupssampledinthesameplots(egmultiple-taxasurveys)andrelatedprocessesandservicesbothbelow(egdecompositionnutrientcycling)andaboveground(egherbivorypollination)(egSchuldtetal2018)
Recently several projects at the regional to continental scalehavedemonstratedthepotentialofusingvegetation-plotdatabasesforexploringbiodiversitypatternsandtheunderlyingassemblypro-cessesUsingvegetationdataofFrenchgrasslandsBorgyetal(2017)demonstratedthatweightingleaftraitsbyspeciesabundanceinlocalcommunitiesispivotaltocaptureleaftraitndashenvironmentrelationshipsAnalyzingUnitedStatesforestassemblagessurveyedatthecommu-nitylevelŠiacutemovaacuteRuedaandHawkins(2017)wereabletorelatecoldordroughttolerancetoleaftraitsdispersaltraitsandtraitsrelatedtostemhydraulicsUsingplot-basedtreeinventoriesoftheUnitedStatesforestserviceZhangNiinemetsSheffieldandLichstein(2018)foundthatshiftsintreefunctionalcompositionamplifytheresponseoffor-estbiomasstodroughtsBasedongt15000plotsfromawidenum-berofhabitattypesinDenmarkMoeslundetal(2017)showedthattypicalplantspeciesthatarepartofthesite-specificspeciespoolbutareabsentinacommunitytendtodependonmycorrhizaaremostlyadaptedtolowlightandlownutrientlevelshavepoordispersalabili-tiesandareruderalsandstress-intolerantBycollatinggt40000vege-tationplotssampledinEuropeanbeechforestsJimeacutenez-Alfaroetal(2018)foundthatcurrentlocalcommunitydiversityandspeciespoolsizescalculatedatdifferentscalesweremainlyexplainedbyproximitytoglacialrefugiaandcurrentprecipitation
Although large collections of vegetation-plot data are nowavailable from national to continental levels (eg Chytryacute etal2016EnquistConditPeetSchildhauerampThiers2016PeetLeeJennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012 Schamineacutee HennekensChytryacuteampRodwell2009Schmidtetal2012)theyarerarelyused
inglobal-scalebiodiversityresearch(FranklinSerra-DiazSyphardampRegan2017Wiser2016)This isunfortunatebecausevegetation-plotdatamayrevealimportantpatternsthatcannotbecapturedbygrid-based datasets (Table1) Functional composition patterns forinstancemay differ substantiallywhen considering vegetation-plotdataratherthansinglespeciesoccurrencesaggregatedatthelevelofcoarse-graingridcellsUsingplantheightasanillustrationrevealsthatthetraitmeanscalculatedonallthespeciesoccurringinagridcellmaydiffer strongly from the community-weightedmeans (CWMs) aver-agedacrosslocalcommunities(Figure1)Neverthelessonlythegrid-basedapproachhasbeenusedtodate instudiesofthegeographicdistributionof trait values (eg Swensonetal20122017Wrightetal2017)
HerewepresentsPlotaglobaldatabaseforcompilingandin-tegratingplantcommunitydataWedescribe(a)mainstepsininte-gratingvegetation-plotdatainarepositorythatprovidestaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticinformationonco-occurringplantspe-ciesandlinksittoglobalenvironmentaldrivers(b)principalsourcesandpropertiesofthedataandtheprocedurefordatausageand(c)expectedimpactsofthedatabaseinfutureecologicalresearchToil-lustratethepotentialofsPlotwealsoshowglobaldiversitypatternsthat can be readily derived from the current content
2emsp |emspCOMPILATION OF THE SPLOT DATABA SE
21emsp|emspVegetation- plot data
The sPlot consortium currently collates 110 vegetation-plot data-basesofregionalnationalorcontinentalextentSomeofthedata-baseshavepreviouslybeenaggregatedbyandcontributedthrough
TABLE 1emspTypesofinformationprovidedbysinglevegetationplotsvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells(orothergeographicunits)andsinglespeciesoccurrencerecordsaggregatedwithingridcellsThethreelevelsareillustratedinFigure1
Information fromhellip Singlevegetationplots Setofvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells
Grid-celldatafromfloristicinventories
To derive information on the hellip
Plot level Gridcelllevel Gridcelllevel
Typeofoccurrence Co-occurrenceoccurrencebyvegetationtype
Occurrencebyvegetationtype Occurrence
Communityassemblyrules
Yes(co-occurrenceisaprerequisiteforspeciesinteractions)
No No
Absences Yes(forthetargetplantgroupinastudy)
No(exceptforintensivesamplingschemes) Dependingonsamplingintensity
Floristiccomposition hellip of the local community hellipofthespeciespoolsofvegetationtypes hellipofthetotalsetofspecies
Diversity α γ γ
Speciesabundance Localcover-abundance Meancover-abundanceandfrequencybyvegetationtype
Occurrence only
Combinationwithtraits
Functionalcompositionofthelocalcommunity(traitsunweightedorweightedbycoverCWMCWV)
Functionalcompositionofthespeciespool(unweightedorweighted)
Functionalcompositionofthetotalsetofspecies(unweightedonly)
Environmentalfiltering
hellip at the local level hellipattheregionallevel hellipattheregionallevel
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two (sub-)continental database initiatives (Table2 and AppendixS1)AlldatafromEuropeandnearbyregionswerecontributedviatheEuropeanVegetationArchive(EVA)usingtheSynBioSystaxondatabase as a standard taxonomic backbone (Chytryacute etal 2016)ThreeAfricandatabaseswerecontributedvia theTropicalAfricanVegetationArchive(TAVA)InadditionmultipleUSdatabaseswerecontributedthroughtheVegBankarchivemaintainedinsupportoftheUSNationalVegetationClassification(PeetLeeBoyleetal2012 Peet Lee Jennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012) The datafromotherregions(SouthAmericaAsia)werecontributedassepa-rate databases
Westoredthevegetation-plotdatafromtheindividualdatabasesinthedatabasesoftwareTURBOVEGv2(HennekensampSchamineacutee2001)Ourgeneralprocedurewastopreservetheoriginalstructureandcontentofthedatabasesasmuchaspossibleinordertofacil-itateregularupdatesthroughautomatedworkflowsTheindividualdatabaseswerethenintegratedintoasingleSQLitedatabaseusingTURBOVEGv3(SMHennekensALTERRATheNetherlandswwwsynbiosysalterranlturboveg3helpenindexhtml)TURBOVEGv3combinesthespecieslistsfromtheoriginaldatabasesinasinglere-positoryand linkstheplotattributes (so-calledheaderdata) to58descriptors of vegetation-plots (Table S21 in Appendix S2) ThemetadataofthedatabasescollatedinsPlotweremanagedthroughtheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(GIVDDengleretal2011)usingtheGIVDIDastheidentifierThecurrentsPlotversion21wascreatedinOctober2016andcontains1121244vegetationplotswith23586216plantspeciestimesplotobservations(ierecordsofaspeciesinaplot)Mostrecords(1073737958)haveinfor-mationoncover29288onpresenceabsence5854onbasalarea4883onnumberofstems(ofteninadditiontobasalarea)148onimportancevalue(acombinationofbasalareaandnumberofstems)3265oncountsofindividuals1895onpercentagefrequencyandfurther2174haveamixofthesedifferenttypesofmetrics
22emsp|emspTaxonomic standardization
TocombinethespecieslistsofthedifferentdatabasesinsPlotweconstructedataxonomicbackboneTolinkco-occurrenceinforma-tion insPlotwithplant traitsweexpandedthisbackboneto inte-grateplantnamesusedintheTRYdatabase(Kattgeetal2011)Thetaxon names (without nomenclatural authors) from sPlot 21 andTRY30werefirstconcatenatedintoonelistresulting in121861names of which 61588 (505) were unique to sPlot 35429(291)uniquetoTRYand24844(204)sharedbetweenTRYandsPlotTaxonnameswereparsedandresolvedusingtheTaxonomicNameResolutionServicewebapplication(TNRSversion40Boyleetal2013iPlantCollaborative2015)usingthefiveTNRSstand-ardsourcesrankedbydefaultWeallowedfor (a)partialmatchingtothenexthigherrank(genusorfamily)ifthefulltaxonnamecouldnotbefoundand(b)fullfuzzymatchingtoreturnnamesthatwerematchedwithin amaximumnumberof four single-character edits(Levenshteineditdistanceof4)whichcorrespondstotheminimummatchaccuracyof005inTNRSwith1indicatingaperfectmatch
Weacceptedall names thatwerematchedor converted fromsynonymswithanoverallmatchscoreof1Incaseswithnoexactmatch(ietheoverallmatchscorewaslt1)nameswereinspectedonan individualbasisAllnamesthatmatchedat taxonomicranksator lowerthanspecies (egsubspeciesvarieties)wereacceptedascorrectnamesThenamematchingprocedurewasrepeatedforthe uncertain names (ie with match accuracy scores below thethresholdvaluefromthefirstmatchingrun)withapreferenceonfirstusingthesourcelsquoTropicosrsquo(MissouriBotanicalGardenhttpwwwtropicosorgaccessed19Dec2014)becauseherematchingscoreswereoftenhigherfornamesoflowtaxonomicrankThere-maining9641non-matchednameswereresolvedusing(a)theaddi-tionalsourcelsquoNCBIrsquo(Federhen2010)withinTNRS(b)thematchingtoolsinthePlantListwebapplication(ThePlantList2013)(c)thelsquotplrsquo-functionwithin theR-package lsquoTaxonstandrsquo (Cayuela SteinampOksanen2017)and(d)manualinspection(ietoresolvevernacularnames)AllsubspecieswereaggregatedtothespecieslevelNamesthatcouldnotbematchedwereclassifiedas lsquoNosuitablematchesfoundrsquoBecausesPlotandTRYcontaintaxaofnon-vascularplantswetaggedvascularplantnamesbasedontheir familyandphylumaffiliationusingthelsquorgbifrsquo libraryinR(Chamberlain2017)OfthefulllistofplantnamesinsPlotandTRY79171(946)plantnameswerematchedatthespecieslevel4343(52)atthegenuslevel152(02)atthefamilyleveland13namesathighertaxonomiclev-elsOverallthisledto58066acceptedtaxonnamesinsPlotFamilyaffiliationwasclassifiedaccordingtoAPGIII(APGIII2009)Ade-taileddescriptionoftheworkflow includingR-code isavailable inPurschke(2017a)
One potential shortcoming of our taxonomic backbone is thatformostregionsitwasnecessarytostandardizetaxausingstandardsetsoftaxonomicsynonymsThusifataxonomicnamerepresentsmultiple taxonomicconceptseg suchascreatedby thesplittingandlumpingoftaxaoranamehasbeenmisappliedinaregionwemusttrustthatthisproblemhasbeenaddressedinourcomponentdatabases(FranzPeetampWeakley2004JansenampDengler2010)Howeverdifferentcomponentdatabasesmayhaveapplieddiffer-enttaxonomicconceptsforsplittingandlumpingtaxa
23emsp|emspPhysiognomic information
Toachieveaclassificationintoforestsversusnon-foreststhatisap-plicable to all plots irrespectiveof the structural andhabitat dataprovidedby the sourcedatabasewedefinedas forestallplot re-cordsthathadgt25absolutecoverofthetreelayermakinguseofthe attribute data of sPlot This threshold is similar to the classifica-tionofEllenbergandMuumlller-Dombois(1967)whodefinedwoodlandformationswithtreescoveringmorethan30Therewere16244tree species in the sPlotdatabaseAs tree layer coverwasavaila-ble foronly25ofallplotsweadditionallyused the informationwhether the taxa present in a plotwere trees (usually defined asbeingtallerthan5m)usingtheplantgrowthforminformationfromTRY (see below) Thus plots lacking tree cover information weredefinedas forests if thesumof relativecoverofall tree taxawas
emspensp emsp | emsp169Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
TABLE 2emsp Plot datasets included in sPlot 21
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
[Aggregator] European Vegetation Archive (EVA)
950001 Milan Chytryacute Ilona Knollovaacute Chytryacute et al (2016)
00-00-004 VegetationDatabaseofEurasianTundra
1132 RistoVirtanen
00-RU-001 VegetationDatabaseForestofSouthernUral
1102 VassiliyMartynenko
00-RU-003 DatabaseMeadowsandSteppesofSouthernUral
2354 SergeyYamalov MariyaLebedeva
00-TR-001 ForestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey-FVDT
919 AliKavgacı
00-TR-002 Non-forestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey
3018 DenizIşıkGuumlrsoy DidemAmbarlı
AS-TR-002 VegetationDatabaseofOakCommunitiesinTurkey
1181 EminUğurlu
EU-00-002 Nordic-BalticGrasslandVegetationDatabase(NBGVD)
7675 JuumlrgenDengler ŁukaszKozub DenglerandRūsiņa(2012)
EU-00-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseoftheUniversityoftheBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)
18441 Idoia Biurrun ItziarGarciacutea-Mijangos BiurrunGarciacutea-MijangosCamposHerreraandLoidi(2012)
EU-00-013 BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabase 7683 KirilVassilev ArminMacanović VassilevDajičĆušterevskaBergmeierandApostolova(2012)
EU-00-016 MediterraneanAmmophileteaDatabase
7359 CorradoMarcenograve BorjaJimeacutenez-Alfaro MarcenograveandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2017)
EU-00-017 EuropeanCoastalVegetationDatabase
4624 JohnJanssen
EU-00-018 TheNordicVegetationDatabase 5477 JonathanLenoir Jens-ChristianSvenning
Lenoiretal(2013)
EU-00-019 BalkanVegetationDatabase 9118 KirilVassilev HristoPedashenko Vassilevetal(2016)
EU-00-020 WetVegEurope 14111 FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2015)
EU-00-022 EuropeanMireVegetationDatabase
10147 TomaacutešPeterka MartinJiroušek PeterkaJiroušekHaacutejekandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2015)
EU-AL-001 VegetationDatabaseofAlbania 290 MicheleDeSanctis GiulianoFanelli DeSanctisFanelliMullajandAttorre(2017)
EU-AT-001 AustrianVegetationDatabase 34458 WolfgangWillner ChristianBerg WillnerBergandHeiselmayer(2012)
EU-BE-002 INBOVEG 25665 ElsDeBie
EU-BG-001 BulgarianVegetationDatabase 5254 IvaApostolova DesislavaSopotlieva ApostolovaSopotlievaPedashenkoVelevandVasilev(2012)
EU-CH-005 SwissForestVegetationDatabase
14193 ThomasWohlgemuth Wohlgemuth(2012)
EU-CZ-001 CzechNationalPhytosociologicalDatabase
104697 MilanChytryacute DanaHolubovaacute ChytryacuteandRafajovaacute(2003)
(Continues)
170emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-DE-001 VegMV 53822 FlorianJansen ChristianBerg JansenDenglerandBerg(2012)
EU-DE-013 VegetWebGermany 23078 JoumlrgEwald EwaldMayandKleikamp(2012)
EU-DE-014 GermanVegetationReferenceDatabase(GVRD)
30840 UteJandt HelgeBruelheide JandtandBruelheide(2012)
EU-DK-002 NationalVegetationDatabaseofDenmark
24264 JesperErenskjoldMoeslund
RasmusEjrnaeligs
EU-ES-001 IberianandMacaronesianVegetationInformationSystem(SIVIM)Wetlands
6560 AaronPeacuterez-Haase XavierFont
EU-FR-003 SOPHY 209864 HenryBrisse Patrice de Ruffray BrissedeRuffrayGrandjouanandHoff(1995)
EU-GB-001 UKNationalVegetationClassificationDatabase
28533 JohnSRodwell
EU-GR-001 KRITI 292 ErwinBergmeier
EU-GR-005 HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase(HelNatVeg)
5168 PanayotisDimopoulos IoannisTsiripidis DimopoulosandTsiripidis(2012)
EU-GR-006 HellenicWoodlandDatabase 3199 GeorgiosFotiadis IoannisTsiripidis FotiadisTsiripidisBergmeierandDimopoulos(2012)
EU-HR-001 PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatia
5057 ZvjezdanaStančić Stančić(2012)
EU-HR-002 CroatianVegetationDatabase 8734 ŽeljkoŠkvorc DanielKrstonošić
EU-HU-003 CoenoDatHungarianPhytosociologicalDatabase
8505 JaacutenosCsiky ZoltaacutenBotta-Dukaacutet Laacutejeretal(2008)
EU-IT-001 VegItaly 15332 RobertoVenanzoni FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2012)
EU-IT-010 ItalianNationalVegetationDatabase(BVNISPRA)
3562 LauraCasella PierangelaAngelini CasellaBiancoAngeliniandMorroni(2012)
EU-IT-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseSapienzaUniversityofRome(VPD-Sapienza)
12780 EmilianoAgrillo FabioAttorre Agrilloetal(2017)
EU-LT-001 LithuanianVegetationDatabase 7821 ValerijusRašomavičius DomasUogintas
EU-LV-001 Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatvia
5594 SolvitaRūsiņa Rūsiņa(2012)
EU-MK-001 VegetationDatabaseoftheRepublicofMacedonia
1417 RenataĆušterevska
EU-NL-001 DutchNationalVegetationDatabase
102327 JoopHJSchamineacutee StephanMHennekens
Schamineacuteeetal(2006)
EU-PL-001 PolishVegetationDatabase 22229 ZygmuntKącki GrzegorzSwacha KąckiandŚliwiński(2012)
EU-RO-007 RomanianForestDatabase 6017 AdrianIndreica Pavel Dan Turtureanu IndreicaTurtureanuSzaboacuteandIrimia(2017)
EU-RO-008 RomanianGrasslandDatabase 1921 EszterRuprecht KirilVassilev Vassilevetal(2018)
EU-RS-002 VegetationDatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia
5587 SvetlanaAćić ZoraDajićStevanović AćićPetrovićŠilcandDajićStevanović(2012)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp173Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
174emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
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Flavia Landucci7 emsp| Michael T Lee87emsp| Aurora Levesley88emsp| Ching-Feng Li89 emsp| Hongyan Liu90emsp| Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez88emsp| Tatiana Lysenko9192emsp| Armin Macanović93emsp| Parastoo Mahdavi94emsp| Peter Manning35 emsp| Corrado Marcenograve13 emsp| Vassiliy Martynenko95emsp| Maurizio Mencuccini96 emsp| Vanessa Minden97 emsp| Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund54 emsp| Marco Moretti98 emsp| Jonas V Muumlller99emsp| Jeacuterocircme Munzinger100 emsp| Uumllo Niinemets101 emsp| Marcin Nobis102emsp| Jalil Noroozi103emsp| Arkadiusz Nowak104 emsp| Viktor Onyshchenko85emsp| Gerhard E Overbeck8 emsp| Wim A Ozinga6 emsp| Anibal Pauchard105emsp| Hristo Pedashenko106 emsp| Josep Pentildeuelas107108 emsp| Aaron Peacuterez-Haase109110 emsp| Tomaacuteš Peterka7emsp| Petr Petřiacutek111 emsp| Oliver L Phillips88 emsp| Vadim Prokhorov80emsp| Valerijus Rašomavičius112emsp| Rasmus Revermann59emsp| John Rodwell113emsp| Eszter Ruprecht114emsp| Solvita Rūsiņa115emsp| Cyrus Samimi116 emsp| Joop HJ Schamineacutee6emsp| Ute Schmiedel59emsp| Jozef Šibiacutek117 emsp| Urban Šilc86emsp| Željko Škvorc82 emsp| Anita Smyth118emsp| Tenekwetche Sop283emsp| Desislava Sopotlieva24emsp| Ben Sparrow118emsp| Zvjezdana Stančić119emsp| Jens-Christian Svenning34 emsp| Grzegorz Swacha74 emsp| Zhiyao Tang90emsp| Ioannis Tsiripidis120emsp| Pavel Dan Turtureanu121emsp| Emin Uğurlu122 emsp| Domas Uogintas112emsp| Milan Valachovič117emsp| Kim Andreacute Vanselow123emsp| Yulia Vashenyak124emsp| Kiril Vassilev24emsp| Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin8 emsp| Roberto Venanzoni125 emsp| Alexander Christian Vibrans126emsp| Cyrille Violle127emsp| Risto Virtanen2128129 emsp| Henrik von Wehrden130emsp| Viktoria Wagner131emsp| Donald A Walker132emsp| Desalegn Wana133emsp| Evan Weiher134 emsp| Karsten Wesche2135136emsp| Timothy Whitfeld137 emsp| Wolfgang Willner103138emsp| Susan Wiser27 emsp| Thomas Wohlgemuth139emsp| Sergey Yamalov140emsp| Georg Zizka53emsp| Andrei Zverev141
1InstituteofBiologyGeobotanyandBotanicalGardenMartinLutherUniversityHalle-WittenbergHalleGermany2GermanCentreforIntegrativeBiodiversityResearch(iDiv)Halle-Jena-LeipzigLeipzigGermany3VegetationEcologyGroupInstituteofNaturalResourceSciences(IUNR)ZurichUniversityofAppliedSciences(ZHAW)WaumldenswilSwitzerland4PlantEcologyBayreuthCenterofEcologyandEnvironmentalResearch(BayCEER)UniversityofBayreuthBayreuthGermany5ResearchUnitofBiodiversity(CSUCUOPA)UniversityofOviedoMieresSpain6WageningenEnvironmentalResearch(Alterra)WageningenUniversityandResearchWageningenTheNetherlands7DepartmentofBotanyandZoologyMasarykUniversityBrnoCzechRepublic8DepartmentofEcologyUniversidadeFederaldoRioGrandedoSulPortoAlegreBrazil9FacultyofAgriculturalandEnvironmentalSciencesUniversityofRostockRostockGermany10MaxPlanckInstituteforBiogeochemistryJenaGermany11DepartmentofBiologySantaClaraUniversitySantaClaraCalifornia12GreatLakesForestryCentreCanadianForestServiceNaturalResourcesCanadaSaultSteMarieOntarioCanada13PlantBiologyandEcologyUniversityoftheBasqueCountryUPVEHUBilbaoSpain14SchoolofGeographyUniversityofNottinghamNottinghamUK15EcologieetDynamiquesdesSystegravemesAnthropiseacutes(EDYSANUMR7058CNRS-UPJV)UniversiteacutedePicardieJulesVerneAmiensFrance16DepartmentofBiologyUniversityofNorthCarolinaChapelHillNorthCarolina17DepartmentofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineeringUniversityoftheAndesBogotaColombia18DataandModellingCentreSenckenbergBiodiversityandClimateResearchCentre(BiK-F)FrankfurtamMainGermany
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19DepartmentofAgrobotanyFacultyofAgricultureBelgrade-ZemunSerbia20DepartmentofEnvironmentalBiologyldquoSapienzardquoUniversityofRomeRomeItaly21PlantNutritionINRESUniversityofBonnBonnGermany22DepartmentofAgriculturalBiotechnologyFacultyofAgricultureandNaturalSciencesDuumlzceUniversityDuumlzceTurkey23BiodiversityConservationDepartmentISPRAndashItalianNationalInstituteforEnvironmentalProtectionandResearchRomeItaly24DepartmentofPlantandFungalDiversityandResourcesInstituteofBiodiversityandEcosystemResearchBulgarianAcademyofSciencesSofiaBulgaria25ForestryampEnvironmentalScienceShahjalalUniversityofScienceampTechnologySylhetBangladesh26DisturbanceEcologyBayreuthCenterofEcologyandEnvironmentalResearch(BayCEER)UniversityofBayreuthBayreuthGermany27ManaakiWhenuandashLandcareResearchLincolnNewZealand28InternationalCenterforTropicalBotany(ICTB)TheKampongoftheNationalTropicalBotanicalGardenCoconutGroveFlorida29DepartmentofBiologicalSciencesFloridaInternationalUniversityMiamiFlorida30LandscapeEcologyHelmholtzCentreforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZLeipzigGermany31BotanicalGardenUniversityofGrazGrazAustria32ForestResearchInstituteUniversiteacuteduQueacutebecenAbitibi-TeacutemiscamingueRouyn-NorandaQuebecCanada33VegetationEcologyandPhytodiversityUniversityofGoumlttingenGoumlttingenGermany34DepartmentofBioscienceCenterforBiodiversityDynamicsinaChangingWorld(BIOCHANGE)ampSectionforEcoinformaticsampBiodiversityAarhusUniversityAarhusCDenmark35SenckenbergBiodiversityandClimateResearchCentre(SBiK-F)FrankfurtamMainGermany36LaboratoryofPhytocoenologyInstituteofEcologyoftheVolgaRiverBasinTogliattiRussianFederation37InstituteofGeographyCENndashCenterforEarthSystemResearchandSustainabilityUniversityofHamburgHamburgGermany38InstituteofEcologyandBotanyMTACentreforEcologicalResearchVaacutecraacutetoacutetHungary39EcologyandEvolutionaryBiologyUniversityofArizonaTucsonArizona40InternationalArcticResearchCenterUniversityofAlaskaFairbanksAlaska41FaculteacutedesSciencesMEPMarseilleCedex20France42SchoolofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineeringYonseiUniversitySeoulSouthKorea43MultidisciplinaryInstituteforPlantBiology(IMBIVndashCONICET)UniversityofCordobandashCONICETCordobaArgentina44DepartmentofBiologyGeologyPhysicsandInorganicChemistryUniversidadReyJuanCarlosMoacutestolesSpain45DepartmentofForestEcologyFacultyofForestryandWoodSciencesCzechUniversityofLifeSciencesPraguePraha6ndashSuchdolCzechRepublic46LaboratoryofPhysicalGeographyandBiogeographyVBSochavaInstituteofGeographySBRASIrkutskRussianFederation47DepartmentofEcologyUniversityofPeacutecsPeacutecsHungary48InstituteofEnvironmentalEngineeringSwissFederalInstituteofTechnology(ETH)ZuumlrichZuumlrichSwitzerland49InstituteofBiologyFacultyofNaturalSciencesandMathematicsSkopjeRepublicofMacedonia50TeamBiotopeDiversityResearchInstituteforNatureandForest(INBO)BrusselsBelgium51InstitutdeBiologieMoleacuteculairedesPlantes(IBMP)UniversiteacutedeStrasbourgStrasburgFrance52DepartmentofBiologyDivisionofPlantBiologyLaboratoryofBotanyUniversityofPatrasPatrasGreece53DepartmentofBotanyandMolecularEvolutionSenckenbergResearchInstituteFrankfurtamMainGermany54DepartmentofBioscienceAarhusUniversityRoendeDenmark55BotanyandMicrobiologyDepartmentCollegeofScienceKingSaudUniversityRiyadhSaudiArabia56BotanyDepartmentFacultyofScienceDamanhourUniversityDamanhourEgypt57HochschuleWeihenstephan-TriesdorfUniversityofAppliedSciencesFreisingGermany58FacultyofScienceUniversityofACoruntildeaACoruntildeaSpain59BiodiversityEcologyandEvolutionofPlantsInstituteforPlantScienceampMicrobiologyUniversityofHamburgHamburgGermany60PlantBiodiversityResourceCentreUniversityofBarcelonaBarcelonaSpain61LaboratoireEcodivEA1293URAIRSTEANormandieUniversityMont-Saint-AignanFrance62DepartmentofForestryampNaturalEnvironmentManagementTEIofStereaElladaKarpenissiGreece63DepartmentofNaturalScienceRegionalUniversityofBlumenauBlumenauBrazil64DepartamentodeCienciasAmbientalesyRecursosNaturalesRenovablesFacultaddeCienciasAgronomicasUniversidaddeChileSantiagoChile65BotanyFacultyofScienceTantaUniversityTantaEgypt66SchoolofMolecularandLifeSciencesCurtinUniversityBentleyAustralia67ForestryDepartmentSantaCatarinaStateUniversityLagesBrazil68InstituteofLandscapeEcologyUniversityofMuumlnsterMuumlnsterGermany69PlantEcologyandEcosystemsResearchUniversityofGoumlttingenGoumlttingenGermany70DepartmentofSilvicultureTransilvaniaUniversityofBrasovBrasovRomania
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71DepartmentofBiologyCelalBayarUniversityManisaTurkey72InstituteofSystematicBotanyandEcologyFacultyofNaturalSciencesUlmUniversityUlmGermany73DepartmentofPlantBiologyMendelUniversityinBrnoBrnoCzechRepublic74BotanicalGardenUniversityofWrocławWrocławPoland75SilvicultureandForestBotanySouthwestAnatoliaForestResearchInstituteAntalyaTurkey76DepartmentofEnvironmentGhentUniversityGentBelgium77DepartmentofSystematicandEvolutionaryBotanyUniversityofZurichZurichSwitzerland78OVFominBotanicalGardenattheEducationalandScientificCentreInstituteofBiologyandMedicineTarasShevchenkoNationalUniversityofKyivKyivUkraine79GeosystemLaboratoryCentralSiberianBotanicalGardenSiberianBranchRussianAcademyofSciencesNovosibirskRussianFederation80InstituteofEnvironmentalSciencesKazanFederalUniversityKazanRussianFederation81DepartmentofPlantEcologyandEnvironmentalConservationFacultyofBiologyBiologicalandChemicalResearchCentreUniversityofWarsawWarsawPoland82FacultyofForestryUniversityofZagrebZagrebCroatia83PrimatologyMaxPlanckInstituteforEvolutionaryAnthropology(MPI-EVA)LeipzigGermany84DepartmentofCommunityEcologyHelmholtzCentreforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZHalleGermany85MGKholodnyInstituteofBotanyNationalAcademyofSciencesofUkraineKyivUkraine86InstituteofBiologyResearchCentreofSlovenianAcademyofSciencesandArts(ZRCSAZU)LjubljanaSlovenia87NatureServeDurhamNorthCarolina88SchoolofGeographyUniversityofLeedsLeedsUK89SchoolofForestryandResourceConservationNationalTaiwanUniversityHsinchuTaiwan90CollegeofUrbanandEnvironmentalSciencesPekingUniversityBeijingChina91DepartmentofthePhytodiversityProblemsInstituteofEcologyoftheVolgaRiverBasinRASTogliattiRussianFederation92LaboratoryofVegetationScienceKomarovBotanicalInstituteRASSaint-PetersburgRussia93DepartmentofBiologyCenterforEcologyandNaturalResourcesndashAcademicianSulejmanRedžićUniversityofSarajevoSarajevoBosniaandHerzegovina94ResearchGroupVegetationScienceampNatureConservationDepartmentofEcologyandEnvironmentalScienceCarlvonOssietzky-UniversityOldenburgOldenburgGermany95UfaInstituteofBiologyofUfaFederalScientificCentreoftheRussianAcademyofSciencesUfaRussianFederation96CentreResearchEcologyandForestryApplications(CREAF)ICREABarcelonaSpain97InstituteofBiologyanEnvironmentalSciencesCarlvonOssietzky-UniversityOldenburgOldenburgGermany98BiodiversityandConservationBiologySwissFederalResearchInstituteWSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland99ConservationScienceRoyalBotanicGardensKewUK100AMAPndashBotanyandModellingofPlantArchitectureandVegetationIRDCIRADCNRSINRAUniversiteacuteMontpellierMontpellierFrance101CropScienceandPlantBiologyEstonianUniversityofLifeSciencesTartuEstonia102InstituteofBotanyJagiellonianUniversityKrakoacutewPoland103DepartmentofBotanyandBiodiversityResearchUniversityofViennaViennaAustria104BotanicalGardenndashCenterforBiologicalDiversityConservationPolishAcademyofSciencesWarszawaPoland105LaboratoriodeInvasionesBioloacutegicas(LIB)UniversityofConcepcioacutenConcepcioacutenChile106AmsterdamTheNetherlands107GlobalEcologyUnitCREAF-CSIC-UABCSICBellaterraSpain108CREAFCerdanyoladelVallegravesSpain109DepartmentofEvolutionaryBiologyEcologyandEnvironmentalSciencesUniversityofBarcelonaBarcelonaSpain110ContinentalEcologyCenterforAdvancedStudiesofBlanesSpanishResearchCouncil(CEAB-CSIC)BlanesGironaSpain111DepartmentofGISandRemoteSensingInstituteofBotanyTheCzechAcademyofSciencesPrůhoniceCzechRepublic112InstituteofBotanyNatureResearchCentreVilniusLithuania113LancasterUK114HungarianDepartmentofBiologyandEcologyFacultyofBiologyandGeologyBabeș-BolyaiUniversityCluj-NapocaRomania115DepartmentofGeographyUniversityofLatviaRigaLatvia116ClimatologyBayreuthCenterofEcologyandEnvironmentalResearch(BayCEER)UniversityofBayreuthBayreuthGermany117InstituteofBotanyPlantScienceandBiodiversityCentreSlovakAcademyofSciencesBratislavaSlovakia118TERNUniversityofAdelaideAdelaideAustralia119FacultyofGeotechnicalEngineeringUniversityofZagrebVaraždinCroatia120SchoolofBiologyAristotleUniversityofThessalonikiThessalonikiGreece
emspensp emsp | emsp165Journal of Vegetation Science
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121ABorzaBotanicalGardenBabeș-BolyaiUniversityCluj-NapocaRomania122ForestEngineeringDepartmentFacultyofForestryBursaTechnicalUniversityYıldırımBursaTurkey123DepartmentofGeographyUniversityofErlangen-NurembergErlangenGermany124KhmelnytskyiInstituteofInterregionalAcademyofPersonnelManagementKhmelnytskyiUkraine125DepartmentofChemistryBiologyandBiotechnologyUniversityofPerugiaPerugiaItaly126DepartamentodeEngenhariaFlorestalUniversidadeRegionaldeBlumenauBlumenauBrazil127CentredEcologieFonctionnelleetEvolutive(UMR5175)CNRSndashUniversiteacutedeMontpellierndashUniversiteacutePaul-ValeacuteryMontpellierndashEPHEMontpellierFrance128EcologyandGeneticsResearchUnitBiodiversityUnitUniversityofOuluOuluFinland129DepartmentofPhysiologicalDiversityHelmholtzCenterforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZLeipzigGermany130InstituteofEcologyLeuphanaUniversityLuumlneburgGermany131DepartmentofBiologicalSciencesUniversityofAlbertaEdmontonCanada132InstituteofArcticBiologyUniversityofAlaskaFairbanksAlaska133DepartmentofGeographyampEnvironmentalStudiesAddisAbabaUniversityAddisAbabaEthiopia134DepartmentofBiologyUniversityofWisconsinndashEauClaireEauClaireWisconsin135BotanyDepartmentSenckenbergMuseumofNaturalHistoryGoumlrlitzGoumlrlitzGermany136InternationalInstituteZittauTechnicalUniversityDresdenZittauGermany137DepartmentofEcologyandEvolutionaryBiologyBrownUniversityHerbariumBrownUniversityProvidenceRhodeIsland138ViennaInstituteforNatureConservationampAnalysesViennaAustria139ResearchUnitForestDynamicsSwissFederalInstituteforForestSnowandLandscapeResearchWSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland140LaboratoryofWild-GrowingFloraBotanicalGarden-InstituteUfaScientificCentreRussianAcademyofSciencesUfaRussianFederation141DepartmentofBotanyTomskStateUniversityTomskRussianFederation
CorrespondenceHelgeBruelheideInstituteofBiologyGeobotanyandBotanicalGardenMartinLutherUniversityHalle-WittenbergHalleGermanyEmailhelgebruelheidebotanikuni-hallede
Co-ordinatingEditorAlessandroChiarucci
AbstractAims Vegetation-plot records provide information on the presence and cover orabundanceofplantsco-occurringinthesamecommunityVegetation-plotdataarespread across research groups environmental agencies and biodiversity researchcentersandthusarerarelyaccessibleatcontinentalorglobalscalesHerewepre-sentthesPlotdatabasewhichcollatesvegetationplotsworldwidetoallowfortheexplorationofglobalpatternsintaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticdiversityattheplantcommunitylevelResults sPlotversion21containsrecordsfrom1121244vegetationplotswhichcomprise23586216recordsofplantspeciesandtheirrelativecoverorabundanceinplotscollectedworldwidebetween1885and2015Wecomplementedtheinfor-mationforeachplotbyretrievingclimateandsoilconditionsandthebiogeographiccontext(egbiomes)fromexternalsourcesandbycalculatingcommunity-weightedmeansandvariancesoftraitsusinggap-filleddatafromtheglobalplanttraitdata-baseTRYMoreoverwecreatedaphylogenetic treefor50167outof the54519speciesidentifiedintheplotsWepresentthefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcom-munityrichnessandcommunity-weightedmeansofkeytraitsConclusions TheavailabilityofvegetationplotdatainsPlotoffersnewavenuesforvegetationanalysisattheglobalscale
K E Y W O R D S
biodiversitycommunityecologyecoinformaticsfunctionaldiversityglobalscalemacroecologyphylogeneticdiversityplotdatabasesPlottaxonomicdiversityvascularplantvegetationreleveacute
166emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
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1emsp |emspINTRODUCTION
Studyingglobalbiodiversitypatternsisatthecoreofmacroecologi-calresearch(CostelloWilsonampHoulding2012KreftampJetz2007Wiens2011)sincetheirexplorationmayprovideinsightsintotheecological and evolutionary processes acting at different spatio-temporalscales(Ricklefs2004)Theopportunitiesengenderedbythecompilationoflargecollectionsofbiodiversitydataintowidelyaccessibleglobal(GBIFwwwgbiforg)orcontinentaldatabases(egBIENwwwbiennceasucsbedubien)have recentlyadvancedourunderstandingofglobalbiodiversitypatternsespecially forverte-brates but also for vascular plants (Butler etal 2017 Engemannetal2016Lamannaetal2014Swensonetal2012)Althoughthisdevelopmenthasledtotheformulationofseveralmacroecolog-icaltheories(Currieetal2004PaumlrtelBennettampZobel2016)amoremechanisticunderstandingofhowassemblyprocessesshapeecological communities and consequently global biodiversity pat-terns is stillmissing (LessardBelmakerMyersChaseampRahbek2012)
Understanding the linksbetweenbiodiversitypatternsandas-semblyprocessesrequiresfine-graindataontheco-occurrenceofspecies in ecological communities sampled across continental orglobalspatialextents (Becketal2012Wiszetal2013)Forex-amplesuchco-occurrencedatahavebeenusedtocomparechangesin vegetation compositionover time spansofdecades (Jandt vonWehrdenampBruelheide2011Perringetal2018)Unfortunatelyup tonow informationonfine-grainvegetationdatahasnotbeenreadily available asmost of the continental to global biodiversity
datasets have been derived from occurrence data (ie presence-only data) and after being aggregated spatially have a relativelycoarse-grain scale (egone-degreegridcells)without informationonspeciesco-occurrenceatthemeaningfulscaleoflocalcommuni-ties(Boakesetal2010)Incontrastvegetation-plotdatarecordthecoverorabundanceofeachplantspeciesthatoccursinaplotofagivensizeatthedateofthesurveyrepresentingthemainreservoirofplantcommunitydataworldwide(Dengleretal2011)
Vegetation-plotdatadifferinfundamentalwaysfromdatabasesofoccurrencerecordsof individualspeciesaggregatedatthelevelofgridcellsorregionsofhundredsorthousandsofsquarekilome-ters(Figure1)Firstvegetationplotsusuallyprovideinformationontherelativecoverorrelativeabundanceofspeciesallowingforthetestingofcentraltheoriesofbiogeographysuchastheabundancendashrangesizerelationship(GastonampCurnutt1998)ortherelationshipbetween local abundanceandnichebreadth (Gastonetal2000)Secondtheycontaininformationonwhichplantspeciesco-occurinthesamelocality(Chytryacuteetal2016)whichisanecessaryprecon-dition fordirectbiotic interactions amongplant individualsThirdunrecorded species canbe considered truly absent from the abo-vegroundvegetationat this scalebecause thestandardizedmeth-odologyoftakingavegetationrecordrequiresasystematicsearchforallspeciesinaplotoratleastallspeciesofthedominantfunc-tional group Fourth many plots are spatially explicit and can beresurveyed through time to assess possible consequences of landuseandclimatechange(Perringetal2018Steinbaueretal2018)Fifthvegetationplotsrepresentasnapshotoftheprimaryproduc-ersof a terrestrial ecosystemwhich canbe functionally linked to
F IGURE 1emspConceptualfigurevisualizinghowfunctionalcomposition(inthiscaseplantheight)differsbetweencalculations based on mean traits for gridcellsandcommunitydatasampledinvegetationplotsOccurrencedata(egfromdistributionatlasesGBIFetc)canbe used to calculate mean trait values in gridcellsG1ndashG3Howevercommunityweightedmeans(CWMs)oftraitsdifferacrosslocalplots(P1ndashP6)whilethemeanvaluesofCWMsinthegridcellsdifferfromtheunweightedvaluescalculatedinthegridcellsThisexampleissimplifiedbyshowingfewspeciesandfewplotsInrealitydifferencesaregenerallymorepronounced
emspensp emsp | emsp167Journal of Vegetation Science
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organismsfromdifferenttrophicgroupssampledinthesameplots(egmultiple-taxasurveys)andrelatedprocessesandservicesbothbelow(egdecompositionnutrientcycling)andaboveground(egherbivorypollination)(egSchuldtetal2018)
Recently several projects at the regional to continental scalehavedemonstratedthepotentialofusingvegetation-plotdatabasesforexploringbiodiversitypatternsandtheunderlyingassemblypro-cessesUsingvegetationdataofFrenchgrasslandsBorgyetal(2017)demonstratedthatweightingleaftraitsbyspeciesabundanceinlocalcommunitiesispivotaltocaptureleaftraitndashenvironmentrelationshipsAnalyzingUnitedStatesforestassemblagessurveyedatthecommu-nitylevelŠiacutemovaacuteRuedaandHawkins(2017)wereabletorelatecoldordroughttolerancetoleaftraitsdispersaltraitsandtraitsrelatedtostemhydraulicsUsingplot-basedtreeinventoriesoftheUnitedStatesforestserviceZhangNiinemetsSheffieldandLichstein(2018)foundthatshiftsintreefunctionalcompositionamplifytheresponseoffor-estbiomasstodroughtsBasedongt15000plotsfromawidenum-berofhabitattypesinDenmarkMoeslundetal(2017)showedthattypicalplantspeciesthatarepartofthesite-specificspeciespoolbutareabsentinacommunitytendtodependonmycorrhizaaremostlyadaptedtolowlightandlownutrientlevelshavepoordispersalabili-tiesandareruderalsandstress-intolerantBycollatinggt40000vege-tationplotssampledinEuropeanbeechforestsJimeacutenez-Alfaroetal(2018)foundthatcurrentlocalcommunitydiversityandspeciespoolsizescalculatedatdifferentscalesweremainlyexplainedbyproximitytoglacialrefugiaandcurrentprecipitation
Although large collections of vegetation-plot data are nowavailable from national to continental levels (eg Chytryacute etal2016EnquistConditPeetSchildhauerampThiers2016PeetLeeJennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012 Schamineacutee HennekensChytryacuteampRodwell2009Schmidtetal2012)theyarerarelyused
inglobal-scalebiodiversityresearch(FranklinSerra-DiazSyphardampRegan2017Wiser2016)This isunfortunatebecausevegetation-plotdatamayrevealimportantpatternsthatcannotbecapturedbygrid-based datasets (Table1) Functional composition patterns forinstancemay differ substantiallywhen considering vegetation-plotdataratherthansinglespeciesoccurrencesaggregatedatthelevelofcoarse-graingridcellsUsingplantheightasanillustrationrevealsthatthetraitmeanscalculatedonallthespeciesoccurringinagridcellmaydiffer strongly from the community-weightedmeans (CWMs) aver-agedacrosslocalcommunities(Figure1)Neverthelessonlythegrid-basedapproachhasbeenusedtodate instudiesofthegeographicdistributionof trait values (eg Swensonetal20122017Wrightetal2017)
HerewepresentsPlotaglobaldatabaseforcompilingandin-tegratingplantcommunitydataWedescribe(a)mainstepsininte-gratingvegetation-plotdatainarepositorythatprovidestaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticinformationonco-occurringplantspe-ciesandlinksittoglobalenvironmentaldrivers(b)principalsourcesandpropertiesofthedataandtheprocedurefordatausageand(c)expectedimpactsofthedatabaseinfutureecologicalresearchToil-lustratethepotentialofsPlotwealsoshowglobaldiversitypatternsthat can be readily derived from the current content
2emsp |emspCOMPILATION OF THE SPLOT DATABA SE
21emsp|emspVegetation- plot data
The sPlot consortium currently collates 110 vegetation-plot data-basesofregionalnationalorcontinentalextentSomeofthedata-baseshavepreviouslybeenaggregatedbyandcontributedthrough
TABLE 1emspTypesofinformationprovidedbysinglevegetationplotsvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells(orothergeographicunits)andsinglespeciesoccurrencerecordsaggregatedwithingridcellsThethreelevelsareillustratedinFigure1
Information fromhellip Singlevegetationplots Setofvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells
Grid-celldatafromfloristicinventories
To derive information on the hellip
Plot level Gridcelllevel Gridcelllevel
Typeofoccurrence Co-occurrenceoccurrencebyvegetationtype
Occurrencebyvegetationtype Occurrence
Communityassemblyrules
Yes(co-occurrenceisaprerequisiteforspeciesinteractions)
No No
Absences Yes(forthetargetplantgroupinastudy)
No(exceptforintensivesamplingschemes) Dependingonsamplingintensity
Floristiccomposition hellip of the local community hellipofthespeciespoolsofvegetationtypes hellipofthetotalsetofspecies
Diversity α γ γ
Speciesabundance Localcover-abundance Meancover-abundanceandfrequencybyvegetationtype
Occurrence only
Combinationwithtraits
Functionalcompositionofthelocalcommunity(traitsunweightedorweightedbycoverCWMCWV)
Functionalcompositionofthespeciespool(unweightedorweighted)
Functionalcompositionofthetotalsetofspecies(unweightedonly)
Environmentalfiltering
hellip at the local level hellipattheregionallevel hellipattheregionallevel
168emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
two (sub-)continental database initiatives (Table2 and AppendixS1)AlldatafromEuropeandnearbyregionswerecontributedviatheEuropeanVegetationArchive(EVA)usingtheSynBioSystaxondatabase as a standard taxonomic backbone (Chytryacute etal 2016)ThreeAfricandatabaseswerecontributedvia theTropicalAfricanVegetationArchive(TAVA)InadditionmultipleUSdatabaseswerecontributedthroughtheVegBankarchivemaintainedinsupportoftheUSNationalVegetationClassification(PeetLeeBoyleetal2012 Peet Lee Jennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012) The datafromotherregions(SouthAmericaAsia)werecontributedassepa-rate databases
Westoredthevegetation-plotdatafromtheindividualdatabasesinthedatabasesoftwareTURBOVEGv2(HennekensampSchamineacutee2001)Ourgeneralprocedurewastopreservetheoriginalstructureandcontentofthedatabasesasmuchaspossibleinordertofacil-itateregularupdatesthroughautomatedworkflowsTheindividualdatabaseswerethenintegratedintoasingleSQLitedatabaseusingTURBOVEGv3(SMHennekensALTERRATheNetherlandswwwsynbiosysalterranlturboveg3helpenindexhtml)TURBOVEGv3combinesthespecieslistsfromtheoriginaldatabasesinasinglere-positoryand linkstheplotattributes (so-calledheaderdata) to58descriptors of vegetation-plots (Table S21 in Appendix S2) ThemetadataofthedatabasescollatedinsPlotweremanagedthroughtheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(GIVDDengleretal2011)usingtheGIVDIDastheidentifierThecurrentsPlotversion21wascreatedinOctober2016andcontains1121244vegetationplotswith23586216plantspeciestimesplotobservations(ierecordsofaspeciesinaplot)Mostrecords(1073737958)haveinfor-mationoncover29288onpresenceabsence5854onbasalarea4883onnumberofstems(ofteninadditiontobasalarea)148onimportancevalue(acombinationofbasalareaandnumberofstems)3265oncountsofindividuals1895onpercentagefrequencyandfurther2174haveamixofthesedifferenttypesofmetrics
22emsp|emspTaxonomic standardization
TocombinethespecieslistsofthedifferentdatabasesinsPlotweconstructedataxonomicbackboneTolinkco-occurrenceinforma-tion insPlotwithplant traitsweexpandedthisbackboneto inte-grateplantnamesusedintheTRYdatabase(Kattgeetal2011)Thetaxon names (without nomenclatural authors) from sPlot 21 andTRY30werefirstconcatenatedintoonelistresulting in121861names of which 61588 (505) were unique to sPlot 35429(291)uniquetoTRYand24844(204)sharedbetweenTRYandsPlotTaxonnameswereparsedandresolvedusingtheTaxonomicNameResolutionServicewebapplication(TNRSversion40Boyleetal2013iPlantCollaborative2015)usingthefiveTNRSstand-ardsourcesrankedbydefaultWeallowedfor (a)partialmatchingtothenexthigherrank(genusorfamily)ifthefulltaxonnamecouldnotbefoundand(b)fullfuzzymatchingtoreturnnamesthatwerematchedwithin amaximumnumberof four single-character edits(Levenshteineditdistanceof4)whichcorrespondstotheminimummatchaccuracyof005inTNRSwith1indicatingaperfectmatch
Weacceptedall names thatwerematchedor converted fromsynonymswithanoverallmatchscoreof1Incaseswithnoexactmatch(ietheoverallmatchscorewaslt1)nameswereinspectedonan individualbasisAllnamesthatmatchedat taxonomicranksator lowerthanspecies (egsubspeciesvarieties)wereacceptedascorrectnamesThenamematchingprocedurewasrepeatedforthe uncertain names (ie with match accuracy scores below thethresholdvaluefromthefirstmatchingrun)withapreferenceonfirstusingthesourcelsquoTropicosrsquo(MissouriBotanicalGardenhttpwwwtropicosorgaccessed19Dec2014)becauseherematchingscoreswereoftenhigherfornamesoflowtaxonomicrankThere-maining9641non-matchednameswereresolvedusing(a)theaddi-tionalsourcelsquoNCBIrsquo(Federhen2010)withinTNRS(b)thematchingtoolsinthePlantListwebapplication(ThePlantList2013)(c)thelsquotplrsquo-functionwithin theR-package lsquoTaxonstandrsquo (Cayuela SteinampOksanen2017)and(d)manualinspection(ietoresolvevernacularnames)AllsubspecieswereaggregatedtothespecieslevelNamesthatcouldnotbematchedwereclassifiedas lsquoNosuitablematchesfoundrsquoBecausesPlotandTRYcontaintaxaofnon-vascularplantswetaggedvascularplantnamesbasedontheir familyandphylumaffiliationusingthelsquorgbifrsquo libraryinR(Chamberlain2017)OfthefulllistofplantnamesinsPlotandTRY79171(946)plantnameswerematchedatthespecieslevel4343(52)atthegenuslevel152(02)atthefamilyleveland13namesathighertaxonomiclev-elsOverallthisledto58066acceptedtaxonnamesinsPlotFamilyaffiliationwasclassifiedaccordingtoAPGIII(APGIII2009)Ade-taileddescriptionoftheworkflow includingR-code isavailable inPurschke(2017a)
One potential shortcoming of our taxonomic backbone is thatformostregionsitwasnecessarytostandardizetaxausingstandardsetsoftaxonomicsynonymsThusifataxonomicnamerepresentsmultiple taxonomicconceptseg suchascreatedby thesplittingandlumpingoftaxaoranamehasbeenmisappliedinaregionwemusttrustthatthisproblemhasbeenaddressedinourcomponentdatabases(FranzPeetampWeakley2004JansenampDengler2010)Howeverdifferentcomponentdatabasesmayhaveapplieddiffer-enttaxonomicconceptsforsplittingandlumpingtaxa
23emsp|emspPhysiognomic information
Toachieveaclassificationintoforestsversusnon-foreststhatisap-plicable to all plots irrespectiveof the structural andhabitat dataprovidedby the sourcedatabasewedefinedas forestallplot re-cordsthathadgt25absolutecoverofthetreelayermakinguseofthe attribute data of sPlot This threshold is similar to the classifica-tionofEllenbergandMuumlller-Dombois(1967)whodefinedwoodlandformationswithtreescoveringmorethan30Therewere16244tree species in the sPlotdatabaseAs tree layer coverwasavaila-ble foronly25ofallplotsweadditionallyused the informationwhether the taxa present in a plotwere trees (usually defined asbeingtallerthan5m)usingtheplantgrowthforminformationfromTRY (see below) Thus plots lacking tree cover information weredefinedas forests if thesumof relativecoverofall tree taxawas
emspensp emsp | emsp169Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
TABLE 2emsp Plot datasets included in sPlot 21
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
[Aggregator] European Vegetation Archive (EVA)
950001 Milan Chytryacute Ilona Knollovaacute Chytryacute et al (2016)
00-00-004 VegetationDatabaseofEurasianTundra
1132 RistoVirtanen
00-RU-001 VegetationDatabaseForestofSouthernUral
1102 VassiliyMartynenko
00-RU-003 DatabaseMeadowsandSteppesofSouthernUral
2354 SergeyYamalov MariyaLebedeva
00-TR-001 ForestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey-FVDT
919 AliKavgacı
00-TR-002 Non-forestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey
3018 DenizIşıkGuumlrsoy DidemAmbarlı
AS-TR-002 VegetationDatabaseofOakCommunitiesinTurkey
1181 EminUğurlu
EU-00-002 Nordic-BalticGrasslandVegetationDatabase(NBGVD)
7675 JuumlrgenDengler ŁukaszKozub DenglerandRūsiņa(2012)
EU-00-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseoftheUniversityoftheBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)
18441 Idoia Biurrun ItziarGarciacutea-Mijangos BiurrunGarciacutea-MijangosCamposHerreraandLoidi(2012)
EU-00-013 BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabase 7683 KirilVassilev ArminMacanović VassilevDajičĆušterevskaBergmeierandApostolova(2012)
EU-00-016 MediterraneanAmmophileteaDatabase
7359 CorradoMarcenograve BorjaJimeacutenez-Alfaro MarcenograveandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2017)
EU-00-017 EuropeanCoastalVegetationDatabase
4624 JohnJanssen
EU-00-018 TheNordicVegetationDatabase 5477 JonathanLenoir Jens-ChristianSvenning
Lenoiretal(2013)
EU-00-019 BalkanVegetationDatabase 9118 KirilVassilev HristoPedashenko Vassilevetal(2016)
EU-00-020 WetVegEurope 14111 FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2015)
EU-00-022 EuropeanMireVegetationDatabase
10147 TomaacutešPeterka MartinJiroušek PeterkaJiroušekHaacutejekandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2015)
EU-AL-001 VegetationDatabaseofAlbania 290 MicheleDeSanctis GiulianoFanelli DeSanctisFanelliMullajandAttorre(2017)
EU-AT-001 AustrianVegetationDatabase 34458 WolfgangWillner ChristianBerg WillnerBergandHeiselmayer(2012)
EU-BE-002 INBOVEG 25665 ElsDeBie
EU-BG-001 BulgarianVegetationDatabase 5254 IvaApostolova DesislavaSopotlieva ApostolovaSopotlievaPedashenkoVelevandVasilev(2012)
EU-CH-005 SwissForestVegetationDatabase
14193 ThomasWohlgemuth Wohlgemuth(2012)
EU-CZ-001 CzechNationalPhytosociologicalDatabase
104697 MilanChytryacute DanaHolubovaacute ChytryacuteandRafajovaacute(2003)
(Continues)
170emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-DE-001 VegMV 53822 FlorianJansen ChristianBerg JansenDenglerandBerg(2012)
EU-DE-013 VegetWebGermany 23078 JoumlrgEwald EwaldMayandKleikamp(2012)
EU-DE-014 GermanVegetationReferenceDatabase(GVRD)
30840 UteJandt HelgeBruelheide JandtandBruelheide(2012)
EU-DK-002 NationalVegetationDatabaseofDenmark
24264 JesperErenskjoldMoeslund
RasmusEjrnaeligs
EU-ES-001 IberianandMacaronesianVegetationInformationSystem(SIVIM)Wetlands
6560 AaronPeacuterez-Haase XavierFont
EU-FR-003 SOPHY 209864 HenryBrisse Patrice de Ruffray BrissedeRuffrayGrandjouanandHoff(1995)
EU-GB-001 UKNationalVegetationClassificationDatabase
28533 JohnSRodwell
EU-GR-001 KRITI 292 ErwinBergmeier
EU-GR-005 HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase(HelNatVeg)
5168 PanayotisDimopoulos IoannisTsiripidis DimopoulosandTsiripidis(2012)
EU-GR-006 HellenicWoodlandDatabase 3199 GeorgiosFotiadis IoannisTsiripidis FotiadisTsiripidisBergmeierandDimopoulos(2012)
EU-HR-001 PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatia
5057 ZvjezdanaStančić Stančić(2012)
EU-HR-002 CroatianVegetationDatabase 8734 ŽeljkoŠkvorc DanielKrstonošić
EU-HU-003 CoenoDatHungarianPhytosociologicalDatabase
8505 JaacutenosCsiky ZoltaacutenBotta-Dukaacutet Laacutejeretal(2008)
EU-IT-001 VegItaly 15332 RobertoVenanzoni FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2012)
EU-IT-010 ItalianNationalVegetationDatabase(BVNISPRA)
3562 LauraCasella PierangelaAngelini CasellaBiancoAngeliniandMorroni(2012)
EU-IT-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseSapienzaUniversityofRome(VPD-Sapienza)
12780 EmilianoAgrillo FabioAttorre Agrilloetal(2017)
EU-LT-001 LithuanianVegetationDatabase 7821 ValerijusRašomavičius DomasUogintas
EU-LV-001 Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatvia
5594 SolvitaRūsiņa Rūsiņa(2012)
EU-MK-001 VegetationDatabaseoftheRepublicofMacedonia
1417 RenataĆušterevska
EU-NL-001 DutchNationalVegetationDatabase
102327 JoopHJSchamineacutee StephanMHennekens
Schamineacuteeetal(2006)
EU-PL-001 PolishVegetationDatabase 22229 ZygmuntKącki GrzegorzSwacha KąckiandŚliwiński(2012)
EU-RO-007 RomanianForestDatabase 6017 AdrianIndreica Pavel Dan Turtureanu IndreicaTurtureanuSzaboacuteandIrimia(2017)
EU-RO-008 RomanianGrasslandDatabase 1921 EszterRuprecht KirilVassilev Vassilevetal(2018)
EU-RS-002 VegetationDatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia
5587 SvetlanaAćić ZoraDajićStevanović AćićPetrovićŠilcandDajićStevanović(2012)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp173Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
174emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
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19DepartmentofAgrobotanyFacultyofAgricultureBelgrade-ZemunSerbia20DepartmentofEnvironmentalBiologyldquoSapienzardquoUniversityofRomeRomeItaly21PlantNutritionINRESUniversityofBonnBonnGermany22DepartmentofAgriculturalBiotechnologyFacultyofAgricultureandNaturalSciencesDuumlzceUniversityDuumlzceTurkey23BiodiversityConservationDepartmentISPRAndashItalianNationalInstituteforEnvironmentalProtectionandResearchRomeItaly24DepartmentofPlantandFungalDiversityandResourcesInstituteofBiodiversityandEcosystemResearchBulgarianAcademyofSciencesSofiaBulgaria25ForestryampEnvironmentalScienceShahjalalUniversityofScienceampTechnologySylhetBangladesh26DisturbanceEcologyBayreuthCenterofEcologyandEnvironmentalResearch(BayCEER)UniversityofBayreuthBayreuthGermany27ManaakiWhenuandashLandcareResearchLincolnNewZealand28InternationalCenterforTropicalBotany(ICTB)TheKampongoftheNationalTropicalBotanicalGardenCoconutGroveFlorida29DepartmentofBiologicalSciencesFloridaInternationalUniversityMiamiFlorida30LandscapeEcologyHelmholtzCentreforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZLeipzigGermany31BotanicalGardenUniversityofGrazGrazAustria32ForestResearchInstituteUniversiteacuteduQueacutebecenAbitibi-TeacutemiscamingueRouyn-NorandaQuebecCanada33VegetationEcologyandPhytodiversityUniversityofGoumlttingenGoumlttingenGermany34DepartmentofBioscienceCenterforBiodiversityDynamicsinaChangingWorld(BIOCHANGE)ampSectionforEcoinformaticsampBiodiversityAarhusUniversityAarhusCDenmark35SenckenbergBiodiversityandClimateResearchCentre(SBiK-F)FrankfurtamMainGermany36LaboratoryofPhytocoenologyInstituteofEcologyoftheVolgaRiverBasinTogliattiRussianFederation37InstituteofGeographyCENndashCenterforEarthSystemResearchandSustainabilityUniversityofHamburgHamburgGermany38InstituteofEcologyandBotanyMTACentreforEcologicalResearchVaacutecraacutetoacutetHungary39EcologyandEvolutionaryBiologyUniversityofArizonaTucsonArizona40InternationalArcticResearchCenterUniversityofAlaskaFairbanksAlaska41FaculteacutedesSciencesMEPMarseilleCedex20France42SchoolofCivilandEnvironmentalEngineeringYonseiUniversitySeoulSouthKorea43MultidisciplinaryInstituteforPlantBiology(IMBIVndashCONICET)UniversityofCordobandashCONICETCordobaArgentina44DepartmentofBiologyGeologyPhysicsandInorganicChemistryUniversidadReyJuanCarlosMoacutestolesSpain45DepartmentofForestEcologyFacultyofForestryandWoodSciencesCzechUniversityofLifeSciencesPraguePraha6ndashSuchdolCzechRepublic46LaboratoryofPhysicalGeographyandBiogeographyVBSochavaInstituteofGeographySBRASIrkutskRussianFederation47DepartmentofEcologyUniversityofPeacutecsPeacutecsHungary48InstituteofEnvironmentalEngineeringSwissFederalInstituteofTechnology(ETH)ZuumlrichZuumlrichSwitzerland49InstituteofBiologyFacultyofNaturalSciencesandMathematicsSkopjeRepublicofMacedonia50TeamBiotopeDiversityResearchInstituteforNatureandForest(INBO)BrusselsBelgium51InstitutdeBiologieMoleacuteculairedesPlantes(IBMP)UniversiteacutedeStrasbourgStrasburgFrance52DepartmentofBiologyDivisionofPlantBiologyLaboratoryofBotanyUniversityofPatrasPatrasGreece53DepartmentofBotanyandMolecularEvolutionSenckenbergResearchInstituteFrankfurtamMainGermany54DepartmentofBioscienceAarhusUniversityRoendeDenmark55BotanyandMicrobiologyDepartmentCollegeofScienceKingSaudUniversityRiyadhSaudiArabia56BotanyDepartmentFacultyofScienceDamanhourUniversityDamanhourEgypt57HochschuleWeihenstephan-TriesdorfUniversityofAppliedSciencesFreisingGermany58FacultyofScienceUniversityofACoruntildeaACoruntildeaSpain59BiodiversityEcologyandEvolutionofPlantsInstituteforPlantScienceampMicrobiologyUniversityofHamburgHamburgGermany60PlantBiodiversityResourceCentreUniversityofBarcelonaBarcelonaSpain61LaboratoireEcodivEA1293URAIRSTEANormandieUniversityMont-Saint-AignanFrance62DepartmentofForestryampNaturalEnvironmentManagementTEIofStereaElladaKarpenissiGreece63DepartmentofNaturalScienceRegionalUniversityofBlumenauBlumenauBrazil64DepartamentodeCienciasAmbientalesyRecursosNaturalesRenovablesFacultaddeCienciasAgronomicasUniversidaddeChileSantiagoChile65BotanyFacultyofScienceTantaUniversityTantaEgypt66SchoolofMolecularandLifeSciencesCurtinUniversityBentleyAustralia67ForestryDepartmentSantaCatarinaStateUniversityLagesBrazil68InstituteofLandscapeEcologyUniversityofMuumlnsterMuumlnsterGermany69PlantEcologyandEcosystemsResearchUniversityofGoumlttingenGoumlttingenGermany70DepartmentofSilvicultureTransilvaniaUniversityofBrasovBrasovRomania
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71DepartmentofBiologyCelalBayarUniversityManisaTurkey72InstituteofSystematicBotanyandEcologyFacultyofNaturalSciencesUlmUniversityUlmGermany73DepartmentofPlantBiologyMendelUniversityinBrnoBrnoCzechRepublic74BotanicalGardenUniversityofWrocławWrocławPoland75SilvicultureandForestBotanySouthwestAnatoliaForestResearchInstituteAntalyaTurkey76DepartmentofEnvironmentGhentUniversityGentBelgium77DepartmentofSystematicandEvolutionaryBotanyUniversityofZurichZurichSwitzerland78OVFominBotanicalGardenattheEducationalandScientificCentreInstituteofBiologyandMedicineTarasShevchenkoNationalUniversityofKyivKyivUkraine79GeosystemLaboratoryCentralSiberianBotanicalGardenSiberianBranchRussianAcademyofSciencesNovosibirskRussianFederation80InstituteofEnvironmentalSciencesKazanFederalUniversityKazanRussianFederation81DepartmentofPlantEcologyandEnvironmentalConservationFacultyofBiologyBiologicalandChemicalResearchCentreUniversityofWarsawWarsawPoland82FacultyofForestryUniversityofZagrebZagrebCroatia83PrimatologyMaxPlanckInstituteforEvolutionaryAnthropology(MPI-EVA)LeipzigGermany84DepartmentofCommunityEcologyHelmholtzCentreforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZHalleGermany85MGKholodnyInstituteofBotanyNationalAcademyofSciencesofUkraineKyivUkraine86InstituteofBiologyResearchCentreofSlovenianAcademyofSciencesandArts(ZRCSAZU)LjubljanaSlovenia87NatureServeDurhamNorthCarolina88SchoolofGeographyUniversityofLeedsLeedsUK89SchoolofForestryandResourceConservationNationalTaiwanUniversityHsinchuTaiwan90CollegeofUrbanandEnvironmentalSciencesPekingUniversityBeijingChina91DepartmentofthePhytodiversityProblemsInstituteofEcologyoftheVolgaRiverBasinRASTogliattiRussianFederation92LaboratoryofVegetationScienceKomarovBotanicalInstituteRASSaint-PetersburgRussia93DepartmentofBiologyCenterforEcologyandNaturalResourcesndashAcademicianSulejmanRedžićUniversityofSarajevoSarajevoBosniaandHerzegovina94ResearchGroupVegetationScienceampNatureConservationDepartmentofEcologyandEnvironmentalScienceCarlvonOssietzky-UniversityOldenburgOldenburgGermany95UfaInstituteofBiologyofUfaFederalScientificCentreoftheRussianAcademyofSciencesUfaRussianFederation96CentreResearchEcologyandForestryApplications(CREAF)ICREABarcelonaSpain97InstituteofBiologyanEnvironmentalSciencesCarlvonOssietzky-UniversityOldenburgOldenburgGermany98BiodiversityandConservationBiologySwissFederalResearchInstituteWSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland99ConservationScienceRoyalBotanicGardensKewUK100AMAPndashBotanyandModellingofPlantArchitectureandVegetationIRDCIRADCNRSINRAUniversiteacuteMontpellierMontpellierFrance101CropScienceandPlantBiologyEstonianUniversityofLifeSciencesTartuEstonia102InstituteofBotanyJagiellonianUniversityKrakoacutewPoland103DepartmentofBotanyandBiodiversityResearchUniversityofViennaViennaAustria104BotanicalGardenndashCenterforBiologicalDiversityConservationPolishAcademyofSciencesWarszawaPoland105LaboratoriodeInvasionesBioloacutegicas(LIB)UniversityofConcepcioacutenConcepcioacutenChile106AmsterdamTheNetherlands107GlobalEcologyUnitCREAF-CSIC-UABCSICBellaterraSpain108CREAFCerdanyoladelVallegravesSpain109DepartmentofEvolutionaryBiologyEcologyandEnvironmentalSciencesUniversityofBarcelonaBarcelonaSpain110ContinentalEcologyCenterforAdvancedStudiesofBlanesSpanishResearchCouncil(CEAB-CSIC)BlanesGironaSpain111DepartmentofGISandRemoteSensingInstituteofBotanyTheCzechAcademyofSciencesPrůhoniceCzechRepublic112InstituteofBotanyNatureResearchCentreVilniusLithuania113LancasterUK114HungarianDepartmentofBiologyandEcologyFacultyofBiologyandGeologyBabeș-BolyaiUniversityCluj-NapocaRomania115DepartmentofGeographyUniversityofLatviaRigaLatvia116ClimatologyBayreuthCenterofEcologyandEnvironmentalResearch(BayCEER)UniversityofBayreuthBayreuthGermany117InstituteofBotanyPlantScienceandBiodiversityCentreSlovakAcademyofSciencesBratislavaSlovakia118TERNUniversityofAdelaideAdelaideAustralia119FacultyofGeotechnicalEngineeringUniversityofZagrebVaraždinCroatia120SchoolofBiologyAristotleUniversityofThessalonikiThessalonikiGreece
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121ABorzaBotanicalGardenBabeș-BolyaiUniversityCluj-NapocaRomania122ForestEngineeringDepartmentFacultyofForestryBursaTechnicalUniversityYıldırımBursaTurkey123DepartmentofGeographyUniversityofErlangen-NurembergErlangenGermany124KhmelnytskyiInstituteofInterregionalAcademyofPersonnelManagementKhmelnytskyiUkraine125DepartmentofChemistryBiologyandBiotechnologyUniversityofPerugiaPerugiaItaly126DepartamentodeEngenhariaFlorestalUniversidadeRegionaldeBlumenauBlumenauBrazil127CentredEcologieFonctionnelleetEvolutive(UMR5175)CNRSndashUniversiteacutedeMontpellierndashUniversiteacutePaul-ValeacuteryMontpellierndashEPHEMontpellierFrance128EcologyandGeneticsResearchUnitBiodiversityUnitUniversityofOuluOuluFinland129DepartmentofPhysiologicalDiversityHelmholtzCenterforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZLeipzigGermany130InstituteofEcologyLeuphanaUniversityLuumlneburgGermany131DepartmentofBiologicalSciencesUniversityofAlbertaEdmontonCanada132InstituteofArcticBiologyUniversityofAlaskaFairbanksAlaska133DepartmentofGeographyampEnvironmentalStudiesAddisAbabaUniversityAddisAbabaEthiopia134DepartmentofBiologyUniversityofWisconsinndashEauClaireEauClaireWisconsin135BotanyDepartmentSenckenbergMuseumofNaturalHistoryGoumlrlitzGoumlrlitzGermany136InternationalInstituteZittauTechnicalUniversityDresdenZittauGermany137DepartmentofEcologyandEvolutionaryBiologyBrownUniversityHerbariumBrownUniversityProvidenceRhodeIsland138ViennaInstituteforNatureConservationampAnalysesViennaAustria139ResearchUnitForestDynamicsSwissFederalInstituteforForestSnowandLandscapeResearchWSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland140LaboratoryofWild-GrowingFloraBotanicalGarden-InstituteUfaScientificCentreRussianAcademyofSciencesUfaRussianFederation141DepartmentofBotanyTomskStateUniversityTomskRussianFederation
CorrespondenceHelgeBruelheideInstituteofBiologyGeobotanyandBotanicalGardenMartinLutherUniversityHalle-WittenbergHalleGermanyEmailhelgebruelheidebotanikuni-hallede
Co-ordinatingEditorAlessandroChiarucci
AbstractAims Vegetation-plot records provide information on the presence and cover orabundanceofplantsco-occurringinthesamecommunityVegetation-plotdataarespread across research groups environmental agencies and biodiversity researchcentersandthusarerarelyaccessibleatcontinentalorglobalscalesHerewepre-sentthesPlotdatabasewhichcollatesvegetationplotsworldwidetoallowfortheexplorationofglobalpatternsintaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticdiversityattheplantcommunitylevelResults sPlotversion21containsrecordsfrom1121244vegetationplotswhichcomprise23586216recordsofplantspeciesandtheirrelativecoverorabundanceinplotscollectedworldwidebetween1885and2015Wecomplementedtheinfor-mationforeachplotbyretrievingclimateandsoilconditionsandthebiogeographiccontext(egbiomes)fromexternalsourcesandbycalculatingcommunity-weightedmeansandvariancesoftraitsusinggap-filleddatafromtheglobalplanttraitdata-baseTRYMoreoverwecreatedaphylogenetic treefor50167outof the54519speciesidentifiedintheplotsWepresentthefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcom-munityrichnessandcommunity-weightedmeansofkeytraitsConclusions TheavailabilityofvegetationplotdatainsPlotoffersnewavenuesforvegetationanalysisattheglobalscale
K E Y W O R D S
biodiversitycommunityecologyecoinformaticsfunctionaldiversityglobalscalemacroecologyphylogeneticdiversityplotdatabasesPlottaxonomicdiversityvascularplantvegetationreleveacute
166emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
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1emsp |emspINTRODUCTION
Studyingglobalbiodiversitypatternsisatthecoreofmacroecologi-calresearch(CostelloWilsonampHoulding2012KreftampJetz2007Wiens2011)sincetheirexplorationmayprovideinsightsintotheecological and evolutionary processes acting at different spatio-temporalscales(Ricklefs2004)Theopportunitiesengenderedbythecompilationoflargecollectionsofbiodiversitydataintowidelyaccessibleglobal(GBIFwwwgbiforg)orcontinentaldatabases(egBIENwwwbiennceasucsbedubien)have recentlyadvancedourunderstandingofglobalbiodiversitypatternsespecially forverte-brates but also for vascular plants (Butler etal 2017 Engemannetal2016Lamannaetal2014Swensonetal2012)Althoughthisdevelopmenthasledtotheformulationofseveralmacroecolog-icaltheories(Currieetal2004PaumlrtelBennettampZobel2016)amoremechanisticunderstandingofhowassemblyprocessesshapeecological communities and consequently global biodiversity pat-terns is stillmissing (LessardBelmakerMyersChaseampRahbek2012)
Understanding the linksbetweenbiodiversitypatternsandas-semblyprocessesrequiresfine-graindataontheco-occurrenceofspecies in ecological communities sampled across continental orglobalspatialextents (Becketal2012Wiszetal2013)Forex-amplesuchco-occurrencedatahavebeenusedtocomparechangesin vegetation compositionover time spansofdecades (Jandt vonWehrdenampBruelheide2011Perringetal2018)Unfortunatelyup tonow informationonfine-grainvegetationdatahasnotbeenreadily available asmost of the continental to global biodiversity
datasets have been derived from occurrence data (ie presence-only data) and after being aggregated spatially have a relativelycoarse-grain scale (egone-degreegridcells)without informationonspeciesco-occurrenceatthemeaningfulscaleoflocalcommuni-ties(Boakesetal2010)Incontrastvegetation-plotdatarecordthecoverorabundanceofeachplantspeciesthatoccursinaplotofagivensizeatthedateofthesurveyrepresentingthemainreservoirofplantcommunitydataworldwide(Dengleretal2011)
Vegetation-plotdatadifferinfundamentalwaysfromdatabasesofoccurrencerecordsof individualspeciesaggregatedatthelevelofgridcellsorregionsofhundredsorthousandsofsquarekilome-ters(Figure1)Firstvegetationplotsusuallyprovideinformationontherelativecoverorrelativeabundanceofspeciesallowingforthetestingofcentraltheoriesofbiogeographysuchastheabundancendashrangesizerelationship(GastonampCurnutt1998)ortherelationshipbetween local abundanceandnichebreadth (Gastonetal2000)Secondtheycontaininformationonwhichplantspeciesco-occurinthesamelocality(Chytryacuteetal2016)whichisanecessaryprecon-dition fordirectbiotic interactions amongplant individualsThirdunrecorded species canbe considered truly absent from the abo-vegroundvegetationat this scalebecause thestandardizedmeth-odologyoftakingavegetationrecordrequiresasystematicsearchforallspeciesinaplotoratleastallspeciesofthedominantfunc-tional group Fourth many plots are spatially explicit and can beresurveyed through time to assess possible consequences of landuseandclimatechange(Perringetal2018Steinbaueretal2018)Fifthvegetationplotsrepresentasnapshotoftheprimaryproduc-ersof a terrestrial ecosystemwhich canbe functionally linked to
F IGURE 1emspConceptualfigurevisualizinghowfunctionalcomposition(inthiscaseplantheight)differsbetweencalculations based on mean traits for gridcellsandcommunitydatasampledinvegetationplotsOccurrencedata(egfromdistributionatlasesGBIFetc)canbe used to calculate mean trait values in gridcellsG1ndashG3Howevercommunityweightedmeans(CWMs)oftraitsdifferacrosslocalplots(P1ndashP6)whilethemeanvaluesofCWMsinthegridcellsdifferfromtheunweightedvaluescalculatedinthegridcellsThisexampleissimplifiedbyshowingfewspeciesandfewplotsInrealitydifferencesaregenerallymorepronounced
emspensp emsp | emsp167Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organismsfromdifferenttrophicgroupssampledinthesameplots(egmultiple-taxasurveys)andrelatedprocessesandservicesbothbelow(egdecompositionnutrientcycling)andaboveground(egherbivorypollination)(egSchuldtetal2018)
Recently several projects at the regional to continental scalehavedemonstratedthepotentialofusingvegetation-plotdatabasesforexploringbiodiversitypatternsandtheunderlyingassemblypro-cessesUsingvegetationdataofFrenchgrasslandsBorgyetal(2017)demonstratedthatweightingleaftraitsbyspeciesabundanceinlocalcommunitiesispivotaltocaptureleaftraitndashenvironmentrelationshipsAnalyzingUnitedStatesforestassemblagessurveyedatthecommu-nitylevelŠiacutemovaacuteRuedaandHawkins(2017)wereabletorelatecoldordroughttolerancetoleaftraitsdispersaltraitsandtraitsrelatedtostemhydraulicsUsingplot-basedtreeinventoriesoftheUnitedStatesforestserviceZhangNiinemetsSheffieldandLichstein(2018)foundthatshiftsintreefunctionalcompositionamplifytheresponseoffor-estbiomasstodroughtsBasedongt15000plotsfromawidenum-berofhabitattypesinDenmarkMoeslundetal(2017)showedthattypicalplantspeciesthatarepartofthesite-specificspeciespoolbutareabsentinacommunitytendtodependonmycorrhizaaremostlyadaptedtolowlightandlownutrientlevelshavepoordispersalabili-tiesandareruderalsandstress-intolerantBycollatinggt40000vege-tationplotssampledinEuropeanbeechforestsJimeacutenez-Alfaroetal(2018)foundthatcurrentlocalcommunitydiversityandspeciespoolsizescalculatedatdifferentscalesweremainlyexplainedbyproximitytoglacialrefugiaandcurrentprecipitation
Although large collections of vegetation-plot data are nowavailable from national to continental levels (eg Chytryacute etal2016EnquistConditPeetSchildhauerampThiers2016PeetLeeJennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012 Schamineacutee HennekensChytryacuteampRodwell2009Schmidtetal2012)theyarerarelyused
inglobal-scalebiodiversityresearch(FranklinSerra-DiazSyphardampRegan2017Wiser2016)This isunfortunatebecausevegetation-plotdatamayrevealimportantpatternsthatcannotbecapturedbygrid-based datasets (Table1) Functional composition patterns forinstancemay differ substantiallywhen considering vegetation-plotdataratherthansinglespeciesoccurrencesaggregatedatthelevelofcoarse-graingridcellsUsingplantheightasanillustrationrevealsthatthetraitmeanscalculatedonallthespeciesoccurringinagridcellmaydiffer strongly from the community-weightedmeans (CWMs) aver-agedacrosslocalcommunities(Figure1)Neverthelessonlythegrid-basedapproachhasbeenusedtodate instudiesofthegeographicdistributionof trait values (eg Swensonetal20122017Wrightetal2017)
HerewepresentsPlotaglobaldatabaseforcompilingandin-tegratingplantcommunitydataWedescribe(a)mainstepsininte-gratingvegetation-plotdatainarepositorythatprovidestaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticinformationonco-occurringplantspe-ciesandlinksittoglobalenvironmentaldrivers(b)principalsourcesandpropertiesofthedataandtheprocedurefordatausageand(c)expectedimpactsofthedatabaseinfutureecologicalresearchToil-lustratethepotentialofsPlotwealsoshowglobaldiversitypatternsthat can be readily derived from the current content
2emsp |emspCOMPILATION OF THE SPLOT DATABA SE
21emsp|emspVegetation- plot data
The sPlot consortium currently collates 110 vegetation-plot data-basesofregionalnationalorcontinentalextentSomeofthedata-baseshavepreviouslybeenaggregatedbyandcontributedthrough
TABLE 1emspTypesofinformationprovidedbysinglevegetationplotsvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells(orothergeographicunits)andsinglespeciesoccurrencerecordsaggregatedwithingridcellsThethreelevelsareillustratedinFigure1
Information fromhellip Singlevegetationplots Setofvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells
Grid-celldatafromfloristicinventories
To derive information on the hellip
Plot level Gridcelllevel Gridcelllevel
Typeofoccurrence Co-occurrenceoccurrencebyvegetationtype
Occurrencebyvegetationtype Occurrence
Communityassemblyrules
Yes(co-occurrenceisaprerequisiteforspeciesinteractions)
No No
Absences Yes(forthetargetplantgroupinastudy)
No(exceptforintensivesamplingschemes) Dependingonsamplingintensity
Floristiccomposition hellip of the local community hellipofthespeciespoolsofvegetationtypes hellipofthetotalsetofspecies
Diversity α γ γ
Speciesabundance Localcover-abundance Meancover-abundanceandfrequencybyvegetationtype
Occurrence only
Combinationwithtraits
Functionalcompositionofthelocalcommunity(traitsunweightedorweightedbycoverCWMCWV)
Functionalcompositionofthespeciespool(unweightedorweighted)
Functionalcompositionofthetotalsetofspecies(unweightedonly)
Environmentalfiltering
hellip at the local level hellipattheregionallevel hellipattheregionallevel
168emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
two (sub-)continental database initiatives (Table2 and AppendixS1)AlldatafromEuropeandnearbyregionswerecontributedviatheEuropeanVegetationArchive(EVA)usingtheSynBioSystaxondatabase as a standard taxonomic backbone (Chytryacute etal 2016)ThreeAfricandatabaseswerecontributedvia theTropicalAfricanVegetationArchive(TAVA)InadditionmultipleUSdatabaseswerecontributedthroughtheVegBankarchivemaintainedinsupportoftheUSNationalVegetationClassification(PeetLeeBoyleetal2012 Peet Lee Jennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012) The datafromotherregions(SouthAmericaAsia)werecontributedassepa-rate databases
Westoredthevegetation-plotdatafromtheindividualdatabasesinthedatabasesoftwareTURBOVEGv2(HennekensampSchamineacutee2001)Ourgeneralprocedurewastopreservetheoriginalstructureandcontentofthedatabasesasmuchaspossibleinordertofacil-itateregularupdatesthroughautomatedworkflowsTheindividualdatabaseswerethenintegratedintoasingleSQLitedatabaseusingTURBOVEGv3(SMHennekensALTERRATheNetherlandswwwsynbiosysalterranlturboveg3helpenindexhtml)TURBOVEGv3combinesthespecieslistsfromtheoriginaldatabasesinasinglere-positoryand linkstheplotattributes (so-calledheaderdata) to58descriptors of vegetation-plots (Table S21 in Appendix S2) ThemetadataofthedatabasescollatedinsPlotweremanagedthroughtheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(GIVDDengleretal2011)usingtheGIVDIDastheidentifierThecurrentsPlotversion21wascreatedinOctober2016andcontains1121244vegetationplotswith23586216plantspeciestimesplotobservations(ierecordsofaspeciesinaplot)Mostrecords(1073737958)haveinfor-mationoncover29288onpresenceabsence5854onbasalarea4883onnumberofstems(ofteninadditiontobasalarea)148onimportancevalue(acombinationofbasalareaandnumberofstems)3265oncountsofindividuals1895onpercentagefrequencyandfurther2174haveamixofthesedifferenttypesofmetrics
22emsp|emspTaxonomic standardization
TocombinethespecieslistsofthedifferentdatabasesinsPlotweconstructedataxonomicbackboneTolinkco-occurrenceinforma-tion insPlotwithplant traitsweexpandedthisbackboneto inte-grateplantnamesusedintheTRYdatabase(Kattgeetal2011)Thetaxon names (without nomenclatural authors) from sPlot 21 andTRY30werefirstconcatenatedintoonelistresulting in121861names of which 61588 (505) were unique to sPlot 35429(291)uniquetoTRYand24844(204)sharedbetweenTRYandsPlotTaxonnameswereparsedandresolvedusingtheTaxonomicNameResolutionServicewebapplication(TNRSversion40Boyleetal2013iPlantCollaborative2015)usingthefiveTNRSstand-ardsourcesrankedbydefaultWeallowedfor (a)partialmatchingtothenexthigherrank(genusorfamily)ifthefulltaxonnamecouldnotbefoundand(b)fullfuzzymatchingtoreturnnamesthatwerematchedwithin amaximumnumberof four single-character edits(Levenshteineditdistanceof4)whichcorrespondstotheminimummatchaccuracyof005inTNRSwith1indicatingaperfectmatch
Weacceptedall names thatwerematchedor converted fromsynonymswithanoverallmatchscoreof1Incaseswithnoexactmatch(ietheoverallmatchscorewaslt1)nameswereinspectedonan individualbasisAllnamesthatmatchedat taxonomicranksator lowerthanspecies (egsubspeciesvarieties)wereacceptedascorrectnamesThenamematchingprocedurewasrepeatedforthe uncertain names (ie with match accuracy scores below thethresholdvaluefromthefirstmatchingrun)withapreferenceonfirstusingthesourcelsquoTropicosrsquo(MissouriBotanicalGardenhttpwwwtropicosorgaccessed19Dec2014)becauseherematchingscoreswereoftenhigherfornamesoflowtaxonomicrankThere-maining9641non-matchednameswereresolvedusing(a)theaddi-tionalsourcelsquoNCBIrsquo(Federhen2010)withinTNRS(b)thematchingtoolsinthePlantListwebapplication(ThePlantList2013)(c)thelsquotplrsquo-functionwithin theR-package lsquoTaxonstandrsquo (Cayuela SteinampOksanen2017)and(d)manualinspection(ietoresolvevernacularnames)AllsubspecieswereaggregatedtothespecieslevelNamesthatcouldnotbematchedwereclassifiedas lsquoNosuitablematchesfoundrsquoBecausesPlotandTRYcontaintaxaofnon-vascularplantswetaggedvascularplantnamesbasedontheir familyandphylumaffiliationusingthelsquorgbifrsquo libraryinR(Chamberlain2017)OfthefulllistofplantnamesinsPlotandTRY79171(946)plantnameswerematchedatthespecieslevel4343(52)atthegenuslevel152(02)atthefamilyleveland13namesathighertaxonomiclev-elsOverallthisledto58066acceptedtaxonnamesinsPlotFamilyaffiliationwasclassifiedaccordingtoAPGIII(APGIII2009)Ade-taileddescriptionoftheworkflow includingR-code isavailable inPurschke(2017a)
One potential shortcoming of our taxonomic backbone is thatformostregionsitwasnecessarytostandardizetaxausingstandardsetsoftaxonomicsynonymsThusifataxonomicnamerepresentsmultiple taxonomicconceptseg suchascreatedby thesplittingandlumpingoftaxaoranamehasbeenmisappliedinaregionwemusttrustthatthisproblemhasbeenaddressedinourcomponentdatabases(FranzPeetampWeakley2004JansenampDengler2010)Howeverdifferentcomponentdatabasesmayhaveapplieddiffer-enttaxonomicconceptsforsplittingandlumpingtaxa
23emsp|emspPhysiognomic information
Toachieveaclassificationintoforestsversusnon-foreststhatisap-plicable to all plots irrespectiveof the structural andhabitat dataprovidedby the sourcedatabasewedefinedas forestallplot re-cordsthathadgt25absolutecoverofthetreelayermakinguseofthe attribute data of sPlot This threshold is similar to the classifica-tionofEllenbergandMuumlller-Dombois(1967)whodefinedwoodlandformationswithtreescoveringmorethan30Therewere16244tree species in the sPlotdatabaseAs tree layer coverwasavaila-ble foronly25ofallplotsweadditionallyused the informationwhether the taxa present in a plotwere trees (usually defined asbeingtallerthan5m)usingtheplantgrowthforminformationfromTRY (see below) Thus plots lacking tree cover information weredefinedas forests if thesumof relativecoverofall tree taxawas
emspensp emsp | emsp169Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
TABLE 2emsp Plot datasets included in sPlot 21
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
[Aggregator] European Vegetation Archive (EVA)
950001 Milan Chytryacute Ilona Knollovaacute Chytryacute et al (2016)
00-00-004 VegetationDatabaseofEurasianTundra
1132 RistoVirtanen
00-RU-001 VegetationDatabaseForestofSouthernUral
1102 VassiliyMartynenko
00-RU-003 DatabaseMeadowsandSteppesofSouthernUral
2354 SergeyYamalov MariyaLebedeva
00-TR-001 ForestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey-FVDT
919 AliKavgacı
00-TR-002 Non-forestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey
3018 DenizIşıkGuumlrsoy DidemAmbarlı
AS-TR-002 VegetationDatabaseofOakCommunitiesinTurkey
1181 EminUğurlu
EU-00-002 Nordic-BalticGrasslandVegetationDatabase(NBGVD)
7675 JuumlrgenDengler ŁukaszKozub DenglerandRūsiņa(2012)
EU-00-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseoftheUniversityoftheBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)
18441 Idoia Biurrun ItziarGarciacutea-Mijangos BiurrunGarciacutea-MijangosCamposHerreraandLoidi(2012)
EU-00-013 BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabase 7683 KirilVassilev ArminMacanović VassilevDajičĆušterevskaBergmeierandApostolova(2012)
EU-00-016 MediterraneanAmmophileteaDatabase
7359 CorradoMarcenograve BorjaJimeacutenez-Alfaro MarcenograveandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2017)
EU-00-017 EuropeanCoastalVegetationDatabase
4624 JohnJanssen
EU-00-018 TheNordicVegetationDatabase 5477 JonathanLenoir Jens-ChristianSvenning
Lenoiretal(2013)
EU-00-019 BalkanVegetationDatabase 9118 KirilVassilev HristoPedashenko Vassilevetal(2016)
EU-00-020 WetVegEurope 14111 FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2015)
EU-00-022 EuropeanMireVegetationDatabase
10147 TomaacutešPeterka MartinJiroušek PeterkaJiroušekHaacutejekandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2015)
EU-AL-001 VegetationDatabaseofAlbania 290 MicheleDeSanctis GiulianoFanelli DeSanctisFanelliMullajandAttorre(2017)
EU-AT-001 AustrianVegetationDatabase 34458 WolfgangWillner ChristianBerg WillnerBergandHeiselmayer(2012)
EU-BE-002 INBOVEG 25665 ElsDeBie
EU-BG-001 BulgarianVegetationDatabase 5254 IvaApostolova DesislavaSopotlieva ApostolovaSopotlievaPedashenkoVelevandVasilev(2012)
EU-CH-005 SwissForestVegetationDatabase
14193 ThomasWohlgemuth Wohlgemuth(2012)
EU-CZ-001 CzechNationalPhytosociologicalDatabase
104697 MilanChytryacute DanaHolubovaacute ChytryacuteandRafajovaacute(2003)
(Continues)
170emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-DE-001 VegMV 53822 FlorianJansen ChristianBerg JansenDenglerandBerg(2012)
EU-DE-013 VegetWebGermany 23078 JoumlrgEwald EwaldMayandKleikamp(2012)
EU-DE-014 GermanVegetationReferenceDatabase(GVRD)
30840 UteJandt HelgeBruelheide JandtandBruelheide(2012)
EU-DK-002 NationalVegetationDatabaseofDenmark
24264 JesperErenskjoldMoeslund
RasmusEjrnaeligs
EU-ES-001 IberianandMacaronesianVegetationInformationSystem(SIVIM)Wetlands
6560 AaronPeacuterez-Haase XavierFont
EU-FR-003 SOPHY 209864 HenryBrisse Patrice de Ruffray BrissedeRuffrayGrandjouanandHoff(1995)
EU-GB-001 UKNationalVegetationClassificationDatabase
28533 JohnSRodwell
EU-GR-001 KRITI 292 ErwinBergmeier
EU-GR-005 HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase(HelNatVeg)
5168 PanayotisDimopoulos IoannisTsiripidis DimopoulosandTsiripidis(2012)
EU-GR-006 HellenicWoodlandDatabase 3199 GeorgiosFotiadis IoannisTsiripidis FotiadisTsiripidisBergmeierandDimopoulos(2012)
EU-HR-001 PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatia
5057 ZvjezdanaStančić Stančić(2012)
EU-HR-002 CroatianVegetationDatabase 8734 ŽeljkoŠkvorc DanielKrstonošić
EU-HU-003 CoenoDatHungarianPhytosociologicalDatabase
8505 JaacutenosCsiky ZoltaacutenBotta-Dukaacutet Laacutejeretal(2008)
EU-IT-001 VegItaly 15332 RobertoVenanzoni FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2012)
EU-IT-010 ItalianNationalVegetationDatabase(BVNISPRA)
3562 LauraCasella PierangelaAngelini CasellaBiancoAngeliniandMorroni(2012)
EU-IT-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseSapienzaUniversityofRome(VPD-Sapienza)
12780 EmilianoAgrillo FabioAttorre Agrilloetal(2017)
EU-LT-001 LithuanianVegetationDatabase 7821 ValerijusRašomavičius DomasUogintas
EU-LV-001 Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatvia
5594 SolvitaRūsiņa Rūsiņa(2012)
EU-MK-001 VegetationDatabaseoftheRepublicofMacedonia
1417 RenataĆušterevska
EU-NL-001 DutchNationalVegetationDatabase
102327 JoopHJSchamineacutee StephanMHennekens
Schamineacuteeetal(2006)
EU-PL-001 PolishVegetationDatabase 22229 ZygmuntKącki GrzegorzSwacha KąckiandŚliwiński(2012)
EU-RO-007 RomanianForestDatabase 6017 AdrianIndreica Pavel Dan Turtureanu IndreicaTurtureanuSzaboacuteandIrimia(2017)
EU-RO-008 RomanianGrasslandDatabase 1921 EszterRuprecht KirilVassilev Vassilevetal(2018)
EU-RS-002 VegetationDatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia
5587 SvetlanaAćić ZoraDajićStevanović AćićPetrovićŠilcandDajićStevanović(2012)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp173Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
174emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
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71DepartmentofBiologyCelalBayarUniversityManisaTurkey72InstituteofSystematicBotanyandEcologyFacultyofNaturalSciencesUlmUniversityUlmGermany73DepartmentofPlantBiologyMendelUniversityinBrnoBrnoCzechRepublic74BotanicalGardenUniversityofWrocławWrocławPoland75SilvicultureandForestBotanySouthwestAnatoliaForestResearchInstituteAntalyaTurkey76DepartmentofEnvironmentGhentUniversityGentBelgium77DepartmentofSystematicandEvolutionaryBotanyUniversityofZurichZurichSwitzerland78OVFominBotanicalGardenattheEducationalandScientificCentreInstituteofBiologyandMedicineTarasShevchenkoNationalUniversityofKyivKyivUkraine79GeosystemLaboratoryCentralSiberianBotanicalGardenSiberianBranchRussianAcademyofSciencesNovosibirskRussianFederation80InstituteofEnvironmentalSciencesKazanFederalUniversityKazanRussianFederation81DepartmentofPlantEcologyandEnvironmentalConservationFacultyofBiologyBiologicalandChemicalResearchCentreUniversityofWarsawWarsawPoland82FacultyofForestryUniversityofZagrebZagrebCroatia83PrimatologyMaxPlanckInstituteforEvolutionaryAnthropology(MPI-EVA)LeipzigGermany84DepartmentofCommunityEcologyHelmholtzCentreforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZHalleGermany85MGKholodnyInstituteofBotanyNationalAcademyofSciencesofUkraineKyivUkraine86InstituteofBiologyResearchCentreofSlovenianAcademyofSciencesandArts(ZRCSAZU)LjubljanaSlovenia87NatureServeDurhamNorthCarolina88SchoolofGeographyUniversityofLeedsLeedsUK89SchoolofForestryandResourceConservationNationalTaiwanUniversityHsinchuTaiwan90CollegeofUrbanandEnvironmentalSciencesPekingUniversityBeijingChina91DepartmentofthePhytodiversityProblemsInstituteofEcologyoftheVolgaRiverBasinRASTogliattiRussianFederation92LaboratoryofVegetationScienceKomarovBotanicalInstituteRASSaint-PetersburgRussia93DepartmentofBiologyCenterforEcologyandNaturalResourcesndashAcademicianSulejmanRedžićUniversityofSarajevoSarajevoBosniaandHerzegovina94ResearchGroupVegetationScienceampNatureConservationDepartmentofEcologyandEnvironmentalScienceCarlvonOssietzky-UniversityOldenburgOldenburgGermany95UfaInstituteofBiologyofUfaFederalScientificCentreoftheRussianAcademyofSciencesUfaRussianFederation96CentreResearchEcologyandForestryApplications(CREAF)ICREABarcelonaSpain97InstituteofBiologyanEnvironmentalSciencesCarlvonOssietzky-UniversityOldenburgOldenburgGermany98BiodiversityandConservationBiologySwissFederalResearchInstituteWSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland99ConservationScienceRoyalBotanicGardensKewUK100AMAPndashBotanyandModellingofPlantArchitectureandVegetationIRDCIRADCNRSINRAUniversiteacuteMontpellierMontpellierFrance101CropScienceandPlantBiologyEstonianUniversityofLifeSciencesTartuEstonia102InstituteofBotanyJagiellonianUniversityKrakoacutewPoland103DepartmentofBotanyandBiodiversityResearchUniversityofViennaViennaAustria104BotanicalGardenndashCenterforBiologicalDiversityConservationPolishAcademyofSciencesWarszawaPoland105LaboratoriodeInvasionesBioloacutegicas(LIB)UniversityofConcepcioacutenConcepcioacutenChile106AmsterdamTheNetherlands107GlobalEcologyUnitCREAF-CSIC-UABCSICBellaterraSpain108CREAFCerdanyoladelVallegravesSpain109DepartmentofEvolutionaryBiologyEcologyandEnvironmentalSciencesUniversityofBarcelonaBarcelonaSpain110ContinentalEcologyCenterforAdvancedStudiesofBlanesSpanishResearchCouncil(CEAB-CSIC)BlanesGironaSpain111DepartmentofGISandRemoteSensingInstituteofBotanyTheCzechAcademyofSciencesPrůhoniceCzechRepublic112InstituteofBotanyNatureResearchCentreVilniusLithuania113LancasterUK114HungarianDepartmentofBiologyandEcologyFacultyofBiologyandGeologyBabeș-BolyaiUniversityCluj-NapocaRomania115DepartmentofGeographyUniversityofLatviaRigaLatvia116ClimatologyBayreuthCenterofEcologyandEnvironmentalResearch(BayCEER)UniversityofBayreuthBayreuthGermany117InstituteofBotanyPlantScienceandBiodiversityCentreSlovakAcademyofSciencesBratislavaSlovakia118TERNUniversityofAdelaideAdelaideAustralia119FacultyofGeotechnicalEngineeringUniversityofZagrebVaraždinCroatia120SchoolofBiologyAristotleUniversityofThessalonikiThessalonikiGreece
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121ABorzaBotanicalGardenBabeș-BolyaiUniversityCluj-NapocaRomania122ForestEngineeringDepartmentFacultyofForestryBursaTechnicalUniversityYıldırımBursaTurkey123DepartmentofGeographyUniversityofErlangen-NurembergErlangenGermany124KhmelnytskyiInstituteofInterregionalAcademyofPersonnelManagementKhmelnytskyiUkraine125DepartmentofChemistryBiologyandBiotechnologyUniversityofPerugiaPerugiaItaly126DepartamentodeEngenhariaFlorestalUniversidadeRegionaldeBlumenauBlumenauBrazil127CentredEcologieFonctionnelleetEvolutive(UMR5175)CNRSndashUniversiteacutedeMontpellierndashUniversiteacutePaul-ValeacuteryMontpellierndashEPHEMontpellierFrance128EcologyandGeneticsResearchUnitBiodiversityUnitUniversityofOuluOuluFinland129DepartmentofPhysiologicalDiversityHelmholtzCenterforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZLeipzigGermany130InstituteofEcologyLeuphanaUniversityLuumlneburgGermany131DepartmentofBiologicalSciencesUniversityofAlbertaEdmontonCanada132InstituteofArcticBiologyUniversityofAlaskaFairbanksAlaska133DepartmentofGeographyampEnvironmentalStudiesAddisAbabaUniversityAddisAbabaEthiopia134DepartmentofBiologyUniversityofWisconsinndashEauClaireEauClaireWisconsin135BotanyDepartmentSenckenbergMuseumofNaturalHistoryGoumlrlitzGoumlrlitzGermany136InternationalInstituteZittauTechnicalUniversityDresdenZittauGermany137DepartmentofEcologyandEvolutionaryBiologyBrownUniversityHerbariumBrownUniversityProvidenceRhodeIsland138ViennaInstituteforNatureConservationampAnalysesViennaAustria139ResearchUnitForestDynamicsSwissFederalInstituteforForestSnowandLandscapeResearchWSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland140LaboratoryofWild-GrowingFloraBotanicalGarden-InstituteUfaScientificCentreRussianAcademyofSciencesUfaRussianFederation141DepartmentofBotanyTomskStateUniversityTomskRussianFederation
CorrespondenceHelgeBruelheideInstituteofBiologyGeobotanyandBotanicalGardenMartinLutherUniversityHalle-WittenbergHalleGermanyEmailhelgebruelheidebotanikuni-hallede
Co-ordinatingEditorAlessandroChiarucci
AbstractAims Vegetation-plot records provide information on the presence and cover orabundanceofplantsco-occurringinthesamecommunityVegetation-plotdataarespread across research groups environmental agencies and biodiversity researchcentersandthusarerarelyaccessibleatcontinentalorglobalscalesHerewepre-sentthesPlotdatabasewhichcollatesvegetationplotsworldwidetoallowfortheexplorationofglobalpatternsintaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticdiversityattheplantcommunitylevelResults sPlotversion21containsrecordsfrom1121244vegetationplotswhichcomprise23586216recordsofplantspeciesandtheirrelativecoverorabundanceinplotscollectedworldwidebetween1885and2015Wecomplementedtheinfor-mationforeachplotbyretrievingclimateandsoilconditionsandthebiogeographiccontext(egbiomes)fromexternalsourcesandbycalculatingcommunity-weightedmeansandvariancesoftraitsusinggap-filleddatafromtheglobalplanttraitdata-baseTRYMoreoverwecreatedaphylogenetic treefor50167outof the54519speciesidentifiedintheplotsWepresentthefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcom-munityrichnessandcommunity-weightedmeansofkeytraitsConclusions TheavailabilityofvegetationplotdatainsPlotoffersnewavenuesforvegetationanalysisattheglobalscale
K E Y W O R D S
biodiversitycommunityecologyecoinformaticsfunctionaldiversityglobalscalemacroecologyphylogeneticdiversityplotdatabasesPlottaxonomicdiversityvascularplantvegetationreleveacute
166emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
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1emsp |emspINTRODUCTION
Studyingglobalbiodiversitypatternsisatthecoreofmacroecologi-calresearch(CostelloWilsonampHoulding2012KreftampJetz2007Wiens2011)sincetheirexplorationmayprovideinsightsintotheecological and evolutionary processes acting at different spatio-temporalscales(Ricklefs2004)Theopportunitiesengenderedbythecompilationoflargecollectionsofbiodiversitydataintowidelyaccessibleglobal(GBIFwwwgbiforg)orcontinentaldatabases(egBIENwwwbiennceasucsbedubien)have recentlyadvancedourunderstandingofglobalbiodiversitypatternsespecially forverte-brates but also for vascular plants (Butler etal 2017 Engemannetal2016Lamannaetal2014Swensonetal2012)Althoughthisdevelopmenthasledtotheformulationofseveralmacroecolog-icaltheories(Currieetal2004PaumlrtelBennettampZobel2016)amoremechanisticunderstandingofhowassemblyprocessesshapeecological communities and consequently global biodiversity pat-terns is stillmissing (LessardBelmakerMyersChaseampRahbek2012)
Understanding the linksbetweenbiodiversitypatternsandas-semblyprocessesrequiresfine-graindataontheco-occurrenceofspecies in ecological communities sampled across continental orglobalspatialextents (Becketal2012Wiszetal2013)Forex-amplesuchco-occurrencedatahavebeenusedtocomparechangesin vegetation compositionover time spansofdecades (Jandt vonWehrdenampBruelheide2011Perringetal2018)Unfortunatelyup tonow informationonfine-grainvegetationdatahasnotbeenreadily available asmost of the continental to global biodiversity
datasets have been derived from occurrence data (ie presence-only data) and after being aggregated spatially have a relativelycoarse-grain scale (egone-degreegridcells)without informationonspeciesco-occurrenceatthemeaningfulscaleoflocalcommuni-ties(Boakesetal2010)Incontrastvegetation-plotdatarecordthecoverorabundanceofeachplantspeciesthatoccursinaplotofagivensizeatthedateofthesurveyrepresentingthemainreservoirofplantcommunitydataworldwide(Dengleretal2011)
Vegetation-plotdatadifferinfundamentalwaysfromdatabasesofoccurrencerecordsof individualspeciesaggregatedatthelevelofgridcellsorregionsofhundredsorthousandsofsquarekilome-ters(Figure1)Firstvegetationplotsusuallyprovideinformationontherelativecoverorrelativeabundanceofspeciesallowingforthetestingofcentraltheoriesofbiogeographysuchastheabundancendashrangesizerelationship(GastonampCurnutt1998)ortherelationshipbetween local abundanceandnichebreadth (Gastonetal2000)Secondtheycontaininformationonwhichplantspeciesco-occurinthesamelocality(Chytryacuteetal2016)whichisanecessaryprecon-dition fordirectbiotic interactions amongplant individualsThirdunrecorded species canbe considered truly absent from the abo-vegroundvegetationat this scalebecause thestandardizedmeth-odologyoftakingavegetationrecordrequiresasystematicsearchforallspeciesinaplotoratleastallspeciesofthedominantfunc-tional group Fourth many plots are spatially explicit and can beresurveyed through time to assess possible consequences of landuseandclimatechange(Perringetal2018Steinbaueretal2018)Fifthvegetationplotsrepresentasnapshotoftheprimaryproduc-ersof a terrestrial ecosystemwhich canbe functionally linked to
F IGURE 1emspConceptualfigurevisualizinghowfunctionalcomposition(inthiscaseplantheight)differsbetweencalculations based on mean traits for gridcellsandcommunitydatasampledinvegetationplotsOccurrencedata(egfromdistributionatlasesGBIFetc)canbe used to calculate mean trait values in gridcellsG1ndashG3Howevercommunityweightedmeans(CWMs)oftraitsdifferacrosslocalplots(P1ndashP6)whilethemeanvaluesofCWMsinthegridcellsdifferfromtheunweightedvaluescalculatedinthegridcellsThisexampleissimplifiedbyshowingfewspeciesandfewplotsInrealitydifferencesaregenerallymorepronounced
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organismsfromdifferenttrophicgroupssampledinthesameplots(egmultiple-taxasurveys)andrelatedprocessesandservicesbothbelow(egdecompositionnutrientcycling)andaboveground(egherbivorypollination)(egSchuldtetal2018)
Recently several projects at the regional to continental scalehavedemonstratedthepotentialofusingvegetation-plotdatabasesforexploringbiodiversitypatternsandtheunderlyingassemblypro-cessesUsingvegetationdataofFrenchgrasslandsBorgyetal(2017)demonstratedthatweightingleaftraitsbyspeciesabundanceinlocalcommunitiesispivotaltocaptureleaftraitndashenvironmentrelationshipsAnalyzingUnitedStatesforestassemblagessurveyedatthecommu-nitylevelŠiacutemovaacuteRuedaandHawkins(2017)wereabletorelatecoldordroughttolerancetoleaftraitsdispersaltraitsandtraitsrelatedtostemhydraulicsUsingplot-basedtreeinventoriesoftheUnitedStatesforestserviceZhangNiinemetsSheffieldandLichstein(2018)foundthatshiftsintreefunctionalcompositionamplifytheresponseoffor-estbiomasstodroughtsBasedongt15000plotsfromawidenum-berofhabitattypesinDenmarkMoeslundetal(2017)showedthattypicalplantspeciesthatarepartofthesite-specificspeciespoolbutareabsentinacommunitytendtodependonmycorrhizaaremostlyadaptedtolowlightandlownutrientlevelshavepoordispersalabili-tiesandareruderalsandstress-intolerantBycollatinggt40000vege-tationplotssampledinEuropeanbeechforestsJimeacutenez-Alfaroetal(2018)foundthatcurrentlocalcommunitydiversityandspeciespoolsizescalculatedatdifferentscalesweremainlyexplainedbyproximitytoglacialrefugiaandcurrentprecipitation
Although large collections of vegetation-plot data are nowavailable from national to continental levels (eg Chytryacute etal2016EnquistConditPeetSchildhauerampThiers2016PeetLeeJennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012 Schamineacutee HennekensChytryacuteampRodwell2009Schmidtetal2012)theyarerarelyused
inglobal-scalebiodiversityresearch(FranklinSerra-DiazSyphardampRegan2017Wiser2016)This isunfortunatebecausevegetation-plotdatamayrevealimportantpatternsthatcannotbecapturedbygrid-based datasets (Table1) Functional composition patterns forinstancemay differ substantiallywhen considering vegetation-plotdataratherthansinglespeciesoccurrencesaggregatedatthelevelofcoarse-graingridcellsUsingplantheightasanillustrationrevealsthatthetraitmeanscalculatedonallthespeciesoccurringinagridcellmaydiffer strongly from the community-weightedmeans (CWMs) aver-agedacrosslocalcommunities(Figure1)Neverthelessonlythegrid-basedapproachhasbeenusedtodate instudiesofthegeographicdistributionof trait values (eg Swensonetal20122017Wrightetal2017)
HerewepresentsPlotaglobaldatabaseforcompilingandin-tegratingplantcommunitydataWedescribe(a)mainstepsininte-gratingvegetation-plotdatainarepositorythatprovidestaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticinformationonco-occurringplantspe-ciesandlinksittoglobalenvironmentaldrivers(b)principalsourcesandpropertiesofthedataandtheprocedurefordatausageand(c)expectedimpactsofthedatabaseinfutureecologicalresearchToil-lustratethepotentialofsPlotwealsoshowglobaldiversitypatternsthat can be readily derived from the current content
2emsp |emspCOMPILATION OF THE SPLOT DATABA SE
21emsp|emspVegetation- plot data
The sPlot consortium currently collates 110 vegetation-plot data-basesofregionalnationalorcontinentalextentSomeofthedata-baseshavepreviouslybeenaggregatedbyandcontributedthrough
TABLE 1emspTypesofinformationprovidedbysinglevegetationplotsvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells(orothergeographicunits)andsinglespeciesoccurrencerecordsaggregatedwithingridcellsThethreelevelsareillustratedinFigure1
Information fromhellip Singlevegetationplots Setofvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells
Grid-celldatafromfloristicinventories
To derive information on the hellip
Plot level Gridcelllevel Gridcelllevel
Typeofoccurrence Co-occurrenceoccurrencebyvegetationtype
Occurrencebyvegetationtype Occurrence
Communityassemblyrules
Yes(co-occurrenceisaprerequisiteforspeciesinteractions)
No No
Absences Yes(forthetargetplantgroupinastudy)
No(exceptforintensivesamplingschemes) Dependingonsamplingintensity
Floristiccomposition hellip of the local community hellipofthespeciespoolsofvegetationtypes hellipofthetotalsetofspecies
Diversity α γ γ
Speciesabundance Localcover-abundance Meancover-abundanceandfrequencybyvegetationtype
Occurrence only
Combinationwithtraits
Functionalcompositionofthelocalcommunity(traitsunweightedorweightedbycoverCWMCWV)
Functionalcompositionofthespeciespool(unweightedorweighted)
Functionalcompositionofthetotalsetofspecies(unweightedonly)
Environmentalfiltering
hellip at the local level hellipattheregionallevel hellipattheregionallevel
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two (sub-)continental database initiatives (Table2 and AppendixS1)AlldatafromEuropeandnearbyregionswerecontributedviatheEuropeanVegetationArchive(EVA)usingtheSynBioSystaxondatabase as a standard taxonomic backbone (Chytryacute etal 2016)ThreeAfricandatabaseswerecontributedvia theTropicalAfricanVegetationArchive(TAVA)InadditionmultipleUSdatabaseswerecontributedthroughtheVegBankarchivemaintainedinsupportoftheUSNationalVegetationClassification(PeetLeeBoyleetal2012 Peet Lee Jennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012) The datafromotherregions(SouthAmericaAsia)werecontributedassepa-rate databases
Westoredthevegetation-plotdatafromtheindividualdatabasesinthedatabasesoftwareTURBOVEGv2(HennekensampSchamineacutee2001)Ourgeneralprocedurewastopreservetheoriginalstructureandcontentofthedatabasesasmuchaspossibleinordertofacil-itateregularupdatesthroughautomatedworkflowsTheindividualdatabaseswerethenintegratedintoasingleSQLitedatabaseusingTURBOVEGv3(SMHennekensALTERRATheNetherlandswwwsynbiosysalterranlturboveg3helpenindexhtml)TURBOVEGv3combinesthespecieslistsfromtheoriginaldatabasesinasinglere-positoryand linkstheplotattributes (so-calledheaderdata) to58descriptors of vegetation-plots (Table S21 in Appendix S2) ThemetadataofthedatabasescollatedinsPlotweremanagedthroughtheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(GIVDDengleretal2011)usingtheGIVDIDastheidentifierThecurrentsPlotversion21wascreatedinOctober2016andcontains1121244vegetationplotswith23586216plantspeciestimesplotobservations(ierecordsofaspeciesinaplot)Mostrecords(1073737958)haveinfor-mationoncover29288onpresenceabsence5854onbasalarea4883onnumberofstems(ofteninadditiontobasalarea)148onimportancevalue(acombinationofbasalareaandnumberofstems)3265oncountsofindividuals1895onpercentagefrequencyandfurther2174haveamixofthesedifferenttypesofmetrics
22emsp|emspTaxonomic standardization
TocombinethespecieslistsofthedifferentdatabasesinsPlotweconstructedataxonomicbackboneTolinkco-occurrenceinforma-tion insPlotwithplant traitsweexpandedthisbackboneto inte-grateplantnamesusedintheTRYdatabase(Kattgeetal2011)Thetaxon names (without nomenclatural authors) from sPlot 21 andTRY30werefirstconcatenatedintoonelistresulting in121861names of which 61588 (505) were unique to sPlot 35429(291)uniquetoTRYand24844(204)sharedbetweenTRYandsPlotTaxonnameswereparsedandresolvedusingtheTaxonomicNameResolutionServicewebapplication(TNRSversion40Boyleetal2013iPlantCollaborative2015)usingthefiveTNRSstand-ardsourcesrankedbydefaultWeallowedfor (a)partialmatchingtothenexthigherrank(genusorfamily)ifthefulltaxonnamecouldnotbefoundand(b)fullfuzzymatchingtoreturnnamesthatwerematchedwithin amaximumnumberof four single-character edits(Levenshteineditdistanceof4)whichcorrespondstotheminimummatchaccuracyof005inTNRSwith1indicatingaperfectmatch
Weacceptedall names thatwerematchedor converted fromsynonymswithanoverallmatchscoreof1Incaseswithnoexactmatch(ietheoverallmatchscorewaslt1)nameswereinspectedonan individualbasisAllnamesthatmatchedat taxonomicranksator lowerthanspecies (egsubspeciesvarieties)wereacceptedascorrectnamesThenamematchingprocedurewasrepeatedforthe uncertain names (ie with match accuracy scores below thethresholdvaluefromthefirstmatchingrun)withapreferenceonfirstusingthesourcelsquoTropicosrsquo(MissouriBotanicalGardenhttpwwwtropicosorgaccessed19Dec2014)becauseherematchingscoreswereoftenhigherfornamesoflowtaxonomicrankThere-maining9641non-matchednameswereresolvedusing(a)theaddi-tionalsourcelsquoNCBIrsquo(Federhen2010)withinTNRS(b)thematchingtoolsinthePlantListwebapplication(ThePlantList2013)(c)thelsquotplrsquo-functionwithin theR-package lsquoTaxonstandrsquo (Cayuela SteinampOksanen2017)and(d)manualinspection(ietoresolvevernacularnames)AllsubspecieswereaggregatedtothespecieslevelNamesthatcouldnotbematchedwereclassifiedas lsquoNosuitablematchesfoundrsquoBecausesPlotandTRYcontaintaxaofnon-vascularplantswetaggedvascularplantnamesbasedontheir familyandphylumaffiliationusingthelsquorgbifrsquo libraryinR(Chamberlain2017)OfthefulllistofplantnamesinsPlotandTRY79171(946)plantnameswerematchedatthespecieslevel4343(52)atthegenuslevel152(02)atthefamilyleveland13namesathighertaxonomiclev-elsOverallthisledto58066acceptedtaxonnamesinsPlotFamilyaffiliationwasclassifiedaccordingtoAPGIII(APGIII2009)Ade-taileddescriptionoftheworkflow includingR-code isavailable inPurschke(2017a)
One potential shortcoming of our taxonomic backbone is thatformostregionsitwasnecessarytostandardizetaxausingstandardsetsoftaxonomicsynonymsThusifataxonomicnamerepresentsmultiple taxonomicconceptseg suchascreatedby thesplittingandlumpingoftaxaoranamehasbeenmisappliedinaregionwemusttrustthatthisproblemhasbeenaddressedinourcomponentdatabases(FranzPeetampWeakley2004JansenampDengler2010)Howeverdifferentcomponentdatabasesmayhaveapplieddiffer-enttaxonomicconceptsforsplittingandlumpingtaxa
23emsp|emspPhysiognomic information
Toachieveaclassificationintoforestsversusnon-foreststhatisap-plicable to all plots irrespectiveof the structural andhabitat dataprovidedby the sourcedatabasewedefinedas forestallplot re-cordsthathadgt25absolutecoverofthetreelayermakinguseofthe attribute data of sPlot This threshold is similar to the classifica-tionofEllenbergandMuumlller-Dombois(1967)whodefinedwoodlandformationswithtreescoveringmorethan30Therewere16244tree species in the sPlotdatabaseAs tree layer coverwasavaila-ble foronly25ofallplotsweadditionallyused the informationwhether the taxa present in a plotwere trees (usually defined asbeingtallerthan5m)usingtheplantgrowthforminformationfromTRY (see below) Thus plots lacking tree cover information weredefinedas forests if thesumof relativecoverofall tree taxawas
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TABLE 2emsp Plot datasets included in sPlot 21
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
[Aggregator] European Vegetation Archive (EVA)
950001 Milan Chytryacute Ilona Knollovaacute Chytryacute et al (2016)
00-00-004 VegetationDatabaseofEurasianTundra
1132 RistoVirtanen
00-RU-001 VegetationDatabaseForestofSouthernUral
1102 VassiliyMartynenko
00-RU-003 DatabaseMeadowsandSteppesofSouthernUral
2354 SergeyYamalov MariyaLebedeva
00-TR-001 ForestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey-FVDT
919 AliKavgacı
00-TR-002 Non-forestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey
3018 DenizIşıkGuumlrsoy DidemAmbarlı
AS-TR-002 VegetationDatabaseofOakCommunitiesinTurkey
1181 EminUğurlu
EU-00-002 Nordic-BalticGrasslandVegetationDatabase(NBGVD)
7675 JuumlrgenDengler ŁukaszKozub DenglerandRūsiņa(2012)
EU-00-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseoftheUniversityoftheBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)
18441 Idoia Biurrun ItziarGarciacutea-Mijangos BiurrunGarciacutea-MijangosCamposHerreraandLoidi(2012)
EU-00-013 BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabase 7683 KirilVassilev ArminMacanović VassilevDajičĆušterevskaBergmeierandApostolova(2012)
EU-00-016 MediterraneanAmmophileteaDatabase
7359 CorradoMarcenograve BorjaJimeacutenez-Alfaro MarcenograveandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2017)
EU-00-017 EuropeanCoastalVegetationDatabase
4624 JohnJanssen
EU-00-018 TheNordicVegetationDatabase 5477 JonathanLenoir Jens-ChristianSvenning
Lenoiretal(2013)
EU-00-019 BalkanVegetationDatabase 9118 KirilVassilev HristoPedashenko Vassilevetal(2016)
EU-00-020 WetVegEurope 14111 FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2015)
EU-00-022 EuropeanMireVegetationDatabase
10147 TomaacutešPeterka MartinJiroušek PeterkaJiroušekHaacutejekandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2015)
EU-AL-001 VegetationDatabaseofAlbania 290 MicheleDeSanctis GiulianoFanelli DeSanctisFanelliMullajandAttorre(2017)
EU-AT-001 AustrianVegetationDatabase 34458 WolfgangWillner ChristianBerg WillnerBergandHeiselmayer(2012)
EU-BE-002 INBOVEG 25665 ElsDeBie
EU-BG-001 BulgarianVegetationDatabase 5254 IvaApostolova DesislavaSopotlieva ApostolovaSopotlievaPedashenkoVelevandVasilev(2012)
EU-CH-005 SwissForestVegetationDatabase
14193 ThomasWohlgemuth Wohlgemuth(2012)
EU-CZ-001 CzechNationalPhytosociologicalDatabase
104697 MilanChytryacute DanaHolubovaacute ChytryacuteandRafajovaacute(2003)
(Continues)
170emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-DE-001 VegMV 53822 FlorianJansen ChristianBerg JansenDenglerandBerg(2012)
EU-DE-013 VegetWebGermany 23078 JoumlrgEwald EwaldMayandKleikamp(2012)
EU-DE-014 GermanVegetationReferenceDatabase(GVRD)
30840 UteJandt HelgeBruelheide JandtandBruelheide(2012)
EU-DK-002 NationalVegetationDatabaseofDenmark
24264 JesperErenskjoldMoeslund
RasmusEjrnaeligs
EU-ES-001 IberianandMacaronesianVegetationInformationSystem(SIVIM)Wetlands
6560 AaronPeacuterez-Haase XavierFont
EU-FR-003 SOPHY 209864 HenryBrisse Patrice de Ruffray BrissedeRuffrayGrandjouanandHoff(1995)
EU-GB-001 UKNationalVegetationClassificationDatabase
28533 JohnSRodwell
EU-GR-001 KRITI 292 ErwinBergmeier
EU-GR-005 HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase(HelNatVeg)
5168 PanayotisDimopoulos IoannisTsiripidis DimopoulosandTsiripidis(2012)
EU-GR-006 HellenicWoodlandDatabase 3199 GeorgiosFotiadis IoannisTsiripidis FotiadisTsiripidisBergmeierandDimopoulos(2012)
EU-HR-001 PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatia
5057 ZvjezdanaStančić Stančić(2012)
EU-HR-002 CroatianVegetationDatabase 8734 ŽeljkoŠkvorc DanielKrstonošić
EU-HU-003 CoenoDatHungarianPhytosociologicalDatabase
8505 JaacutenosCsiky ZoltaacutenBotta-Dukaacutet Laacutejeretal(2008)
EU-IT-001 VegItaly 15332 RobertoVenanzoni FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2012)
EU-IT-010 ItalianNationalVegetationDatabase(BVNISPRA)
3562 LauraCasella PierangelaAngelini CasellaBiancoAngeliniandMorroni(2012)
EU-IT-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseSapienzaUniversityofRome(VPD-Sapienza)
12780 EmilianoAgrillo FabioAttorre Agrilloetal(2017)
EU-LT-001 LithuanianVegetationDatabase 7821 ValerijusRašomavičius DomasUogintas
EU-LV-001 Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatvia
5594 SolvitaRūsiņa Rūsiņa(2012)
EU-MK-001 VegetationDatabaseoftheRepublicofMacedonia
1417 RenataĆušterevska
EU-NL-001 DutchNationalVegetationDatabase
102327 JoopHJSchamineacutee StephanMHennekens
Schamineacuteeetal(2006)
EU-PL-001 PolishVegetationDatabase 22229 ZygmuntKącki GrzegorzSwacha KąckiandŚliwiński(2012)
EU-RO-007 RomanianForestDatabase 6017 AdrianIndreica Pavel Dan Turtureanu IndreicaTurtureanuSzaboacuteandIrimia(2017)
EU-RO-008 RomanianGrasslandDatabase 1921 EszterRuprecht KirilVassilev Vassilevetal(2018)
EU-RS-002 VegetationDatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia
5587 SvetlanaAćić ZoraDajićStevanović AćićPetrovićŠilcandDajićStevanović(2012)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
174emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
emspensp emsp | emsp177Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
178emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
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AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
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CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
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Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
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Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
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Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
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Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
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KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
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traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
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KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
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Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
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LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
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Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
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Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
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PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
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QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
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Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
emspensp emsp | emsp165Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
121ABorzaBotanicalGardenBabeș-BolyaiUniversityCluj-NapocaRomania122ForestEngineeringDepartmentFacultyofForestryBursaTechnicalUniversityYıldırımBursaTurkey123DepartmentofGeographyUniversityofErlangen-NurembergErlangenGermany124KhmelnytskyiInstituteofInterregionalAcademyofPersonnelManagementKhmelnytskyiUkraine125DepartmentofChemistryBiologyandBiotechnologyUniversityofPerugiaPerugiaItaly126DepartamentodeEngenhariaFlorestalUniversidadeRegionaldeBlumenauBlumenauBrazil127CentredEcologieFonctionnelleetEvolutive(UMR5175)CNRSndashUniversiteacutedeMontpellierndashUniversiteacutePaul-ValeacuteryMontpellierndashEPHEMontpellierFrance128EcologyandGeneticsResearchUnitBiodiversityUnitUniversityofOuluOuluFinland129DepartmentofPhysiologicalDiversityHelmholtzCenterforEnvironmentalResearchndashUFZLeipzigGermany130InstituteofEcologyLeuphanaUniversityLuumlneburgGermany131DepartmentofBiologicalSciencesUniversityofAlbertaEdmontonCanada132InstituteofArcticBiologyUniversityofAlaskaFairbanksAlaska133DepartmentofGeographyampEnvironmentalStudiesAddisAbabaUniversityAddisAbabaEthiopia134DepartmentofBiologyUniversityofWisconsinndashEauClaireEauClaireWisconsin135BotanyDepartmentSenckenbergMuseumofNaturalHistoryGoumlrlitzGoumlrlitzGermany136InternationalInstituteZittauTechnicalUniversityDresdenZittauGermany137DepartmentofEcologyandEvolutionaryBiologyBrownUniversityHerbariumBrownUniversityProvidenceRhodeIsland138ViennaInstituteforNatureConservationampAnalysesViennaAustria139ResearchUnitForestDynamicsSwissFederalInstituteforForestSnowandLandscapeResearchWSLBirmensdorfSwitzerland140LaboratoryofWild-GrowingFloraBotanicalGarden-InstituteUfaScientificCentreRussianAcademyofSciencesUfaRussianFederation141DepartmentofBotanyTomskStateUniversityTomskRussianFederation
CorrespondenceHelgeBruelheideInstituteofBiologyGeobotanyandBotanicalGardenMartinLutherUniversityHalle-WittenbergHalleGermanyEmailhelgebruelheidebotanikuni-hallede
Co-ordinatingEditorAlessandroChiarucci
AbstractAims Vegetation-plot records provide information on the presence and cover orabundanceofplantsco-occurringinthesamecommunityVegetation-plotdataarespread across research groups environmental agencies and biodiversity researchcentersandthusarerarelyaccessibleatcontinentalorglobalscalesHerewepre-sentthesPlotdatabasewhichcollatesvegetationplotsworldwidetoallowfortheexplorationofglobalpatternsintaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticdiversityattheplantcommunitylevelResults sPlotversion21containsrecordsfrom1121244vegetationplotswhichcomprise23586216recordsofplantspeciesandtheirrelativecoverorabundanceinplotscollectedworldwidebetween1885and2015Wecomplementedtheinfor-mationforeachplotbyretrievingclimateandsoilconditionsandthebiogeographiccontext(egbiomes)fromexternalsourcesandbycalculatingcommunity-weightedmeansandvariancesoftraitsusinggap-filleddatafromtheglobalplanttraitdata-baseTRYMoreoverwecreatedaphylogenetic treefor50167outof the54519speciesidentifiedintheplotsWepresentthefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcom-munityrichnessandcommunity-weightedmeansofkeytraitsConclusions TheavailabilityofvegetationplotdatainsPlotoffersnewavenuesforvegetationanalysisattheglobalscale
K E Y W O R D S
biodiversitycommunityecologyecoinformaticsfunctionaldiversityglobalscalemacroecologyphylogeneticdiversityplotdatabasesPlottaxonomicdiversityvascularplantvegetationreleveacute
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1emsp |emspINTRODUCTION
Studyingglobalbiodiversitypatternsisatthecoreofmacroecologi-calresearch(CostelloWilsonampHoulding2012KreftampJetz2007Wiens2011)sincetheirexplorationmayprovideinsightsintotheecological and evolutionary processes acting at different spatio-temporalscales(Ricklefs2004)Theopportunitiesengenderedbythecompilationoflargecollectionsofbiodiversitydataintowidelyaccessibleglobal(GBIFwwwgbiforg)orcontinentaldatabases(egBIENwwwbiennceasucsbedubien)have recentlyadvancedourunderstandingofglobalbiodiversitypatternsespecially forverte-brates but also for vascular plants (Butler etal 2017 Engemannetal2016Lamannaetal2014Swensonetal2012)Althoughthisdevelopmenthasledtotheformulationofseveralmacroecolog-icaltheories(Currieetal2004PaumlrtelBennettampZobel2016)amoremechanisticunderstandingofhowassemblyprocessesshapeecological communities and consequently global biodiversity pat-terns is stillmissing (LessardBelmakerMyersChaseampRahbek2012)
Understanding the linksbetweenbiodiversitypatternsandas-semblyprocessesrequiresfine-graindataontheco-occurrenceofspecies in ecological communities sampled across continental orglobalspatialextents (Becketal2012Wiszetal2013)Forex-amplesuchco-occurrencedatahavebeenusedtocomparechangesin vegetation compositionover time spansofdecades (Jandt vonWehrdenampBruelheide2011Perringetal2018)Unfortunatelyup tonow informationonfine-grainvegetationdatahasnotbeenreadily available asmost of the continental to global biodiversity
datasets have been derived from occurrence data (ie presence-only data) and after being aggregated spatially have a relativelycoarse-grain scale (egone-degreegridcells)without informationonspeciesco-occurrenceatthemeaningfulscaleoflocalcommuni-ties(Boakesetal2010)Incontrastvegetation-plotdatarecordthecoverorabundanceofeachplantspeciesthatoccursinaplotofagivensizeatthedateofthesurveyrepresentingthemainreservoirofplantcommunitydataworldwide(Dengleretal2011)
Vegetation-plotdatadifferinfundamentalwaysfromdatabasesofoccurrencerecordsof individualspeciesaggregatedatthelevelofgridcellsorregionsofhundredsorthousandsofsquarekilome-ters(Figure1)Firstvegetationplotsusuallyprovideinformationontherelativecoverorrelativeabundanceofspeciesallowingforthetestingofcentraltheoriesofbiogeographysuchastheabundancendashrangesizerelationship(GastonampCurnutt1998)ortherelationshipbetween local abundanceandnichebreadth (Gastonetal2000)Secondtheycontaininformationonwhichplantspeciesco-occurinthesamelocality(Chytryacuteetal2016)whichisanecessaryprecon-dition fordirectbiotic interactions amongplant individualsThirdunrecorded species canbe considered truly absent from the abo-vegroundvegetationat this scalebecause thestandardizedmeth-odologyoftakingavegetationrecordrequiresasystematicsearchforallspeciesinaplotoratleastallspeciesofthedominantfunc-tional group Fourth many plots are spatially explicit and can beresurveyed through time to assess possible consequences of landuseandclimatechange(Perringetal2018Steinbaueretal2018)Fifthvegetationplotsrepresentasnapshotoftheprimaryproduc-ersof a terrestrial ecosystemwhich canbe functionally linked to
F IGURE 1emspConceptualfigurevisualizinghowfunctionalcomposition(inthiscaseplantheight)differsbetweencalculations based on mean traits for gridcellsandcommunitydatasampledinvegetationplotsOccurrencedata(egfromdistributionatlasesGBIFetc)canbe used to calculate mean trait values in gridcellsG1ndashG3Howevercommunityweightedmeans(CWMs)oftraitsdifferacrosslocalplots(P1ndashP6)whilethemeanvaluesofCWMsinthegridcellsdifferfromtheunweightedvaluescalculatedinthegridcellsThisexampleissimplifiedbyshowingfewspeciesandfewplotsInrealitydifferencesaregenerallymorepronounced
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organismsfromdifferenttrophicgroupssampledinthesameplots(egmultiple-taxasurveys)andrelatedprocessesandservicesbothbelow(egdecompositionnutrientcycling)andaboveground(egherbivorypollination)(egSchuldtetal2018)
Recently several projects at the regional to continental scalehavedemonstratedthepotentialofusingvegetation-plotdatabasesforexploringbiodiversitypatternsandtheunderlyingassemblypro-cessesUsingvegetationdataofFrenchgrasslandsBorgyetal(2017)demonstratedthatweightingleaftraitsbyspeciesabundanceinlocalcommunitiesispivotaltocaptureleaftraitndashenvironmentrelationshipsAnalyzingUnitedStatesforestassemblagessurveyedatthecommu-nitylevelŠiacutemovaacuteRuedaandHawkins(2017)wereabletorelatecoldordroughttolerancetoleaftraitsdispersaltraitsandtraitsrelatedtostemhydraulicsUsingplot-basedtreeinventoriesoftheUnitedStatesforestserviceZhangNiinemetsSheffieldandLichstein(2018)foundthatshiftsintreefunctionalcompositionamplifytheresponseoffor-estbiomasstodroughtsBasedongt15000plotsfromawidenum-berofhabitattypesinDenmarkMoeslundetal(2017)showedthattypicalplantspeciesthatarepartofthesite-specificspeciespoolbutareabsentinacommunitytendtodependonmycorrhizaaremostlyadaptedtolowlightandlownutrientlevelshavepoordispersalabili-tiesandareruderalsandstress-intolerantBycollatinggt40000vege-tationplotssampledinEuropeanbeechforestsJimeacutenez-Alfaroetal(2018)foundthatcurrentlocalcommunitydiversityandspeciespoolsizescalculatedatdifferentscalesweremainlyexplainedbyproximitytoglacialrefugiaandcurrentprecipitation
Although large collections of vegetation-plot data are nowavailable from national to continental levels (eg Chytryacute etal2016EnquistConditPeetSchildhauerampThiers2016PeetLeeJennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012 Schamineacutee HennekensChytryacuteampRodwell2009Schmidtetal2012)theyarerarelyused
inglobal-scalebiodiversityresearch(FranklinSerra-DiazSyphardampRegan2017Wiser2016)This isunfortunatebecausevegetation-plotdatamayrevealimportantpatternsthatcannotbecapturedbygrid-based datasets (Table1) Functional composition patterns forinstancemay differ substantiallywhen considering vegetation-plotdataratherthansinglespeciesoccurrencesaggregatedatthelevelofcoarse-graingridcellsUsingplantheightasanillustrationrevealsthatthetraitmeanscalculatedonallthespeciesoccurringinagridcellmaydiffer strongly from the community-weightedmeans (CWMs) aver-agedacrosslocalcommunities(Figure1)Neverthelessonlythegrid-basedapproachhasbeenusedtodate instudiesofthegeographicdistributionof trait values (eg Swensonetal20122017Wrightetal2017)
HerewepresentsPlotaglobaldatabaseforcompilingandin-tegratingplantcommunitydataWedescribe(a)mainstepsininte-gratingvegetation-plotdatainarepositorythatprovidestaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticinformationonco-occurringplantspe-ciesandlinksittoglobalenvironmentaldrivers(b)principalsourcesandpropertiesofthedataandtheprocedurefordatausageand(c)expectedimpactsofthedatabaseinfutureecologicalresearchToil-lustratethepotentialofsPlotwealsoshowglobaldiversitypatternsthat can be readily derived from the current content
2emsp |emspCOMPILATION OF THE SPLOT DATABA SE
21emsp|emspVegetation- plot data
The sPlot consortium currently collates 110 vegetation-plot data-basesofregionalnationalorcontinentalextentSomeofthedata-baseshavepreviouslybeenaggregatedbyandcontributedthrough
TABLE 1emspTypesofinformationprovidedbysinglevegetationplotsvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells(orothergeographicunits)andsinglespeciesoccurrencerecordsaggregatedwithingridcellsThethreelevelsareillustratedinFigure1
Information fromhellip Singlevegetationplots Setofvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells
Grid-celldatafromfloristicinventories
To derive information on the hellip
Plot level Gridcelllevel Gridcelllevel
Typeofoccurrence Co-occurrenceoccurrencebyvegetationtype
Occurrencebyvegetationtype Occurrence
Communityassemblyrules
Yes(co-occurrenceisaprerequisiteforspeciesinteractions)
No No
Absences Yes(forthetargetplantgroupinastudy)
No(exceptforintensivesamplingschemes) Dependingonsamplingintensity
Floristiccomposition hellip of the local community hellipofthespeciespoolsofvegetationtypes hellipofthetotalsetofspecies
Diversity α γ γ
Speciesabundance Localcover-abundance Meancover-abundanceandfrequencybyvegetationtype
Occurrence only
Combinationwithtraits
Functionalcompositionofthelocalcommunity(traitsunweightedorweightedbycoverCWMCWV)
Functionalcompositionofthespeciespool(unweightedorweighted)
Functionalcompositionofthetotalsetofspecies(unweightedonly)
Environmentalfiltering
hellip at the local level hellipattheregionallevel hellipattheregionallevel
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two (sub-)continental database initiatives (Table2 and AppendixS1)AlldatafromEuropeandnearbyregionswerecontributedviatheEuropeanVegetationArchive(EVA)usingtheSynBioSystaxondatabase as a standard taxonomic backbone (Chytryacute etal 2016)ThreeAfricandatabaseswerecontributedvia theTropicalAfricanVegetationArchive(TAVA)InadditionmultipleUSdatabaseswerecontributedthroughtheVegBankarchivemaintainedinsupportoftheUSNationalVegetationClassification(PeetLeeBoyleetal2012 Peet Lee Jennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012) The datafromotherregions(SouthAmericaAsia)werecontributedassepa-rate databases
Westoredthevegetation-plotdatafromtheindividualdatabasesinthedatabasesoftwareTURBOVEGv2(HennekensampSchamineacutee2001)Ourgeneralprocedurewastopreservetheoriginalstructureandcontentofthedatabasesasmuchaspossibleinordertofacil-itateregularupdatesthroughautomatedworkflowsTheindividualdatabaseswerethenintegratedintoasingleSQLitedatabaseusingTURBOVEGv3(SMHennekensALTERRATheNetherlandswwwsynbiosysalterranlturboveg3helpenindexhtml)TURBOVEGv3combinesthespecieslistsfromtheoriginaldatabasesinasinglere-positoryand linkstheplotattributes (so-calledheaderdata) to58descriptors of vegetation-plots (Table S21 in Appendix S2) ThemetadataofthedatabasescollatedinsPlotweremanagedthroughtheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(GIVDDengleretal2011)usingtheGIVDIDastheidentifierThecurrentsPlotversion21wascreatedinOctober2016andcontains1121244vegetationplotswith23586216plantspeciestimesplotobservations(ierecordsofaspeciesinaplot)Mostrecords(1073737958)haveinfor-mationoncover29288onpresenceabsence5854onbasalarea4883onnumberofstems(ofteninadditiontobasalarea)148onimportancevalue(acombinationofbasalareaandnumberofstems)3265oncountsofindividuals1895onpercentagefrequencyandfurther2174haveamixofthesedifferenttypesofmetrics
22emsp|emspTaxonomic standardization
TocombinethespecieslistsofthedifferentdatabasesinsPlotweconstructedataxonomicbackboneTolinkco-occurrenceinforma-tion insPlotwithplant traitsweexpandedthisbackboneto inte-grateplantnamesusedintheTRYdatabase(Kattgeetal2011)Thetaxon names (without nomenclatural authors) from sPlot 21 andTRY30werefirstconcatenatedintoonelistresulting in121861names of which 61588 (505) were unique to sPlot 35429(291)uniquetoTRYand24844(204)sharedbetweenTRYandsPlotTaxonnameswereparsedandresolvedusingtheTaxonomicNameResolutionServicewebapplication(TNRSversion40Boyleetal2013iPlantCollaborative2015)usingthefiveTNRSstand-ardsourcesrankedbydefaultWeallowedfor (a)partialmatchingtothenexthigherrank(genusorfamily)ifthefulltaxonnamecouldnotbefoundand(b)fullfuzzymatchingtoreturnnamesthatwerematchedwithin amaximumnumberof four single-character edits(Levenshteineditdistanceof4)whichcorrespondstotheminimummatchaccuracyof005inTNRSwith1indicatingaperfectmatch
Weacceptedall names thatwerematchedor converted fromsynonymswithanoverallmatchscoreof1Incaseswithnoexactmatch(ietheoverallmatchscorewaslt1)nameswereinspectedonan individualbasisAllnamesthatmatchedat taxonomicranksator lowerthanspecies (egsubspeciesvarieties)wereacceptedascorrectnamesThenamematchingprocedurewasrepeatedforthe uncertain names (ie with match accuracy scores below thethresholdvaluefromthefirstmatchingrun)withapreferenceonfirstusingthesourcelsquoTropicosrsquo(MissouriBotanicalGardenhttpwwwtropicosorgaccessed19Dec2014)becauseherematchingscoreswereoftenhigherfornamesoflowtaxonomicrankThere-maining9641non-matchednameswereresolvedusing(a)theaddi-tionalsourcelsquoNCBIrsquo(Federhen2010)withinTNRS(b)thematchingtoolsinthePlantListwebapplication(ThePlantList2013)(c)thelsquotplrsquo-functionwithin theR-package lsquoTaxonstandrsquo (Cayuela SteinampOksanen2017)and(d)manualinspection(ietoresolvevernacularnames)AllsubspecieswereaggregatedtothespecieslevelNamesthatcouldnotbematchedwereclassifiedas lsquoNosuitablematchesfoundrsquoBecausesPlotandTRYcontaintaxaofnon-vascularplantswetaggedvascularplantnamesbasedontheir familyandphylumaffiliationusingthelsquorgbifrsquo libraryinR(Chamberlain2017)OfthefulllistofplantnamesinsPlotandTRY79171(946)plantnameswerematchedatthespecieslevel4343(52)atthegenuslevel152(02)atthefamilyleveland13namesathighertaxonomiclev-elsOverallthisledto58066acceptedtaxonnamesinsPlotFamilyaffiliationwasclassifiedaccordingtoAPGIII(APGIII2009)Ade-taileddescriptionoftheworkflow includingR-code isavailable inPurschke(2017a)
One potential shortcoming of our taxonomic backbone is thatformostregionsitwasnecessarytostandardizetaxausingstandardsetsoftaxonomicsynonymsThusifataxonomicnamerepresentsmultiple taxonomicconceptseg suchascreatedby thesplittingandlumpingoftaxaoranamehasbeenmisappliedinaregionwemusttrustthatthisproblemhasbeenaddressedinourcomponentdatabases(FranzPeetampWeakley2004JansenampDengler2010)Howeverdifferentcomponentdatabasesmayhaveapplieddiffer-enttaxonomicconceptsforsplittingandlumpingtaxa
23emsp|emspPhysiognomic information
Toachieveaclassificationintoforestsversusnon-foreststhatisap-plicable to all plots irrespectiveof the structural andhabitat dataprovidedby the sourcedatabasewedefinedas forestallplot re-cordsthathadgt25absolutecoverofthetreelayermakinguseofthe attribute data of sPlot This threshold is similar to the classifica-tionofEllenbergandMuumlller-Dombois(1967)whodefinedwoodlandformationswithtreescoveringmorethan30Therewere16244tree species in the sPlotdatabaseAs tree layer coverwasavaila-ble foronly25ofallplotsweadditionallyused the informationwhether the taxa present in a plotwere trees (usually defined asbeingtallerthan5m)usingtheplantgrowthforminformationfromTRY (see below) Thus plots lacking tree cover information weredefinedas forests if thesumof relativecoverofall tree taxawas
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TABLE 2emsp Plot datasets included in sPlot 21
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
[Aggregator] European Vegetation Archive (EVA)
950001 Milan Chytryacute Ilona Knollovaacute Chytryacute et al (2016)
00-00-004 VegetationDatabaseofEurasianTundra
1132 RistoVirtanen
00-RU-001 VegetationDatabaseForestofSouthernUral
1102 VassiliyMartynenko
00-RU-003 DatabaseMeadowsandSteppesofSouthernUral
2354 SergeyYamalov MariyaLebedeva
00-TR-001 ForestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey-FVDT
919 AliKavgacı
00-TR-002 Non-forestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey
3018 DenizIşıkGuumlrsoy DidemAmbarlı
AS-TR-002 VegetationDatabaseofOakCommunitiesinTurkey
1181 EminUğurlu
EU-00-002 Nordic-BalticGrasslandVegetationDatabase(NBGVD)
7675 JuumlrgenDengler ŁukaszKozub DenglerandRūsiņa(2012)
EU-00-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseoftheUniversityoftheBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)
18441 Idoia Biurrun ItziarGarciacutea-Mijangos BiurrunGarciacutea-MijangosCamposHerreraandLoidi(2012)
EU-00-013 BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabase 7683 KirilVassilev ArminMacanović VassilevDajičĆušterevskaBergmeierandApostolova(2012)
EU-00-016 MediterraneanAmmophileteaDatabase
7359 CorradoMarcenograve BorjaJimeacutenez-Alfaro MarcenograveandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2017)
EU-00-017 EuropeanCoastalVegetationDatabase
4624 JohnJanssen
EU-00-018 TheNordicVegetationDatabase 5477 JonathanLenoir Jens-ChristianSvenning
Lenoiretal(2013)
EU-00-019 BalkanVegetationDatabase 9118 KirilVassilev HristoPedashenko Vassilevetal(2016)
EU-00-020 WetVegEurope 14111 FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2015)
EU-00-022 EuropeanMireVegetationDatabase
10147 TomaacutešPeterka MartinJiroušek PeterkaJiroušekHaacutejekandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2015)
EU-AL-001 VegetationDatabaseofAlbania 290 MicheleDeSanctis GiulianoFanelli DeSanctisFanelliMullajandAttorre(2017)
EU-AT-001 AustrianVegetationDatabase 34458 WolfgangWillner ChristianBerg WillnerBergandHeiselmayer(2012)
EU-BE-002 INBOVEG 25665 ElsDeBie
EU-BG-001 BulgarianVegetationDatabase 5254 IvaApostolova DesislavaSopotlieva ApostolovaSopotlievaPedashenkoVelevandVasilev(2012)
EU-CH-005 SwissForestVegetationDatabase
14193 ThomasWohlgemuth Wohlgemuth(2012)
EU-CZ-001 CzechNationalPhytosociologicalDatabase
104697 MilanChytryacute DanaHolubovaacute ChytryacuteandRafajovaacute(2003)
(Continues)
170emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-DE-001 VegMV 53822 FlorianJansen ChristianBerg JansenDenglerandBerg(2012)
EU-DE-013 VegetWebGermany 23078 JoumlrgEwald EwaldMayandKleikamp(2012)
EU-DE-014 GermanVegetationReferenceDatabase(GVRD)
30840 UteJandt HelgeBruelheide JandtandBruelheide(2012)
EU-DK-002 NationalVegetationDatabaseofDenmark
24264 JesperErenskjoldMoeslund
RasmusEjrnaeligs
EU-ES-001 IberianandMacaronesianVegetationInformationSystem(SIVIM)Wetlands
6560 AaronPeacuterez-Haase XavierFont
EU-FR-003 SOPHY 209864 HenryBrisse Patrice de Ruffray BrissedeRuffrayGrandjouanandHoff(1995)
EU-GB-001 UKNationalVegetationClassificationDatabase
28533 JohnSRodwell
EU-GR-001 KRITI 292 ErwinBergmeier
EU-GR-005 HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase(HelNatVeg)
5168 PanayotisDimopoulos IoannisTsiripidis DimopoulosandTsiripidis(2012)
EU-GR-006 HellenicWoodlandDatabase 3199 GeorgiosFotiadis IoannisTsiripidis FotiadisTsiripidisBergmeierandDimopoulos(2012)
EU-HR-001 PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatia
5057 ZvjezdanaStančić Stančić(2012)
EU-HR-002 CroatianVegetationDatabase 8734 ŽeljkoŠkvorc DanielKrstonošić
EU-HU-003 CoenoDatHungarianPhytosociologicalDatabase
8505 JaacutenosCsiky ZoltaacutenBotta-Dukaacutet Laacutejeretal(2008)
EU-IT-001 VegItaly 15332 RobertoVenanzoni FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2012)
EU-IT-010 ItalianNationalVegetationDatabase(BVNISPRA)
3562 LauraCasella PierangelaAngelini CasellaBiancoAngeliniandMorroni(2012)
EU-IT-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseSapienzaUniversityofRome(VPD-Sapienza)
12780 EmilianoAgrillo FabioAttorre Agrilloetal(2017)
EU-LT-001 LithuanianVegetationDatabase 7821 ValerijusRašomavičius DomasUogintas
EU-LV-001 Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatvia
5594 SolvitaRūsiņa Rūsiņa(2012)
EU-MK-001 VegetationDatabaseoftheRepublicofMacedonia
1417 RenataĆušterevska
EU-NL-001 DutchNationalVegetationDatabase
102327 JoopHJSchamineacutee StephanMHennekens
Schamineacuteeetal(2006)
EU-PL-001 PolishVegetationDatabase 22229 ZygmuntKącki GrzegorzSwacha KąckiandŚliwiński(2012)
EU-RO-007 RomanianForestDatabase 6017 AdrianIndreica Pavel Dan Turtureanu IndreicaTurtureanuSzaboacuteandIrimia(2017)
EU-RO-008 RomanianGrasslandDatabase 1921 EszterRuprecht KirilVassilev Vassilevetal(2018)
EU-RS-002 VegetationDatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia
5587 SvetlanaAćić ZoraDajićStevanović AćićPetrovićŠilcandDajićStevanović(2012)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
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GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
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beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
166emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
1emsp |emspINTRODUCTION
Studyingglobalbiodiversitypatternsisatthecoreofmacroecologi-calresearch(CostelloWilsonampHoulding2012KreftampJetz2007Wiens2011)sincetheirexplorationmayprovideinsightsintotheecological and evolutionary processes acting at different spatio-temporalscales(Ricklefs2004)Theopportunitiesengenderedbythecompilationoflargecollectionsofbiodiversitydataintowidelyaccessibleglobal(GBIFwwwgbiforg)orcontinentaldatabases(egBIENwwwbiennceasucsbedubien)have recentlyadvancedourunderstandingofglobalbiodiversitypatternsespecially forverte-brates but also for vascular plants (Butler etal 2017 Engemannetal2016Lamannaetal2014Swensonetal2012)Althoughthisdevelopmenthasledtotheformulationofseveralmacroecolog-icaltheories(Currieetal2004PaumlrtelBennettampZobel2016)amoremechanisticunderstandingofhowassemblyprocessesshapeecological communities and consequently global biodiversity pat-terns is stillmissing (LessardBelmakerMyersChaseampRahbek2012)
Understanding the linksbetweenbiodiversitypatternsandas-semblyprocessesrequiresfine-graindataontheco-occurrenceofspecies in ecological communities sampled across continental orglobalspatialextents (Becketal2012Wiszetal2013)Forex-amplesuchco-occurrencedatahavebeenusedtocomparechangesin vegetation compositionover time spansofdecades (Jandt vonWehrdenampBruelheide2011Perringetal2018)Unfortunatelyup tonow informationonfine-grainvegetationdatahasnotbeenreadily available asmost of the continental to global biodiversity
datasets have been derived from occurrence data (ie presence-only data) and after being aggregated spatially have a relativelycoarse-grain scale (egone-degreegridcells)without informationonspeciesco-occurrenceatthemeaningfulscaleoflocalcommuni-ties(Boakesetal2010)Incontrastvegetation-plotdatarecordthecoverorabundanceofeachplantspeciesthatoccursinaplotofagivensizeatthedateofthesurveyrepresentingthemainreservoirofplantcommunitydataworldwide(Dengleretal2011)
Vegetation-plotdatadifferinfundamentalwaysfromdatabasesofoccurrencerecordsof individualspeciesaggregatedatthelevelofgridcellsorregionsofhundredsorthousandsofsquarekilome-ters(Figure1)Firstvegetationplotsusuallyprovideinformationontherelativecoverorrelativeabundanceofspeciesallowingforthetestingofcentraltheoriesofbiogeographysuchastheabundancendashrangesizerelationship(GastonampCurnutt1998)ortherelationshipbetween local abundanceandnichebreadth (Gastonetal2000)Secondtheycontaininformationonwhichplantspeciesco-occurinthesamelocality(Chytryacuteetal2016)whichisanecessaryprecon-dition fordirectbiotic interactions amongplant individualsThirdunrecorded species canbe considered truly absent from the abo-vegroundvegetationat this scalebecause thestandardizedmeth-odologyoftakingavegetationrecordrequiresasystematicsearchforallspeciesinaplotoratleastallspeciesofthedominantfunc-tional group Fourth many plots are spatially explicit and can beresurveyed through time to assess possible consequences of landuseandclimatechange(Perringetal2018Steinbaueretal2018)Fifthvegetationplotsrepresentasnapshotoftheprimaryproduc-ersof a terrestrial ecosystemwhich canbe functionally linked to
F IGURE 1emspConceptualfigurevisualizinghowfunctionalcomposition(inthiscaseplantheight)differsbetweencalculations based on mean traits for gridcellsandcommunitydatasampledinvegetationplotsOccurrencedata(egfromdistributionatlasesGBIFetc)canbe used to calculate mean trait values in gridcellsG1ndashG3Howevercommunityweightedmeans(CWMs)oftraitsdifferacrosslocalplots(P1ndashP6)whilethemeanvaluesofCWMsinthegridcellsdifferfromtheunweightedvaluescalculatedinthegridcellsThisexampleissimplifiedbyshowingfewspeciesandfewplotsInrealitydifferencesaregenerallymorepronounced
emspensp emsp | emsp167Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organismsfromdifferenttrophicgroupssampledinthesameplots(egmultiple-taxasurveys)andrelatedprocessesandservicesbothbelow(egdecompositionnutrientcycling)andaboveground(egherbivorypollination)(egSchuldtetal2018)
Recently several projects at the regional to continental scalehavedemonstratedthepotentialofusingvegetation-plotdatabasesforexploringbiodiversitypatternsandtheunderlyingassemblypro-cessesUsingvegetationdataofFrenchgrasslandsBorgyetal(2017)demonstratedthatweightingleaftraitsbyspeciesabundanceinlocalcommunitiesispivotaltocaptureleaftraitndashenvironmentrelationshipsAnalyzingUnitedStatesforestassemblagessurveyedatthecommu-nitylevelŠiacutemovaacuteRuedaandHawkins(2017)wereabletorelatecoldordroughttolerancetoleaftraitsdispersaltraitsandtraitsrelatedtostemhydraulicsUsingplot-basedtreeinventoriesoftheUnitedStatesforestserviceZhangNiinemetsSheffieldandLichstein(2018)foundthatshiftsintreefunctionalcompositionamplifytheresponseoffor-estbiomasstodroughtsBasedongt15000plotsfromawidenum-berofhabitattypesinDenmarkMoeslundetal(2017)showedthattypicalplantspeciesthatarepartofthesite-specificspeciespoolbutareabsentinacommunitytendtodependonmycorrhizaaremostlyadaptedtolowlightandlownutrientlevelshavepoordispersalabili-tiesandareruderalsandstress-intolerantBycollatinggt40000vege-tationplotssampledinEuropeanbeechforestsJimeacutenez-Alfaroetal(2018)foundthatcurrentlocalcommunitydiversityandspeciespoolsizescalculatedatdifferentscalesweremainlyexplainedbyproximitytoglacialrefugiaandcurrentprecipitation
Although large collections of vegetation-plot data are nowavailable from national to continental levels (eg Chytryacute etal2016EnquistConditPeetSchildhauerampThiers2016PeetLeeJennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012 Schamineacutee HennekensChytryacuteampRodwell2009Schmidtetal2012)theyarerarelyused
inglobal-scalebiodiversityresearch(FranklinSerra-DiazSyphardampRegan2017Wiser2016)This isunfortunatebecausevegetation-plotdatamayrevealimportantpatternsthatcannotbecapturedbygrid-based datasets (Table1) Functional composition patterns forinstancemay differ substantiallywhen considering vegetation-plotdataratherthansinglespeciesoccurrencesaggregatedatthelevelofcoarse-graingridcellsUsingplantheightasanillustrationrevealsthatthetraitmeanscalculatedonallthespeciesoccurringinagridcellmaydiffer strongly from the community-weightedmeans (CWMs) aver-agedacrosslocalcommunities(Figure1)Neverthelessonlythegrid-basedapproachhasbeenusedtodate instudiesofthegeographicdistributionof trait values (eg Swensonetal20122017Wrightetal2017)
HerewepresentsPlotaglobaldatabaseforcompilingandin-tegratingplantcommunitydataWedescribe(a)mainstepsininte-gratingvegetation-plotdatainarepositorythatprovidestaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticinformationonco-occurringplantspe-ciesandlinksittoglobalenvironmentaldrivers(b)principalsourcesandpropertiesofthedataandtheprocedurefordatausageand(c)expectedimpactsofthedatabaseinfutureecologicalresearchToil-lustratethepotentialofsPlotwealsoshowglobaldiversitypatternsthat can be readily derived from the current content
2emsp |emspCOMPILATION OF THE SPLOT DATABA SE
21emsp|emspVegetation- plot data
The sPlot consortium currently collates 110 vegetation-plot data-basesofregionalnationalorcontinentalextentSomeofthedata-baseshavepreviouslybeenaggregatedbyandcontributedthrough
TABLE 1emspTypesofinformationprovidedbysinglevegetationplotsvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells(orothergeographicunits)andsinglespeciesoccurrencerecordsaggregatedwithingridcellsThethreelevelsareillustratedinFigure1
Information fromhellip Singlevegetationplots Setofvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells
Grid-celldatafromfloristicinventories
To derive information on the hellip
Plot level Gridcelllevel Gridcelllevel
Typeofoccurrence Co-occurrenceoccurrencebyvegetationtype
Occurrencebyvegetationtype Occurrence
Communityassemblyrules
Yes(co-occurrenceisaprerequisiteforspeciesinteractions)
No No
Absences Yes(forthetargetplantgroupinastudy)
No(exceptforintensivesamplingschemes) Dependingonsamplingintensity
Floristiccomposition hellip of the local community hellipofthespeciespoolsofvegetationtypes hellipofthetotalsetofspecies
Diversity α γ γ
Speciesabundance Localcover-abundance Meancover-abundanceandfrequencybyvegetationtype
Occurrence only
Combinationwithtraits
Functionalcompositionofthelocalcommunity(traitsunweightedorweightedbycoverCWMCWV)
Functionalcompositionofthespeciespool(unweightedorweighted)
Functionalcompositionofthetotalsetofspecies(unweightedonly)
Environmentalfiltering
hellip at the local level hellipattheregionallevel hellipattheregionallevel
168emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
two (sub-)continental database initiatives (Table2 and AppendixS1)AlldatafromEuropeandnearbyregionswerecontributedviatheEuropeanVegetationArchive(EVA)usingtheSynBioSystaxondatabase as a standard taxonomic backbone (Chytryacute etal 2016)ThreeAfricandatabaseswerecontributedvia theTropicalAfricanVegetationArchive(TAVA)InadditionmultipleUSdatabaseswerecontributedthroughtheVegBankarchivemaintainedinsupportoftheUSNationalVegetationClassification(PeetLeeBoyleetal2012 Peet Lee Jennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012) The datafromotherregions(SouthAmericaAsia)werecontributedassepa-rate databases
Westoredthevegetation-plotdatafromtheindividualdatabasesinthedatabasesoftwareTURBOVEGv2(HennekensampSchamineacutee2001)Ourgeneralprocedurewastopreservetheoriginalstructureandcontentofthedatabasesasmuchaspossibleinordertofacil-itateregularupdatesthroughautomatedworkflowsTheindividualdatabaseswerethenintegratedintoasingleSQLitedatabaseusingTURBOVEGv3(SMHennekensALTERRATheNetherlandswwwsynbiosysalterranlturboveg3helpenindexhtml)TURBOVEGv3combinesthespecieslistsfromtheoriginaldatabasesinasinglere-positoryand linkstheplotattributes (so-calledheaderdata) to58descriptors of vegetation-plots (Table S21 in Appendix S2) ThemetadataofthedatabasescollatedinsPlotweremanagedthroughtheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(GIVDDengleretal2011)usingtheGIVDIDastheidentifierThecurrentsPlotversion21wascreatedinOctober2016andcontains1121244vegetationplotswith23586216plantspeciestimesplotobservations(ierecordsofaspeciesinaplot)Mostrecords(1073737958)haveinfor-mationoncover29288onpresenceabsence5854onbasalarea4883onnumberofstems(ofteninadditiontobasalarea)148onimportancevalue(acombinationofbasalareaandnumberofstems)3265oncountsofindividuals1895onpercentagefrequencyandfurther2174haveamixofthesedifferenttypesofmetrics
22emsp|emspTaxonomic standardization
TocombinethespecieslistsofthedifferentdatabasesinsPlotweconstructedataxonomicbackboneTolinkco-occurrenceinforma-tion insPlotwithplant traitsweexpandedthisbackboneto inte-grateplantnamesusedintheTRYdatabase(Kattgeetal2011)Thetaxon names (without nomenclatural authors) from sPlot 21 andTRY30werefirstconcatenatedintoonelistresulting in121861names of which 61588 (505) were unique to sPlot 35429(291)uniquetoTRYand24844(204)sharedbetweenTRYandsPlotTaxonnameswereparsedandresolvedusingtheTaxonomicNameResolutionServicewebapplication(TNRSversion40Boyleetal2013iPlantCollaborative2015)usingthefiveTNRSstand-ardsourcesrankedbydefaultWeallowedfor (a)partialmatchingtothenexthigherrank(genusorfamily)ifthefulltaxonnamecouldnotbefoundand(b)fullfuzzymatchingtoreturnnamesthatwerematchedwithin amaximumnumberof four single-character edits(Levenshteineditdistanceof4)whichcorrespondstotheminimummatchaccuracyof005inTNRSwith1indicatingaperfectmatch
Weacceptedall names thatwerematchedor converted fromsynonymswithanoverallmatchscoreof1Incaseswithnoexactmatch(ietheoverallmatchscorewaslt1)nameswereinspectedonan individualbasisAllnamesthatmatchedat taxonomicranksator lowerthanspecies (egsubspeciesvarieties)wereacceptedascorrectnamesThenamematchingprocedurewasrepeatedforthe uncertain names (ie with match accuracy scores below thethresholdvaluefromthefirstmatchingrun)withapreferenceonfirstusingthesourcelsquoTropicosrsquo(MissouriBotanicalGardenhttpwwwtropicosorgaccessed19Dec2014)becauseherematchingscoreswereoftenhigherfornamesoflowtaxonomicrankThere-maining9641non-matchednameswereresolvedusing(a)theaddi-tionalsourcelsquoNCBIrsquo(Federhen2010)withinTNRS(b)thematchingtoolsinthePlantListwebapplication(ThePlantList2013)(c)thelsquotplrsquo-functionwithin theR-package lsquoTaxonstandrsquo (Cayuela SteinampOksanen2017)and(d)manualinspection(ietoresolvevernacularnames)AllsubspecieswereaggregatedtothespecieslevelNamesthatcouldnotbematchedwereclassifiedas lsquoNosuitablematchesfoundrsquoBecausesPlotandTRYcontaintaxaofnon-vascularplantswetaggedvascularplantnamesbasedontheir familyandphylumaffiliationusingthelsquorgbifrsquo libraryinR(Chamberlain2017)OfthefulllistofplantnamesinsPlotandTRY79171(946)plantnameswerematchedatthespecieslevel4343(52)atthegenuslevel152(02)atthefamilyleveland13namesathighertaxonomiclev-elsOverallthisledto58066acceptedtaxonnamesinsPlotFamilyaffiliationwasclassifiedaccordingtoAPGIII(APGIII2009)Ade-taileddescriptionoftheworkflow includingR-code isavailable inPurschke(2017a)
One potential shortcoming of our taxonomic backbone is thatformostregionsitwasnecessarytostandardizetaxausingstandardsetsoftaxonomicsynonymsThusifataxonomicnamerepresentsmultiple taxonomicconceptseg suchascreatedby thesplittingandlumpingoftaxaoranamehasbeenmisappliedinaregionwemusttrustthatthisproblemhasbeenaddressedinourcomponentdatabases(FranzPeetampWeakley2004JansenampDengler2010)Howeverdifferentcomponentdatabasesmayhaveapplieddiffer-enttaxonomicconceptsforsplittingandlumpingtaxa
23emsp|emspPhysiognomic information
Toachieveaclassificationintoforestsversusnon-foreststhatisap-plicable to all plots irrespectiveof the structural andhabitat dataprovidedby the sourcedatabasewedefinedas forestallplot re-cordsthathadgt25absolutecoverofthetreelayermakinguseofthe attribute data of sPlot This threshold is similar to the classifica-tionofEllenbergandMuumlller-Dombois(1967)whodefinedwoodlandformationswithtreescoveringmorethan30Therewere16244tree species in the sPlotdatabaseAs tree layer coverwasavaila-ble foronly25ofallplotsweadditionallyused the informationwhether the taxa present in a plotwere trees (usually defined asbeingtallerthan5m)usingtheplantgrowthforminformationfromTRY (see below) Thus plots lacking tree cover information weredefinedas forests if thesumof relativecoverofall tree taxawas
emspensp emsp | emsp169Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
TABLE 2emsp Plot datasets included in sPlot 21
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
[Aggregator] European Vegetation Archive (EVA)
950001 Milan Chytryacute Ilona Knollovaacute Chytryacute et al (2016)
00-00-004 VegetationDatabaseofEurasianTundra
1132 RistoVirtanen
00-RU-001 VegetationDatabaseForestofSouthernUral
1102 VassiliyMartynenko
00-RU-003 DatabaseMeadowsandSteppesofSouthernUral
2354 SergeyYamalov MariyaLebedeva
00-TR-001 ForestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey-FVDT
919 AliKavgacı
00-TR-002 Non-forestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey
3018 DenizIşıkGuumlrsoy DidemAmbarlı
AS-TR-002 VegetationDatabaseofOakCommunitiesinTurkey
1181 EminUğurlu
EU-00-002 Nordic-BalticGrasslandVegetationDatabase(NBGVD)
7675 JuumlrgenDengler ŁukaszKozub DenglerandRūsiņa(2012)
EU-00-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseoftheUniversityoftheBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)
18441 Idoia Biurrun ItziarGarciacutea-Mijangos BiurrunGarciacutea-MijangosCamposHerreraandLoidi(2012)
EU-00-013 BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabase 7683 KirilVassilev ArminMacanović VassilevDajičĆušterevskaBergmeierandApostolova(2012)
EU-00-016 MediterraneanAmmophileteaDatabase
7359 CorradoMarcenograve BorjaJimeacutenez-Alfaro MarcenograveandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2017)
EU-00-017 EuropeanCoastalVegetationDatabase
4624 JohnJanssen
EU-00-018 TheNordicVegetationDatabase 5477 JonathanLenoir Jens-ChristianSvenning
Lenoiretal(2013)
EU-00-019 BalkanVegetationDatabase 9118 KirilVassilev HristoPedashenko Vassilevetal(2016)
EU-00-020 WetVegEurope 14111 FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2015)
EU-00-022 EuropeanMireVegetationDatabase
10147 TomaacutešPeterka MartinJiroušek PeterkaJiroušekHaacutejekandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2015)
EU-AL-001 VegetationDatabaseofAlbania 290 MicheleDeSanctis GiulianoFanelli DeSanctisFanelliMullajandAttorre(2017)
EU-AT-001 AustrianVegetationDatabase 34458 WolfgangWillner ChristianBerg WillnerBergandHeiselmayer(2012)
EU-BE-002 INBOVEG 25665 ElsDeBie
EU-BG-001 BulgarianVegetationDatabase 5254 IvaApostolova DesislavaSopotlieva ApostolovaSopotlievaPedashenkoVelevandVasilev(2012)
EU-CH-005 SwissForestVegetationDatabase
14193 ThomasWohlgemuth Wohlgemuth(2012)
EU-CZ-001 CzechNationalPhytosociologicalDatabase
104697 MilanChytryacute DanaHolubovaacute ChytryacuteandRafajovaacute(2003)
(Continues)
170emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-DE-001 VegMV 53822 FlorianJansen ChristianBerg JansenDenglerandBerg(2012)
EU-DE-013 VegetWebGermany 23078 JoumlrgEwald EwaldMayandKleikamp(2012)
EU-DE-014 GermanVegetationReferenceDatabase(GVRD)
30840 UteJandt HelgeBruelheide JandtandBruelheide(2012)
EU-DK-002 NationalVegetationDatabaseofDenmark
24264 JesperErenskjoldMoeslund
RasmusEjrnaeligs
EU-ES-001 IberianandMacaronesianVegetationInformationSystem(SIVIM)Wetlands
6560 AaronPeacuterez-Haase XavierFont
EU-FR-003 SOPHY 209864 HenryBrisse Patrice de Ruffray BrissedeRuffrayGrandjouanandHoff(1995)
EU-GB-001 UKNationalVegetationClassificationDatabase
28533 JohnSRodwell
EU-GR-001 KRITI 292 ErwinBergmeier
EU-GR-005 HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase(HelNatVeg)
5168 PanayotisDimopoulos IoannisTsiripidis DimopoulosandTsiripidis(2012)
EU-GR-006 HellenicWoodlandDatabase 3199 GeorgiosFotiadis IoannisTsiripidis FotiadisTsiripidisBergmeierandDimopoulos(2012)
EU-HR-001 PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatia
5057 ZvjezdanaStančić Stančić(2012)
EU-HR-002 CroatianVegetationDatabase 8734 ŽeljkoŠkvorc DanielKrstonošić
EU-HU-003 CoenoDatHungarianPhytosociologicalDatabase
8505 JaacutenosCsiky ZoltaacutenBotta-Dukaacutet Laacutejeretal(2008)
EU-IT-001 VegItaly 15332 RobertoVenanzoni FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2012)
EU-IT-010 ItalianNationalVegetationDatabase(BVNISPRA)
3562 LauraCasella PierangelaAngelini CasellaBiancoAngeliniandMorroni(2012)
EU-IT-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseSapienzaUniversityofRome(VPD-Sapienza)
12780 EmilianoAgrillo FabioAttorre Agrilloetal(2017)
EU-LT-001 LithuanianVegetationDatabase 7821 ValerijusRašomavičius DomasUogintas
EU-LV-001 Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatvia
5594 SolvitaRūsiņa Rūsiņa(2012)
EU-MK-001 VegetationDatabaseoftheRepublicofMacedonia
1417 RenataĆušterevska
EU-NL-001 DutchNationalVegetationDatabase
102327 JoopHJSchamineacutee StephanMHennekens
Schamineacuteeetal(2006)
EU-PL-001 PolishVegetationDatabase 22229 ZygmuntKącki GrzegorzSwacha KąckiandŚliwiński(2012)
EU-RO-007 RomanianForestDatabase 6017 AdrianIndreica Pavel Dan Turtureanu IndreicaTurtureanuSzaboacuteandIrimia(2017)
EU-RO-008 RomanianGrasslandDatabase 1921 EszterRuprecht KirilVassilev Vassilevetal(2018)
EU-RS-002 VegetationDatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia
5587 SvetlanaAćić ZoraDajićStevanović AćićPetrovićŠilcandDajićStevanović(2012)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp173Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
174emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
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CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
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HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
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SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organismsfromdifferenttrophicgroupssampledinthesameplots(egmultiple-taxasurveys)andrelatedprocessesandservicesbothbelow(egdecompositionnutrientcycling)andaboveground(egherbivorypollination)(egSchuldtetal2018)
Recently several projects at the regional to continental scalehavedemonstratedthepotentialofusingvegetation-plotdatabasesforexploringbiodiversitypatternsandtheunderlyingassemblypro-cessesUsingvegetationdataofFrenchgrasslandsBorgyetal(2017)demonstratedthatweightingleaftraitsbyspeciesabundanceinlocalcommunitiesispivotaltocaptureleaftraitndashenvironmentrelationshipsAnalyzingUnitedStatesforestassemblagessurveyedatthecommu-nitylevelŠiacutemovaacuteRuedaandHawkins(2017)wereabletorelatecoldordroughttolerancetoleaftraitsdispersaltraitsandtraitsrelatedtostemhydraulicsUsingplot-basedtreeinventoriesoftheUnitedStatesforestserviceZhangNiinemetsSheffieldandLichstein(2018)foundthatshiftsintreefunctionalcompositionamplifytheresponseoffor-estbiomasstodroughtsBasedongt15000plotsfromawidenum-berofhabitattypesinDenmarkMoeslundetal(2017)showedthattypicalplantspeciesthatarepartofthesite-specificspeciespoolbutareabsentinacommunitytendtodependonmycorrhizaaremostlyadaptedtolowlightandlownutrientlevelshavepoordispersalabili-tiesandareruderalsandstress-intolerantBycollatinggt40000vege-tationplotssampledinEuropeanbeechforestsJimeacutenez-Alfaroetal(2018)foundthatcurrentlocalcommunitydiversityandspeciespoolsizescalculatedatdifferentscalesweremainlyexplainedbyproximitytoglacialrefugiaandcurrentprecipitation
Although large collections of vegetation-plot data are nowavailable from national to continental levels (eg Chytryacute etal2016EnquistConditPeetSchildhauerampThiers2016PeetLeeJennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012 Schamineacutee HennekensChytryacuteampRodwell2009Schmidtetal2012)theyarerarelyused
inglobal-scalebiodiversityresearch(FranklinSerra-DiazSyphardampRegan2017Wiser2016)This isunfortunatebecausevegetation-plotdatamayrevealimportantpatternsthatcannotbecapturedbygrid-based datasets (Table1) Functional composition patterns forinstancemay differ substantiallywhen considering vegetation-plotdataratherthansinglespeciesoccurrencesaggregatedatthelevelofcoarse-graingridcellsUsingplantheightasanillustrationrevealsthatthetraitmeanscalculatedonallthespeciesoccurringinagridcellmaydiffer strongly from the community-weightedmeans (CWMs) aver-agedacrosslocalcommunities(Figure1)Neverthelessonlythegrid-basedapproachhasbeenusedtodate instudiesofthegeographicdistributionof trait values (eg Swensonetal20122017Wrightetal2017)
HerewepresentsPlotaglobaldatabaseforcompilingandin-tegratingplantcommunitydataWedescribe(a)mainstepsininte-gratingvegetation-plotdatainarepositorythatprovidestaxonomicfunctionalandphylogeneticinformationonco-occurringplantspe-ciesandlinksittoglobalenvironmentaldrivers(b)principalsourcesandpropertiesofthedataandtheprocedurefordatausageand(c)expectedimpactsofthedatabaseinfutureecologicalresearchToil-lustratethepotentialofsPlotwealsoshowglobaldiversitypatternsthat can be readily derived from the current content
2emsp |emspCOMPILATION OF THE SPLOT DATABA SE
21emsp|emspVegetation- plot data
The sPlot consortium currently collates 110 vegetation-plot data-basesofregionalnationalorcontinentalextentSomeofthedata-baseshavepreviouslybeenaggregatedbyandcontributedthrough
TABLE 1emspTypesofinformationprovidedbysinglevegetationplotsvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells(orothergeographicunits)andsinglespeciesoccurrencerecordsaggregatedwithingridcellsThethreelevelsareillustratedinFigure1
Information fromhellip Singlevegetationplots Setofvegetationplotsaggregatedwithingridcells
Grid-celldatafromfloristicinventories
To derive information on the hellip
Plot level Gridcelllevel Gridcelllevel
Typeofoccurrence Co-occurrenceoccurrencebyvegetationtype
Occurrencebyvegetationtype Occurrence
Communityassemblyrules
Yes(co-occurrenceisaprerequisiteforspeciesinteractions)
No No
Absences Yes(forthetargetplantgroupinastudy)
No(exceptforintensivesamplingschemes) Dependingonsamplingintensity
Floristiccomposition hellip of the local community hellipofthespeciespoolsofvegetationtypes hellipofthetotalsetofspecies
Diversity α γ γ
Speciesabundance Localcover-abundance Meancover-abundanceandfrequencybyvegetationtype
Occurrence only
Combinationwithtraits
Functionalcompositionofthelocalcommunity(traitsunweightedorweightedbycoverCWMCWV)
Functionalcompositionofthespeciespool(unweightedorweighted)
Functionalcompositionofthetotalsetofspecies(unweightedonly)
Environmentalfiltering
hellip at the local level hellipattheregionallevel hellipattheregionallevel
168emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
two (sub-)continental database initiatives (Table2 and AppendixS1)AlldatafromEuropeandnearbyregionswerecontributedviatheEuropeanVegetationArchive(EVA)usingtheSynBioSystaxondatabase as a standard taxonomic backbone (Chytryacute etal 2016)ThreeAfricandatabaseswerecontributedvia theTropicalAfricanVegetationArchive(TAVA)InadditionmultipleUSdatabaseswerecontributedthroughtheVegBankarchivemaintainedinsupportoftheUSNationalVegetationClassification(PeetLeeBoyleetal2012 Peet Lee Jennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012) The datafromotherregions(SouthAmericaAsia)werecontributedassepa-rate databases
Westoredthevegetation-plotdatafromtheindividualdatabasesinthedatabasesoftwareTURBOVEGv2(HennekensampSchamineacutee2001)Ourgeneralprocedurewastopreservetheoriginalstructureandcontentofthedatabasesasmuchaspossibleinordertofacil-itateregularupdatesthroughautomatedworkflowsTheindividualdatabaseswerethenintegratedintoasingleSQLitedatabaseusingTURBOVEGv3(SMHennekensALTERRATheNetherlandswwwsynbiosysalterranlturboveg3helpenindexhtml)TURBOVEGv3combinesthespecieslistsfromtheoriginaldatabasesinasinglere-positoryand linkstheplotattributes (so-calledheaderdata) to58descriptors of vegetation-plots (Table S21 in Appendix S2) ThemetadataofthedatabasescollatedinsPlotweremanagedthroughtheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(GIVDDengleretal2011)usingtheGIVDIDastheidentifierThecurrentsPlotversion21wascreatedinOctober2016andcontains1121244vegetationplotswith23586216plantspeciestimesplotobservations(ierecordsofaspeciesinaplot)Mostrecords(1073737958)haveinfor-mationoncover29288onpresenceabsence5854onbasalarea4883onnumberofstems(ofteninadditiontobasalarea)148onimportancevalue(acombinationofbasalareaandnumberofstems)3265oncountsofindividuals1895onpercentagefrequencyandfurther2174haveamixofthesedifferenttypesofmetrics
22emsp|emspTaxonomic standardization
TocombinethespecieslistsofthedifferentdatabasesinsPlotweconstructedataxonomicbackboneTolinkco-occurrenceinforma-tion insPlotwithplant traitsweexpandedthisbackboneto inte-grateplantnamesusedintheTRYdatabase(Kattgeetal2011)Thetaxon names (without nomenclatural authors) from sPlot 21 andTRY30werefirstconcatenatedintoonelistresulting in121861names of which 61588 (505) were unique to sPlot 35429(291)uniquetoTRYand24844(204)sharedbetweenTRYandsPlotTaxonnameswereparsedandresolvedusingtheTaxonomicNameResolutionServicewebapplication(TNRSversion40Boyleetal2013iPlantCollaborative2015)usingthefiveTNRSstand-ardsourcesrankedbydefaultWeallowedfor (a)partialmatchingtothenexthigherrank(genusorfamily)ifthefulltaxonnamecouldnotbefoundand(b)fullfuzzymatchingtoreturnnamesthatwerematchedwithin amaximumnumberof four single-character edits(Levenshteineditdistanceof4)whichcorrespondstotheminimummatchaccuracyof005inTNRSwith1indicatingaperfectmatch
Weacceptedall names thatwerematchedor converted fromsynonymswithanoverallmatchscoreof1Incaseswithnoexactmatch(ietheoverallmatchscorewaslt1)nameswereinspectedonan individualbasisAllnamesthatmatchedat taxonomicranksator lowerthanspecies (egsubspeciesvarieties)wereacceptedascorrectnamesThenamematchingprocedurewasrepeatedforthe uncertain names (ie with match accuracy scores below thethresholdvaluefromthefirstmatchingrun)withapreferenceonfirstusingthesourcelsquoTropicosrsquo(MissouriBotanicalGardenhttpwwwtropicosorgaccessed19Dec2014)becauseherematchingscoreswereoftenhigherfornamesoflowtaxonomicrankThere-maining9641non-matchednameswereresolvedusing(a)theaddi-tionalsourcelsquoNCBIrsquo(Federhen2010)withinTNRS(b)thematchingtoolsinthePlantListwebapplication(ThePlantList2013)(c)thelsquotplrsquo-functionwithin theR-package lsquoTaxonstandrsquo (Cayuela SteinampOksanen2017)and(d)manualinspection(ietoresolvevernacularnames)AllsubspecieswereaggregatedtothespecieslevelNamesthatcouldnotbematchedwereclassifiedas lsquoNosuitablematchesfoundrsquoBecausesPlotandTRYcontaintaxaofnon-vascularplantswetaggedvascularplantnamesbasedontheir familyandphylumaffiliationusingthelsquorgbifrsquo libraryinR(Chamberlain2017)OfthefulllistofplantnamesinsPlotandTRY79171(946)plantnameswerematchedatthespecieslevel4343(52)atthegenuslevel152(02)atthefamilyleveland13namesathighertaxonomiclev-elsOverallthisledto58066acceptedtaxonnamesinsPlotFamilyaffiliationwasclassifiedaccordingtoAPGIII(APGIII2009)Ade-taileddescriptionoftheworkflow includingR-code isavailable inPurschke(2017a)
One potential shortcoming of our taxonomic backbone is thatformostregionsitwasnecessarytostandardizetaxausingstandardsetsoftaxonomicsynonymsThusifataxonomicnamerepresentsmultiple taxonomicconceptseg suchascreatedby thesplittingandlumpingoftaxaoranamehasbeenmisappliedinaregionwemusttrustthatthisproblemhasbeenaddressedinourcomponentdatabases(FranzPeetampWeakley2004JansenampDengler2010)Howeverdifferentcomponentdatabasesmayhaveapplieddiffer-enttaxonomicconceptsforsplittingandlumpingtaxa
23emsp|emspPhysiognomic information
Toachieveaclassificationintoforestsversusnon-foreststhatisap-plicable to all plots irrespectiveof the structural andhabitat dataprovidedby the sourcedatabasewedefinedas forestallplot re-cordsthathadgt25absolutecoverofthetreelayermakinguseofthe attribute data of sPlot This threshold is similar to the classifica-tionofEllenbergandMuumlller-Dombois(1967)whodefinedwoodlandformationswithtreescoveringmorethan30Therewere16244tree species in the sPlotdatabaseAs tree layer coverwasavaila-ble foronly25ofallplotsweadditionallyused the informationwhether the taxa present in a plotwere trees (usually defined asbeingtallerthan5m)usingtheplantgrowthforminformationfromTRY (see below) Thus plots lacking tree cover information weredefinedas forests if thesumof relativecoverofall tree taxawas
emspensp emsp | emsp169Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
TABLE 2emsp Plot datasets included in sPlot 21
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
[Aggregator] European Vegetation Archive (EVA)
950001 Milan Chytryacute Ilona Knollovaacute Chytryacute et al (2016)
00-00-004 VegetationDatabaseofEurasianTundra
1132 RistoVirtanen
00-RU-001 VegetationDatabaseForestofSouthernUral
1102 VassiliyMartynenko
00-RU-003 DatabaseMeadowsandSteppesofSouthernUral
2354 SergeyYamalov MariyaLebedeva
00-TR-001 ForestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey-FVDT
919 AliKavgacı
00-TR-002 Non-forestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey
3018 DenizIşıkGuumlrsoy DidemAmbarlı
AS-TR-002 VegetationDatabaseofOakCommunitiesinTurkey
1181 EminUğurlu
EU-00-002 Nordic-BalticGrasslandVegetationDatabase(NBGVD)
7675 JuumlrgenDengler ŁukaszKozub DenglerandRūsiņa(2012)
EU-00-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseoftheUniversityoftheBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)
18441 Idoia Biurrun ItziarGarciacutea-Mijangos BiurrunGarciacutea-MijangosCamposHerreraandLoidi(2012)
EU-00-013 BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabase 7683 KirilVassilev ArminMacanović VassilevDajičĆušterevskaBergmeierandApostolova(2012)
EU-00-016 MediterraneanAmmophileteaDatabase
7359 CorradoMarcenograve BorjaJimeacutenez-Alfaro MarcenograveandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2017)
EU-00-017 EuropeanCoastalVegetationDatabase
4624 JohnJanssen
EU-00-018 TheNordicVegetationDatabase 5477 JonathanLenoir Jens-ChristianSvenning
Lenoiretal(2013)
EU-00-019 BalkanVegetationDatabase 9118 KirilVassilev HristoPedashenko Vassilevetal(2016)
EU-00-020 WetVegEurope 14111 FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2015)
EU-00-022 EuropeanMireVegetationDatabase
10147 TomaacutešPeterka MartinJiroušek PeterkaJiroušekHaacutejekandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2015)
EU-AL-001 VegetationDatabaseofAlbania 290 MicheleDeSanctis GiulianoFanelli DeSanctisFanelliMullajandAttorre(2017)
EU-AT-001 AustrianVegetationDatabase 34458 WolfgangWillner ChristianBerg WillnerBergandHeiselmayer(2012)
EU-BE-002 INBOVEG 25665 ElsDeBie
EU-BG-001 BulgarianVegetationDatabase 5254 IvaApostolova DesislavaSopotlieva ApostolovaSopotlievaPedashenkoVelevandVasilev(2012)
EU-CH-005 SwissForestVegetationDatabase
14193 ThomasWohlgemuth Wohlgemuth(2012)
EU-CZ-001 CzechNationalPhytosociologicalDatabase
104697 MilanChytryacute DanaHolubovaacute ChytryacuteandRafajovaacute(2003)
(Continues)
170emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-DE-001 VegMV 53822 FlorianJansen ChristianBerg JansenDenglerandBerg(2012)
EU-DE-013 VegetWebGermany 23078 JoumlrgEwald EwaldMayandKleikamp(2012)
EU-DE-014 GermanVegetationReferenceDatabase(GVRD)
30840 UteJandt HelgeBruelheide JandtandBruelheide(2012)
EU-DK-002 NationalVegetationDatabaseofDenmark
24264 JesperErenskjoldMoeslund
RasmusEjrnaeligs
EU-ES-001 IberianandMacaronesianVegetationInformationSystem(SIVIM)Wetlands
6560 AaronPeacuterez-Haase XavierFont
EU-FR-003 SOPHY 209864 HenryBrisse Patrice de Ruffray BrissedeRuffrayGrandjouanandHoff(1995)
EU-GB-001 UKNationalVegetationClassificationDatabase
28533 JohnSRodwell
EU-GR-001 KRITI 292 ErwinBergmeier
EU-GR-005 HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase(HelNatVeg)
5168 PanayotisDimopoulos IoannisTsiripidis DimopoulosandTsiripidis(2012)
EU-GR-006 HellenicWoodlandDatabase 3199 GeorgiosFotiadis IoannisTsiripidis FotiadisTsiripidisBergmeierandDimopoulos(2012)
EU-HR-001 PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatia
5057 ZvjezdanaStančić Stančić(2012)
EU-HR-002 CroatianVegetationDatabase 8734 ŽeljkoŠkvorc DanielKrstonošić
EU-HU-003 CoenoDatHungarianPhytosociologicalDatabase
8505 JaacutenosCsiky ZoltaacutenBotta-Dukaacutet Laacutejeretal(2008)
EU-IT-001 VegItaly 15332 RobertoVenanzoni FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2012)
EU-IT-010 ItalianNationalVegetationDatabase(BVNISPRA)
3562 LauraCasella PierangelaAngelini CasellaBiancoAngeliniandMorroni(2012)
EU-IT-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseSapienzaUniversityofRome(VPD-Sapienza)
12780 EmilianoAgrillo FabioAttorre Agrilloetal(2017)
EU-LT-001 LithuanianVegetationDatabase 7821 ValerijusRašomavičius DomasUogintas
EU-LV-001 Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatvia
5594 SolvitaRūsiņa Rūsiņa(2012)
EU-MK-001 VegetationDatabaseoftheRepublicofMacedonia
1417 RenataĆušterevska
EU-NL-001 DutchNationalVegetationDatabase
102327 JoopHJSchamineacutee StephanMHennekens
Schamineacuteeetal(2006)
EU-PL-001 PolishVegetationDatabase 22229 ZygmuntKącki GrzegorzSwacha KąckiandŚliwiński(2012)
EU-RO-007 RomanianForestDatabase 6017 AdrianIndreica Pavel Dan Turtureanu IndreicaTurtureanuSzaboacuteandIrimia(2017)
EU-RO-008 RomanianGrasslandDatabase 1921 EszterRuprecht KirilVassilev Vassilevetal(2018)
EU-RS-002 VegetationDatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia
5587 SvetlanaAćić ZoraDajićStevanović AćićPetrovićŠilcandDajićStevanović(2012)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp173Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
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with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
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beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
168emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
two (sub-)continental database initiatives (Table2 and AppendixS1)AlldatafromEuropeandnearbyregionswerecontributedviatheEuropeanVegetationArchive(EVA)usingtheSynBioSystaxondatabase as a standard taxonomic backbone (Chytryacute etal 2016)ThreeAfricandatabaseswerecontributedvia theTropicalAfricanVegetationArchive(TAVA)InadditionmultipleUSdatabaseswerecontributedthroughtheVegBankarchivemaintainedinsupportoftheUSNationalVegetationClassification(PeetLeeBoyleetal2012 Peet Lee Jennings amp Faber-Langendoen 2012) The datafromotherregions(SouthAmericaAsia)werecontributedassepa-rate databases
Westoredthevegetation-plotdatafromtheindividualdatabasesinthedatabasesoftwareTURBOVEGv2(HennekensampSchamineacutee2001)Ourgeneralprocedurewastopreservetheoriginalstructureandcontentofthedatabasesasmuchaspossibleinordertofacil-itateregularupdatesthroughautomatedworkflowsTheindividualdatabaseswerethenintegratedintoasingleSQLitedatabaseusingTURBOVEGv3(SMHennekensALTERRATheNetherlandswwwsynbiosysalterranlturboveg3helpenindexhtml)TURBOVEGv3combinesthespecieslistsfromtheoriginaldatabasesinasinglere-positoryand linkstheplotattributes (so-calledheaderdata) to58descriptors of vegetation-plots (Table S21 in Appendix S2) ThemetadataofthedatabasescollatedinsPlotweremanagedthroughtheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(GIVDDengleretal2011)usingtheGIVDIDastheidentifierThecurrentsPlotversion21wascreatedinOctober2016andcontains1121244vegetationplotswith23586216plantspeciestimesplotobservations(ierecordsofaspeciesinaplot)Mostrecords(1073737958)haveinfor-mationoncover29288onpresenceabsence5854onbasalarea4883onnumberofstems(ofteninadditiontobasalarea)148onimportancevalue(acombinationofbasalareaandnumberofstems)3265oncountsofindividuals1895onpercentagefrequencyandfurther2174haveamixofthesedifferenttypesofmetrics
22emsp|emspTaxonomic standardization
TocombinethespecieslistsofthedifferentdatabasesinsPlotweconstructedataxonomicbackboneTolinkco-occurrenceinforma-tion insPlotwithplant traitsweexpandedthisbackboneto inte-grateplantnamesusedintheTRYdatabase(Kattgeetal2011)Thetaxon names (without nomenclatural authors) from sPlot 21 andTRY30werefirstconcatenatedintoonelistresulting in121861names of which 61588 (505) were unique to sPlot 35429(291)uniquetoTRYand24844(204)sharedbetweenTRYandsPlotTaxonnameswereparsedandresolvedusingtheTaxonomicNameResolutionServicewebapplication(TNRSversion40Boyleetal2013iPlantCollaborative2015)usingthefiveTNRSstand-ardsourcesrankedbydefaultWeallowedfor (a)partialmatchingtothenexthigherrank(genusorfamily)ifthefulltaxonnamecouldnotbefoundand(b)fullfuzzymatchingtoreturnnamesthatwerematchedwithin amaximumnumberof four single-character edits(Levenshteineditdistanceof4)whichcorrespondstotheminimummatchaccuracyof005inTNRSwith1indicatingaperfectmatch
Weacceptedall names thatwerematchedor converted fromsynonymswithanoverallmatchscoreof1Incaseswithnoexactmatch(ietheoverallmatchscorewaslt1)nameswereinspectedonan individualbasisAllnamesthatmatchedat taxonomicranksator lowerthanspecies (egsubspeciesvarieties)wereacceptedascorrectnamesThenamematchingprocedurewasrepeatedforthe uncertain names (ie with match accuracy scores below thethresholdvaluefromthefirstmatchingrun)withapreferenceonfirstusingthesourcelsquoTropicosrsquo(MissouriBotanicalGardenhttpwwwtropicosorgaccessed19Dec2014)becauseherematchingscoreswereoftenhigherfornamesoflowtaxonomicrankThere-maining9641non-matchednameswereresolvedusing(a)theaddi-tionalsourcelsquoNCBIrsquo(Federhen2010)withinTNRS(b)thematchingtoolsinthePlantListwebapplication(ThePlantList2013)(c)thelsquotplrsquo-functionwithin theR-package lsquoTaxonstandrsquo (Cayuela SteinampOksanen2017)and(d)manualinspection(ietoresolvevernacularnames)AllsubspecieswereaggregatedtothespecieslevelNamesthatcouldnotbematchedwereclassifiedas lsquoNosuitablematchesfoundrsquoBecausesPlotandTRYcontaintaxaofnon-vascularplantswetaggedvascularplantnamesbasedontheir familyandphylumaffiliationusingthelsquorgbifrsquo libraryinR(Chamberlain2017)OfthefulllistofplantnamesinsPlotandTRY79171(946)plantnameswerematchedatthespecieslevel4343(52)atthegenuslevel152(02)atthefamilyleveland13namesathighertaxonomiclev-elsOverallthisledto58066acceptedtaxonnamesinsPlotFamilyaffiliationwasclassifiedaccordingtoAPGIII(APGIII2009)Ade-taileddescriptionoftheworkflow includingR-code isavailable inPurschke(2017a)
One potential shortcoming of our taxonomic backbone is thatformostregionsitwasnecessarytostandardizetaxausingstandardsetsoftaxonomicsynonymsThusifataxonomicnamerepresentsmultiple taxonomicconceptseg suchascreatedby thesplittingandlumpingoftaxaoranamehasbeenmisappliedinaregionwemusttrustthatthisproblemhasbeenaddressedinourcomponentdatabases(FranzPeetampWeakley2004JansenampDengler2010)Howeverdifferentcomponentdatabasesmayhaveapplieddiffer-enttaxonomicconceptsforsplittingandlumpingtaxa
23emsp|emspPhysiognomic information
Toachieveaclassificationintoforestsversusnon-foreststhatisap-plicable to all plots irrespectiveof the structural andhabitat dataprovidedby the sourcedatabasewedefinedas forestallplot re-cordsthathadgt25absolutecoverofthetreelayermakinguseofthe attribute data of sPlot This threshold is similar to the classifica-tionofEllenbergandMuumlller-Dombois(1967)whodefinedwoodlandformationswithtreescoveringmorethan30Therewere16244tree species in the sPlotdatabaseAs tree layer coverwasavaila-ble foronly25ofallplotsweadditionallyused the informationwhether the taxa present in a plotwere trees (usually defined asbeingtallerthan5m)usingtheplantgrowthforminformationfromTRY (see below) Thus plots lacking tree cover information weredefinedas forests if thesumof relativecoverofall tree taxawas
emspensp emsp | emsp169Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
TABLE 2emsp Plot datasets included in sPlot 21
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
[Aggregator] European Vegetation Archive (EVA)
950001 Milan Chytryacute Ilona Knollovaacute Chytryacute et al (2016)
00-00-004 VegetationDatabaseofEurasianTundra
1132 RistoVirtanen
00-RU-001 VegetationDatabaseForestofSouthernUral
1102 VassiliyMartynenko
00-RU-003 DatabaseMeadowsandSteppesofSouthernUral
2354 SergeyYamalov MariyaLebedeva
00-TR-001 ForestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey-FVDT
919 AliKavgacı
00-TR-002 Non-forestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey
3018 DenizIşıkGuumlrsoy DidemAmbarlı
AS-TR-002 VegetationDatabaseofOakCommunitiesinTurkey
1181 EminUğurlu
EU-00-002 Nordic-BalticGrasslandVegetationDatabase(NBGVD)
7675 JuumlrgenDengler ŁukaszKozub DenglerandRūsiņa(2012)
EU-00-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseoftheUniversityoftheBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)
18441 Idoia Biurrun ItziarGarciacutea-Mijangos BiurrunGarciacutea-MijangosCamposHerreraandLoidi(2012)
EU-00-013 BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabase 7683 KirilVassilev ArminMacanović VassilevDajičĆušterevskaBergmeierandApostolova(2012)
EU-00-016 MediterraneanAmmophileteaDatabase
7359 CorradoMarcenograve BorjaJimeacutenez-Alfaro MarcenograveandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2017)
EU-00-017 EuropeanCoastalVegetationDatabase
4624 JohnJanssen
EU-00-018 TheNordicVegetationDatabase 5477 JonathanLenoir Jens-ChristianSvenning
Lenoiretal(2013)
EU-00-019 BalkanVegetationDatabase 9118 KirilVassilev HristoPedashenko Vassilevetal(2016)
EU-00-020 WetVegEurope 14111 FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2015)
EU-00-022 EuropeanMireVegetationDatabase
10147 TomaacutešPeterka MartinJiroušek PeterkaJiroušekHaacutejekandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2015)
EU-AL-001 VegetationDatabaseofAlbania 290 MicheleDeSanctis GiulianoFanelli DeSanctisFanelliMullajandAttorre(2017)
EU-AT-001 AustrianVegetationDatabase 34458 WolfgangWillner ChristianBerg WillnerBergandHeiselmayer(2012)
EU-BE-002 INBOVEG 25665 ElsDeBie
EU-BG-001 BulgarianVegetationDatabase 5254 IvaApostolova DesislavaSopotlieva ApostolovaSopotlievaPedashenkoVelevandVasilev(2012)
EU-CH-005 SwissForestVegetationDatabase
14193 ThomasWohlgemuth Wohlgemuth(2012)
EU-CZ-001 CzechNationalPhytosociologicalDatabase
104697 MilanChytryacute DanaHolubovaacute ChytryacuteandRafajovaacute(2003)
(Continues)
170emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-DE-001 VegMV 53822 FlorianJansen ChristianBerg JansenDenglerandBerg(2012)
EU-DE-013 VegetWebGermany 23078 JoumlrgEwald EwaldMayandKleikamp(2012)
EU-DE-014 GermanVegetationReferenceDatabase(GVRD)
30840 UteJandt HelgeBruelheide JandtandBruelheide(2012)
EU-DK-002 NationalVegetationDatabaseofDenmark
24264 JesperErenskjoldMoeslund
RasmusEjrnaeligs
EU-ES-001 IberianandMacaronesianVegetationInformationSystem(SIVIM)Wetlands
6560 AaronPeacuterez-Haase XavierFont
EU-FR-003 SOPHY 209864 HenryBrisse Patrice de Ruffray BrissedeRuffrayGrandjouanandHoff(1995)
EU-GB-001 UKNationalVegetationClassificationDatabase
28533 JohnSRodwell
EU-GR-001 KRITI 292 ErwinBergmeier
EU-GR-005 HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase(HelNatVeg)
5168 PanayotisDimopoulos IoannisTsiripidis DimopoulosandTsiripidis(2012)
EU-GR-006 HellenicWoodlandDatabase 3199 GeorgiosFotiadis IoannisTsiripidis FotiadisTsiripidisBergmeierandDimopoulos(2012)
EU-HR-001 PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatia
5057 ZvjezdanaStančić Stančić(2012)
EU-HR-002 CroatianVegetationDatabase 8734 ŽeljkoŠkvorc DanielKrstonošić
EU-HU-003 CoenoDatHungarianPhytosociologicalDatabase
8505 JaacutenosCsiky ZoltaacutenBotta-Dukaacutet Laacutejeretal(2008)
EU-IT-001 VegItaly 15332 RobertoVenanzoni FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2012)
EU-IT-010 ItalianNationalVegetationDatabase(BVNISPRA)
3562 LauraCasella PierangelaAngelini CasellaBiancoAngeliniandMorroni(2012)
EU-IT-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseSapienzaUniversityofRome(VPD-Sapienza)
12780 EmilianoAgrillo FabioAttorre Agrilloetal(2017)
EU-LT-001 LithuanianVegetationDatabase 7821 ValerijusRašomavičius DomasUogintas
EU-LV-001 Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatvia
5594 SolvitaRūsiņa Rūsiņa(2012)
EU-MK-001 VegetationDatabaseoftheRepublicofMacedonia
1417 RenataĆušterevska
EU-NL-001 DutchNationalVegetationDatabase
102327 JoopHJSchamineacutee StephanMHennekens
Schamineacuteeetal(2006)
EU-PL-001 PolishVegetationDatabase 22229 ZygmuntKącki GrzegorzSwacha KąckiandŚliwiński(2012)
EU-RO-007 RomanianForestDatabase 6017 AdrianIndreica Pavel Dan Turtureanu IndreicaTurtureanuSzaboacuteandIrimia(2017)
EU-RO-008 RomanianGrasslandDatabase 1921 EszterRuprecht KirilVassilev Vassilevetal(2018)
EU-RS-002 VegetationDatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia
5587 SvetlanaAćić ZoraDajićStevanović AćićPetrovićŠilcandDajićStevanović(2012)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
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gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
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with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
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beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
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AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
emspensp emsp | emsp169Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
TABLE 2emsp Plot datasets included in sPlot 21
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
[Aggregator] European Vegetation Archive (EVA)
950001 Milan Chytryacute Ilona Knollovaacute Chytryacute et al (2016)
00-00-004 VegetationDatabaseofEurasianTundra
1132 RistoVirtanen
00-RU-001 VegetationDatabaseForestofSouthernUral
1102 VassiliyMartynenko
00-RU-003 DatabaseMeadowsandSteppesofSouthernUral
2354 SergeyYamalov MariyaLebedeva
00-TR-001 ForestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey-FVDT
919 AliKavgacı
00-TR-002 Non-forestVegetationDatabaseofTurkey
3018 DenizIşıkGuumlrsoy DidemAmbarlı
AS-TR-002 VegetationDatabaseofOakCommunitiesinTurkey
1181 EminUğurlu
EU-00-002 Nordic-BalticGrasslandVegetationDatabase(NBGVD)
7675 JuumlrgenDengler ŁukaszKozub DenglerandRūsiņa(2012)
EU-00-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseoftheUniversityoftheBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)
18441 Idoia Biurrun ItziarGarciacutea-Mijangos BiurrunGarciacutea-MijangosCamposHerreraandLoidi(2012)
EU-00-013 BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabase 7683 KirilVassilev ArminMacanović VassilevDajičĆušterevskaBergmeierandApostolova(2012)
EU-00-016 MediterraneanAmmophileteaDatabase
7359 CorradoMarcenograve BorjaJimeacutenez-Alfaro MarcenograveandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2017)
EU-00-017 EuropeanCoastalVegetationDatabase
4624 JohnJanssen
EU-00-018 TheNordicVegetationDatabase 5477 JonathanLenoir Jens-ChristianSvenning
Lenoiretal(2013)
EU-00-019 BalkanVegetationDatabase 9118 KirilVassilev HristoPedashenko Vassilevetal(2016)
EU-00-020 WetVegEurope 14111 FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2015)
EU-00-022 EuropeanMireVegetationDatabase
10147 TomaacutešPeterka MartinJiroušek PeterkaJiroušekHaacutejekandJimeacutenez-Alfaro(2015)
EU-AL-001 VegetationDatabaseofAlbania 290 MicheleDeSanctis GiulianoFanelli DeSanctisFanelliMullajandAttorre(2017)
EU-AT-001 AustrianVegetationDatabase 34458 WolfgangWillner ChristianBerg WillnerBergandHeiselmayer(2012)
EU-BE-002 INBOVEG 25665 ElsDeBie
EU-BG-001 BulgarianVegetationDatabase 5254 IvaApostolova DesislavaSopotlieva ApostolovaSopotlievaPedashenkoVelevandVasilev(2012)
EU-CH-005 SwissForestVegetationDatabase
14193 ThomasWohlgemuth Wohlgemuth(2012)
EU-CZ-001 CzechNationalPhytosociologicalDatabase
104697 MilanChytryacute DanaHolubovaacute ChytryacuteandRafajovaacute(2003)
(Continues)
170emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-DE-001 VegMV 53822 FlorianJansen ChristianBerg JansenDenglerandBerg(2012)
EU-DE-013 VegetWebGermany 23078 JoumlrgEwald EwaldMayandKleikamp(2012)
EU-DE-014 GermanVegetationReferenceDatabase(GVRD)
30840 UteJandt HelgeBruelheide JandtandBruelheide(2012)
EU-DK-002 NationalVegetationDatabaseofDenmark
24264 JesperErenskjoldMoeslund
RasmusEjrnaeligs
EU-ES-001 IberianandMacaronesianVegetationInformationSystem(SIVIM)Wetlands
6560 AaronPeacuterez-Haase XavierFont
EU-FR-003 SOPHY 209864 HenryBrisse Patrice de Ruffray BrissedeRuffrayGrandjouanandHoff(1995)
EU-GB-001 UKNationalVegetationClassificationDatabase
28533 JohnSRodwell
EU-GR-001 KRITI 292 ErwinBergmeier
EU-GR-005 HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase(HelNatVeg)
5168 PanayotisDimopoulos IoannisTsiripidis DimopoulosandTsiripidis(2012)
EU-GR-006 HellenicWoodlandDatabase 3199 GeorgiosFotiadis IoannisTsiripidis FotiadisTsiripidisBergmeierandDimopoulos(2012)
EU-HR-001 PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatia
5057 ZvjezdanaStančić Stančić(2012)
EU-HR-002 CroatianVegetationDatabase 8734 ŽeljkoŠkvorc DanielKrstonošić
EU-HU-003 CoenoDatHungarianPhytosociologicalDatabase
8505 JaacutenosCsiky ZoltaacutenBotta-Dukaacutet Laacutejeretal(2008)
EU-IT-001 VegItaly 15332 RobertoVenanzoni FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2012)
EU-IT-010 ItalianNationalVegetationDatabase(BVNISPRA)
3562 LauraCasella PierangelaAngelini CasellaBiancoAngeliniandMorroni(2012)
EU-IT-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseSapienzaUniversityofRome(VPD-Sapienza)
12780 EmilianoAgrillo FabioAttorre Agrilloetal(2017)
EU-LT-001 LithuanianVegetationDatabase 7821 ValerijusRašomavičius DomasUogintas
EU-LV-001 Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatvia
5594 SolvitaRūsiņa Rūsiņa(2012)
EU-MK-001 VegetationDatabaseoftheRepublicofMacedonia
1417 RenataĆušterevska
EU-NL-001 DutchNationalVegetationDatabase
102327 JoopHJSchamineacutee StephanMHennekens
Schamineacuteeetal(2006)
EU-PL-001 PolishVegetationDatabase 22229 ZygmuntKącki GrzegorzSwacha KąckiandŚliwiński(2012)
EU-RO-007 RomanianForestDatabase 6017 AdrianIndreica Pavel Dan Turtureanu IndreicaTurtureanuSzaboacuteandIrimia(2017)
EU-RO-008 RomanianGrasslandDatabase 1921 EszterRuprecht KirilVassilev Vassilevetal(2018)
EU-RS-002 VegetationDatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia
5587 SvetlanaAćić ZoraDajićStevanović AćićPetrovićŠilcandDajićStevanović(2012)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
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beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
170emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-DE-001 VegMV 53822 FlorianJansen ChristianBerg JansenDenglerandBerg(2012)
EU-DE-013 VegetWebGermany 23078 JoumlrgEwald EwaldMayandKleikamp(2012)
EU-DE-014 GermanVegetationReferenceDatabase(GVRD)
30840 UteJandt HelgeBruelheide JandtandBruelheide(2012)
EU-DK-002 NationalVegetationDatabaseofDenmark
24264 JesperErenskjoldMoeslund
RasmusEjrnaeligs
EU-ES-001 IberianandMacaronesianVegetationInformationSystem(SIVIM)Wetlands
6560 AaronPeacuterez-Haase XavierFont
EU-FR-003 SOPHY 209864 HenryBrisse Patrice de Ruffray BrissedeRuffrayGrandjouanandHoff(1995)
EU-GB-001 UKNationalVegetationClassificationDatabase
28533 JohnSRodwell
EU-GR-001 KRITI 292 ErwinBergmeier
EU-GR-005 HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase(HelNatVeg)
5168 PanayotisDimopoulos IoannisTsiripidis DimopoulosandTsiripidis(2012)
EU-GR-006 HellenicWoodlandDatabase 3199 GeorgiosFotiadis IoannisTsiripidis FotiadisTsiripidisBergmeierandDimopoulos(2012)
EU-HR-001 PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatia
5057 ZvjezdanaStančić Stančić(2012)
EU-HR-002 CroatianVegetationDatabase 8734 ŽeljkoŠkvorc DanielKrstonošić
EU-HU-003 CoenoDatHungarianPhytosociologicalDatabase
8505 JaacutenosCsiky ZoltaacutenBotta-Dukaacutet Laacutejeretal(2008)
EU-IT-001 VegItaly 15332 RobertoVenanzoni FlaviaLanducci Landuccietal(2012)
EU-IT-010 ItalianNationalVegetationDatabase(BVNISPRA)
3562 LauraCasella PierangelaAngelini CasellaBiancoAngeliniandMorroni(2012)
EU-IT-011 Vegetation-PlotDatabaseSapienzaUniversityofRome(VPD-Sapienza)
12780 EmilianoAgrillo FabioAttorre Agrilloetal(2017)
EU-LT-001 LithuanianVegetationDatabase 7821 ValerijusRašomavičius DomasUogintas
EU-LV-001 Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatvia
5594 SolvitaRūsiņa Rūsiņa(2012)
EU-MK-001 VegetationDatabaseoftheRepublicofMacedonia
1417 RenataĆušterevska
EU-NL-001 DutchNationalVegetationDatabase
102327 JoopHJSchamineacutee StephanMHennekens
Schamineacuteeetal(2006)
EU-PL-001 PolishVegetationDatabase 22229 ZygmuntKącki GrzegorzSwacha KąckiandŚliwiński(2012)
EU-RO-007 RomanianForestDatabase 6017 AdrianIndreica Pavel Dan Turtureanu IndreicaTurtureanuSzaboacuteandIrimia(2017)
EU-RO-008 RomanianGrasslandDatabase 1921 EszterRuprecht KirilVassilev Vassilevetal(2018)
EU-RS-002 VegetationDatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia
5587 SvetlanaAćić ZoraDajićStevanović AćićPetrovićŠilcandDajićStevanović(2012)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp173Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
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with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
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beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
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Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
emspensp emsp | emsp171Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
EU-RU-002 LowerVolgaValleyPhytosociologicalDatabase
14853 ValentinGolub ViktoriaBondareva Golubetal(2012)
EU-RU-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheVolgaandtheUralRiversBasins
1516 TatianaLysenko LysenkoMitroshenkovaandKalmykova(2012)
EU-RU-011 VegetationDatabaseofTatarstan
7471 VadimProkhorov MariaKozhevnikova ProkhorovRogovaandKozhevnikova(2017)
EU-SI-001 VegetationDatabaseofSlovenia 10986 UrbanŠilc FilipKuumlzmič Šilc(2012)
EU-SK-001 SlovakVegetationDatabase 36405 MilanValachovič JozefŠibiacutek Šibiacutek(2012)
EU-UA-001 UkrainianGrasslandsDatabase 4043 AnnaKuzemko YuliaVashenyak Kuzemko(2012)
EU-UA-006 VegetationDatabaseofUkraineandAdjacentPartsofRussia
3326 ViktorOnyshchenko VitaliyKolomiychuk
[Aggregator] Tropical African Vegetation Archive (TAVA)
6677 Marco Schmidt Stefan Dressler Janszligen et al (2011)
AF-00-001 WestAfricanVegetationDatabase
3129 MarcoSchmidt GeorgZizka Schmidtetal(2012)
AF-00-008 PANAFVegetationDatabase 2469 HjalmarKuumlhl TeneKwetcheSop
AF-BF-001 SahelVegetationDatabase 1079 JonasVMuumlller MarcoSchmidt Muumlller(2003)
Other databases 164566
00-00-001 RAINFORdatamanagedbyForestPlotsnet
1827 OliverLPhillips AuroraLevesley Lopez-GonzalezLewisBurkittandPhillips(2011)
00-00-003 SALVIAS 4883 BrianEnquist Brad Boyle
00-00-005 TundraVegetationPlots(TundraPlot)
577 AnneDBjorkman SarahElmendorf Elmendorfetal(2012)
00-RU-002 DatabaseofMasarykUniversityrsquosVegetationResearchinSiberia
1547 MilanChytryacute Chytryacute(2012)
AF-00-003 BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories VegetationDatabase
1666 NorbertJuumlrgens GerhardMuche MucheSchmiedelandJuumlrgens(2012)
AF-00-006 SWEA-Dataveg 2704 MiguelAlvarez MichaelCurran
AF-00-009 VegetationDatabaseoftheOkavangoBasin
590 Rasmus Revermann ManfredFinckh Revermann et al (2016)
AF-CD-001 ForestDatabaseofCentralCongoBasin
292 ElizabethKearsley HansVerbeeck Kearsleyetal(2013)
AF-ET-001 VegetationDatabaseofEthiopia 74 DesalegnWana AnkeJentsch WanaandBeierkuhnlein(2011)
AF-MA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouthernMorocco
1337 ManfredFinckh Finckh(2012)
AF-ZA-003 SynBioSysFynbosVegetationDatabase
3810 JohnJanssen
AF-ZW-001 VegetationDatabaseofZimbabwe
36 CyrusSamimi Samimi(2003)
AS-00-001 KoreanForestDatabase 4885 TomaacutešČernyacute PetrPetřiacutek Černyacuteetal(2015)
AS-00-003 VegetationofMiddleAsia 1381 ArkadiuszNowak MarcinNobis Nowaketal(2017)
AS-00-004 RiceFieldVegetationDatabase 179 ArkadiuszNowak
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
emspensp emsp | emsp173Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
174emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
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CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
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HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
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MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
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SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
172emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
AS-BD-001 TropicalForestDatasetofBangladesh
211 MohammedASArfinKhan
FahmidaSultana
AS-CN-001 ChinaForest-SteppeEcotoneDatabase
148 HongyanLiu FengjunZhao LiuCuiPottandSpeier(2000)
AS-CN-002 Tibet-PaDeMoSGrazingTransect
146 KarstenWesche Wangetal(2017)
AS-CN-003 VegetationDatabaseoftheBEFChinaProject
27 HelgeBruelheide Bruelheide et al (2011)
AS-CN-004 VegetationDatabaseoftheNorthernMountainsinChina
485 ZhiyaoTang
AS-CN-005 DatabaseSteppeVegetationofXinjiang
129 KoheiSuzuki
AS-EG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgypt
926 MohamedZHatim Hatim(2012)
AS-ID-001 SulawesiVegetationDatabase 24 MichaelKessler
AS-IR-001 VegetationDatabaseofIran 2335 JalilNoroozi ParastooMahdavi
AS-KG-001 VegetationDatabaseofSouth-WesternKyrgyzstan
452 Peter Borchardt UdoSchickhoff Borchardt and Schickhoff(2012)
AS-KZ-001 DatabaseofMeadowVegetationintheNWTianShanMountains
94 ViktoriaWagner Wagner(2009)
AS-MN-001 SouthernGobiProtectedAreasDatabase
1516 HenrikvonWehrden KarstenWesche vonWehrdenWescheandMiehe(2009)
AS-RU-001 WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)
2381 VictorChepinoga Chepinoga(2012)
AS-RU-002 DatabaseofSiberianVegetation(DSV)
9116 AndreyKorolyuk AndreiZverev
AS-RU-004 DatabaseoftheUniversityofMuumlnster-BiodiversityandEcosystemResearchGrouprsquosVegetationResearchinWesternSiberiaandKazakhstan
445 NorbertHoumllzel WanjaMathar
AS-SA-001 VegetationDatabaseofSaudiArabia
919 MohamedAbdEl-RoufMousaEl-Sheikh
AS-TJ-001 EasternPamirs 282 KimAndreacuteVanselow Vanselow(2016)
AS-TW-001 NationalVegetationDatabaseofTaiwan
930 Ching-FengLi Chang-FuHsieh
AS-YE-001 SocotraVegetationDatabase 396 MicheleDeSanctis FabioAttorre DeSanctisandAttorre(2012)
AU-AU-002 TERNAEKOS 21261 AnitaSmyth BenSparrow TurnerSmythWalkerandLowe(2017)
AU-NC-001 NewCaledonianPlantInventoryandPermanentPlotNetwork(NC-PIPPN)
201 JeacuterocircmeMunzinger PhilippeBirnbaum Ibanezetal(2014)
AU-NZ-001 NewZealandNationalVegetationDatabank
1895 SusanWiser WiserBellinghamandBurrows(2001)
AU-PG-001 ForestPlotsfromPapuaNewGuinea
63 TimothyWhitfeld GeorgeWeiblen Whitfeldetal(2014)
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
(Continues)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
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AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
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CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
emspensp emsp | emsp173Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
gt25Similarlywedefinednon-forestsbycalculatingthecoverofalltaxathatwerenotdefinedastreesorshrubs(alsotakenfromtheTRYplant growth form information) and thatwerenot taller than2musingtheTRYdataonmeanplantheightIntotal21888taxabelongedtothiscategoryWedefinedallplotsasnon-forestsifthesumofrelativecoveroftheselow-staturenon-treeandnon-shrubtaxawasgt90Aswedidnothavethegrowthformandheightin-formationforalltaxaafractionofabout25oftheplotsremainedunassigned (ie neither forest nor non-forest) In addition moredetailedclassificationsofplotsintophysiognomicformations(TableS32 inAppendixS3)andnaturalness (TableS33 inAppendixS3)werederivedfromvarioustypesofplot-levelordatabase-level in-formationprovidedbythesourcesandstoredinfiveseparatefields(seeTableS21inAppendixS2)
24emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Wedeveloped aworkflow to generate a phylogeny of the vascu-larplantspeciesinsPlotusingthephylogenyofZanneetal(2014)updatedbyQianandJin(2016)Speciespresent insPlotbutmiss-ing from this phylogenywere added next to a randomly selectedcongener (see also Maitner etal 2018) This approach has beendemonstratedtointroducelessbiasintosubsequentanalysesthanadding missing species as polytomies to the respective genera(DaviesKraftSalaminampWolkovich2012)Weonlyaddedspeciesbasedontaxonomicinformationonthegenuslevelthusnotmak-inguseoffamilyaffiliationBecauseoftheabsenceofcongenersinthereferencephylogeny7147speciescouldnotbeadded (117ofallresolvedtaxainsPlotandTRY)Thisresultedinaphylogeny
GIVD ID Database name of plots in sPlot 21 Custodian Deputy custodian Reference
NA-00-002 TreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)
1757 LuisCayuela Cayuelaetal(2012)
NA-CA-003 Database of Timberline VegetationinNWNorthAmerica
110 ViktoriaWagner TobySpribille WagnerSpribilleAbrahamczykandBergmeier(2014)
NA-CA-004 UnderstoryofSugarMapleDominatedStandsinQuebecandOntario(Canada)
156 IsabelleAubin AubinGachetMessierandBouchard(2007)
NA-CA-005 BorealForestofCanada 89 YvesBergeron LouisDeGrandpreacute
NA-GL-001 VegetationDatabaseofGreenland
664 BirgitJedrzejek FredJADanieumlls SiegDreesandDanieumlls(2006)
NA-US-002 VegBank 67352 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-006 CarolinaVegetationSurveyDatabase
17221 RobertKPeet MichaelTLee Peetetal(2012)
NA-US-014 Alaska-ArcticVegetationArchive 1363 DonaldAWalker AmyBreen Walkeretal(2016)
SA-00-002 VegPaacuteramo 2643 GwendolynPeyre XavierFont Peyreetal(2015)
SA-AR-002 VegetationDatabaseofCentralArgentina
218 MarceloRCabido AliciaAcosta
SA-BO-003 BoliviaForestPlots 75 MichaelKessler SebastianHerzog
SA-BR-002 ForestInventoryStateofSantaCatarinaBrazil(IFFSCProject)
1669 AlexanderChristianVibrans
AndreacuteLuisdeGasper VibransSevegnaniLingnerdeGasperandSabbagh(2010)
SA-BR-003 GrasslandsofRioGrandedoSulBrazil
320 EduardoVeacutelez-Martin ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-BR-004 GrasslandDatabaseofCamposSulinos
161 GerhardEOverbeck ValeacuterioDePattaPillar
SA-CL-002 SSAForests_Plots_db 261 AlvaroGGutierrez
SA-CL-003 ChileanParkTransects-Fondecyt1040528
165 AniacutebalPauchard AliciaMarticorena PauchardFuentesJimeacutenezBustamanteandMarticorena(2013)
SA-EC-001 EcuadorForestPlotDatabase 172 JuumlrgenHomeier
NoteGIVDIDreferstotheIDintheGlobalIndexofVegetation-PlotDatabases(httpwwwgivdinfo)whichmanagesthemetadataforsPlotandprovidesupdatedonlinedescriptionsofthesedatabasesaftertheGIVDIDindicatesthattherespectivedatabasedescriptioniscurrentlynotvisibleontheGIVDwebsiteDatasetscontributedinharmonizedformatfromacontinentaldataaggregator(ldquocollectivedatabaserdquoaccordingtothesPlotRules)arelistedunderitsnameFurtherreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersforparticulardatasetsarefoundAppendixS1
TABLE 2emsp (Continued)
174emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
emspensp emsp | emsp175Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
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SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
with54067 resolved taxonnames from61214standardized taxainthecombined listofsPlotandTRYThetreewasfinallyprunedtothevascularplanttaxaofthecurrentsPlotversion21resultinginaphylogenetictreefor53489outofthe58066taxainsPlotOfthese53489names16026arealsofoundamongthe31389taxainthephylogenetictreeofQianandJin(2016)ie511ThefullprocedureandtheRcodeareavailableinPurschke(2017b)
25emsp|emspAssociated environmental plot information
To complement the plot data we harmonized geographical coor-dinates (in decimal degrees) elevation (m above sea level) aspect(degrees)andslope(degrees)asprovidedbythecontributingdata-basesAllothervariablesweretoosparselyandtoo inconsistentlysampledacrossdatabasestobecombinedintheglobalsetbutwereretained in theoriginaldata sourcesandcanbe retrieved forpar-ticularpurposes
WeusedthegeographiccoordinatestocreateageodatabaseinArcGIS141 (ESRIRedlandsCA)to linksPlot21totheseclimateandsoildataWeretrieveddataforallthe19bioclimaticvariablesprovidedbyCHELSAv11(Kargeretal2017)byaveragingclimaticdatafromtheperiod1979ndash2013at30arcseconds (about1kmingridcellsneartotheequator)Thesevariablesarethesameastheones used in WorldClim (wwwworldclimorg Hijmans CameronParra Jones amp Jarvis 2005) but calculated with a downscalingapproachbasedonestimatesof theERA-Interimclimatic reanaly-sis(Deeetal2011)WhiletheCHELSAclimatologicaldatahaveasimilaraccuracyasotherproductsfortemperature theyaremoreprecise for precipitation patterns (Karger etal 2017) We also
calculated growing degree days for 1degC (GDD1) and 5degC (GDD5)accordingtoSynesandOsborne(2011)andbasedonCHELSAdataand included the indexof aridityandpotential evapotranspirationextractedfromtheCGIAR-CSIwebsite(wwwcgiar-csiorg)Inaddi-tionweextractedsevensoilvariablesfromtheSOILGRIDSproject(httpssoilgridsorg licensedby ISRICndashWorldSoil Information)downloadedat250-m resolutionand thenconverted to the same30-arcsecondgrid formatofCHELSAToexplore thedistributionofsPlotdataintheglobalenvironmentalspacewesubjectedall30climateandsoilvariablesoftheglobalterrestrialsurfacerasterizedona25arc-minutegridresolutiontoaprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)onstandardizedandcentereddataWesubsequentlycreateda grid of 100 cellstimes100 cells within the bi-dimensional environ-mentalspacedefinedbythefirsttwoPCAaxes(PC1andPC2)andcountedthenumberofterrestrialcellsperenvironmentalgridcellofthePC1ndashPC2spaceThenwecountedthenumberofplotsinsPlotinthesamePCAgrid(Figure2)
We linked all vegetationplots to twoglobal biome classifica-tionsWe used theWorldWildlife Fund (WWF) spatial informa-tion on terrestrial ecoregions (Olson etal 2001) to assign plotstooneofthe867ecoregions14biomesandeightbiogeographicrealmsTheWWFapproach isbasedonabottom-upexpertsys-tem using various regional biodiversity sources to define ecore-gions which in turn are grouped into realms and biomes (Olsonetal2001) Inadditionwecreatedashapefile for theecozonesdefinedbySchultz(2005)torepresentmajorbiomesinresponsetoglobalclimaticvariationSincethesezonesareclimaticallyhetero-geneous inmountain regionswedifferentiatedanadditional ldquoal-pinerdquobiomeformountainareasabovethelowermountainthermal
F IGURE 2emspDistributionofvegetationplotsfromsPlot21intheglobalenvironmentalspaceComparisonofthedistributionofallterrestrial25arc-minutecells(a)andplotsinsPlot21(b)intheprincipalcomponentanalysis(PCA)spacedefinedon30environmental(climateandsoil)variablesThePCAspacewasdividedintoa100times100regulargridForeachelementofthisgridthegraphsshowthenumberof25arc-minutecells(a)andplots(b)respectivelyColorsrefertothelogarithmofnumberofplotswiththelegendshowinguntransformednumberofplotsThefirstandsecondPCAaxisexplained486and273ofthetotalvariance
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
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AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
beltasdefinedintheclassificationofworldmountainregionsbyKoumlrner etal (2017) This resulted in adistinctionof10majorbi-omes(FigureS45inAppendixS4)whoseshapefileisfreelyavail-able(AppendixS5)
26emsp|emspTrait information
Tobroadenthepotentialapplicationsoftheglobalvegetationda-tabaseinfunctionalcontextswelinkedsPlottoTRYWeaccessedplanttraitdatafromTRYversion30onAugust102016andin-cluded18traitsthatdescribetheleafwoodandseedeconomicsspectra(Westoby1998Reich2014TableS64inAppendixS6)andareknowntoaffectdifferentkeyecosystemprocessesandtorespond tomacroclimatic drivers These traits were representedacross all species in theTRYdatabaseby at least 1000 trait re-cordsWe excluded trait records frommanipulative experimentsandoutliers (Kattgeetal 2011)which resulted in amatrixwith632938 individual plant records on 52032 taxa in TRY havingdata records foranaverageof308of the18selected traitsOnaverageeachtraithasbeenmeasuredatleastoncein171ofalltaxaInordertoattaindataforthese18traitsforallspecieswithatleastonetraitvalueinTRYweemployedhierarchicalBayesianmodelingusingtheRpackagelsquoBHPMFrsquo(FazayeliBanerjeeKattgeSchrodt amp Reich 2017 Schrodt etal 2015) to fill a gap in thematrixofindividualplantrecordsinTRYGapfillingallowsobtain-ingtraitvaluesforaspeciesonwhichthistraithasnotbeenmeas-uredbutforwhichothertraitsareavailableToassessgap-fillingqualityweusedtheprobabilitydensitydistributionsprovidedbyBHPMFforeachimputationandremovedhighlyuncertainimputa-tionswithacoefficientofvariationgt1Wethenloge-transformedallgap-filledtraitvaluesandaveragedeachtraitbytaxonFortaxarecorded at genus level onlywe calculated genusmeans result-inginafulltraitmatrixfor26632outofthe54519taxainsPlot(459)with61510and25116taxaatthefamilygenusandspe-cieslevelrespectivelyThesespeciescovered887ofallspecies-by-plotcombinations
Foreverytraitjandplotkwecalculatedthecommunity-weightedmean(CWM)andthecommunity-weightedvariance(CWV)foreachofthe18traitsinaplot(Enquistetal2015)
where nk is thenumberof specieswith trait information inplotkpikistherelativeabundanceofspecies iinplotk calculated as the speciesrsquofractionincoverorabundanceoftotalcoverorabundanceand tij is themeanvalueofspecies i for trait jCWMsandCWVswerecalculatedfor18traits in1117369and1099463plots re-spectivelythesecondbeingasmallernumberasat leasttwotaxawereneededforCWVcalculation
3emsp |emspCONTENT OF SPLOT 2 1
31emsp|emspPlot community data
sPlot 21 contains 1121244 vegetation plots from 160 countriesand from all continents (Figure3) The global coverage is biasedtowards Europe North America and Australia reflecting unequalsampling effort across the globe (Table1) At the ecoregion levelmajorgapsoccur inthewettropicsofSouthAmericaandAsiaaswellasinsubtropicaldesertsworldwideandintheNorthAmericantaigaAlthough theplotsarehighlyclusteredgeographically theircoverageintheenvironmentalspaceismuchmorerepresentativethehighestconcentrationofplotsisfoundinenvironmentsthataremostabundantglobally(Figure2)whiletheyarelackingintheverymoistpartsoftheenvironmentalspacewhicharealsospatiallyrareandintheverycoldpartswhicharesparselyvegetated
Inmostcases(984)plotrecordsinsPlotincludefullspecieslistsofvascularplantswhile16hadonlywoodspeciesabovea certain diameter or only themost dominant species recordedTerricolous bryophytes and lichens were additionally identifiedin 14 and 7 of plots respectively (Table S21 in AppendixS2) Forest and non-forest plots comprise 330873 (297) and513035 (460)ofallplots insPlot respectively Inmostcasesspeciesabundancewasestimatedusingdifferentvariantsof theBraun-Blanquet coverndashabundance scale (66) followed by per-centagecover (15)and55othernumericorordinalscalesThetemporalextentofthedataspansfrom1885to2015butgt94of vegetation plots were recorded later than 1960 (Figure S21in Appendix S2) Almost all plots are georeferenced (1120686)andthemajorityofplotshavelocationuncertaintyof10morless(FigureS22inAppendixS2)
Vascularplant richnessperplot ranges from1 to723species(median=17species)Themostfrequentrichnessclassisbetween20and25species(FigureS23inAppendixS2)Plotsizeisreportedin654ofplots ranging fromlt1m2 to25hawith amedianof36 m2Whileforestplotshaveplotsizesge100m2andinmostcasesle1000m2 non-forestplots rangebetween5and100m2 (FigureS24 inAppendix S2)Whenusing these size ranges forest plotstendtobericher inspecies(Figure4a)Thefactthatthegradientinrichnessfoundinourplotswasatleastoneorderofmagnitudestronger than differences that could be expected by the differ-encesinplotsizepromptedustoproducethefirstglobalmapsofplot-scalespeciesrichnessseparatelyforforestsandnon-forests(Figure4a)Whileplotswithcompletevascularspeciescompositionarelargelylackingfromthewettropicsfortheremainingbiomestheplot-scalerichnessdatadonotshowthetypicallatitudinalrich-nessgradient ineither formationParticularlyspecies-richforestsarefoundinthewetsubtropics(suchasSEUnitedStatesTaiwanandtheEastcoastofAustralia)aswellasinsomemountainousre-gionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasiaLikewisenon-forest communities have a particularly high mean vascular plantspeciesinmountainousregionsofthenemoralandsteppicbiomesofEurasia
CWMjk =
nksum
i
piktij
CWVjk =
nksum
i
pik(tijminusCWMjk)2
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
emspensp emsp | emsp177Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
178emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
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AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
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CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
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Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
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SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
176emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 3emspGlobalcoverageofsPlot21(a)Contributingdatabasesidentifiedbydifferentcolourswithindicationofthetwodataaggregators(EVATAVA)andafewparticularlylargeindividualdatabases(b)availableplotnumbersperWWFEcoregionand(c)availableplotdensityingridcellsof100kmtimes100km
emspensp emsp | emsp177Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
178emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
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CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
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GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
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Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
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Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
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Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
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KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
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traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
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KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
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Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
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Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
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Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
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Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
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PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
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QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
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Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
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Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
emspensp emsp | emsp177Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
F IGURE 4emspExamplesofglobalcommunity-levelpatternsthatcanbederivedfrom(a)sPlotaloneand(bndashd)sPlotcombinedwithTRYhereshownasrawdataaveragedby1-degreegridcellsThereareonlyaveryfewcells(142outof2633)comprisingonlyasingleplotForthemapsonlyplotswithfullvascularspeciescompositionandspatialaccuracylt5kmwereusedTheyarebasedon148474and218051plotsforforestsandnon-forestsrespectivelyNotethatthesemapsarenotcorrectedforbiasescausedbythefactsthatnotallcommunitytypeswererecordedinallgridcellsandthatplotsizesaswellasthefractionofspecieswithavailabletraitdatavariedspatiallyMapsshowpatternsof(a)fine-grainalphadiversityexpressedasvascularplantspeciesrichness(onlyplotswithplotsizesof100ndash1000msup2forforestsand5ndash100msup2fornon-forests)(b)community-weightedmeans(CWMs)forloge-transformedtraitvaluesofspecificleafarea(SLAm
2kg)(c)plantheight(m)and(d)seedmass(mg)
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
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CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
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Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
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Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
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KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
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traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
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Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
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Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
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MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
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Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
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PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
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ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
32emsp|emspPhylogenetic information
Thephylogenetic treeforsPlotwasproducedfrom53489vascu-larplantnamescontainedinthedatabasecomprising5518genera(AppendixS7)ModeratelytohighlyfrequentspeciesinsPlot21areequallydistributedacrossthephylogeny(correspondingtoyellow-ishtoreddishcolorsforlowandhighpeaksrespectivelyinFigureS76 inAppendixS7)Coverageof species included in thephylog-eny ranges from 89 of species that occur only once in all plotsto100ofspecieswithafrequencygt10000plots (FigureS77 inAppendixS7)
33emsp|emspFunctional information
Theproportionofspecieswithtraitinformationincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequency inplotsGap-filledtrait information isavailablefor772and962fortaxathatoccurred inmorethan100and1000 plots respectively Trait coverage is similar across biomes(FigureS88 inAppendixS8)Acrossallbiomes theproportionofspeciesforwhichgap-filledtraitdataareavailableincreaseswiththespeciesrsquo frequencyacrossplotsCompared togap-filleddata traitcoveragefortheoriginaltraitdataisconsiderablylowerbeinghigh-estforheightseedmassleafareaandspecificleafarea(SLAFigureS89inAppendixS8)
Thehighrepresentationofthe18traitsinthegap-filledtraitdataandthehighdegreeoftraitcoverageforfrequentspeciesacrossallbiomes(gt75)madeusconfidenttoproducethefirstmapsofglobalpatternsofcommunity-weightedmeans(CWMs)(Figure4bndashd)ThemapsshowthemaintraitdimensionsofSLAheightandseedmassseparatelyforforestsandnon-forestsforthoseregionsoftheworldthat are already sufficiently covered by sPlot data AccordinglyCWMsofSLAarequitesimilarforforestandnon-forestplotsbeinghighest inwesternNorthAmericaandEuropeand lowest ineast-ernNorthAmericaEastandSouthAustralia(Figure4b)Non-forestvegetation shows lowest CWMs of SLA in the desert regions oftheNamibandSinaiForestswithhighestCWMsofcanopyheightare foundalong thewesternandeasterncoastofNorthAmericasomeregionsinEuropeEastAsiaandsouthernAustralia(Figure4c)Theseareasonlypartlycoincidewiththoseofhighestseedmassesfor forestswhile seedmass in non-forests is highest in the east-ernMediterraneanBasinandinCentralAsia(Figure4d)Thecorre-spondingpatternsforCWVareshowninFigureS910inAppendixS9
4emsp |emspDATA USAGE
ThesPlotdatabase(thevegetation-plotdataincludingtheenviron-mental informationforeachplotandthespeciesphylogeny) is re-leasedinfixedversionstoallowreproducibilityofresultsbutalsoduetotheenormouseffortneededfordataintegrationandharmo-nizationandforupdatingthephylogenyBydeliveringfewfixedver-sionswhile keeping older versions available the sPlot consortium
ensuresthatthesamedatacanbeusedinparallelprojectsandthatthedataunderlyingaspecificstudyremainaccessibleinthefuturethusallowingre-analysisEachnewversionwillbematchedtothecurrentTRYdatabase
Dataaccess to sPlot is regulatedby theGovernanceandDataPropertyRules(wwwidivdesPlot)toensureafairbalancebetweenthe interests of data contributors and data analysts In brief thesPlotRulesstatethat(a)allcontributingvegetation-plotdatabasesbecomemembersofthesPlotconsortiumrepresentedbytheircus-todian and deputy custodian (b) vegetation-plot data contributedto sPlot remain the property of the data contributors and can bewithdrawnatany timeexcept forapprovedprojects (c)othersci-entists(egdatamanagersorparticipantsofthesPlotworkshops)with particular responsibilitiesmay also be appointed as personalmembers to thesPlotconsortium (d) sPlotdatacanbe requestedforprojects that involveat leastonememberof thesPlotconsor-tium(e)wheneveraprojecthasbeenproposedallsPlotconsortiummemberswillbeinformedandcandeclaretheirinterestinbecomingco-authorsofmanuscriptsresultingfromthisprojectandthenbe-comingactivelyinvolvedindataevaluationandwritingand(f)ifalsothematchedgap-filledororiginaltraitdatafromTRYarerequestedforaprojectlikewisemembersfromtheTRYconsortiumcanopt-inasco-authorsThesPlotdatabaseisthereforeavailableaccordingtoa lsquogive-and-receiversquo systemMoreover thedataareavailable toany researcherbyestablishingacollaboration that includesand issupportedbyatleastonesPlotconsortiummember
The sPlot consortium is governed by a Steering Committeeelectedbyallconsortiummembersfortwo-yearrenewabletermsProject proposals can be submitted to the Steering CommitteewhichensuresthatthesPlotRulesarefollowedandredundantworkbetween overlapping projects is avoided The lists of databasessPlot consortiummembers and the SteeringCommitteemembersareupdatedregularlyonthesPlotwebsiteasarethesPlotRulesandthelistofapprovedprojects
5emsp |emspEXPECTED IMPACT AND LIMITATIONS
Themain aim of the sPlot database is to catalyze a collaborativenetwork forunderstandingglobaldiversitypatternsofplantcom-munities in space and time sPlot provides a unique integratedglobal repository of data that would otherwise be fragmented inunconnected and structurally inconsistent databases at regionalnational or continental levels Togetherwith the provision of har-monized phylogenetic functional and environmental informationsPlotallowsforthefirsttimeglobalanalysesofplantcommunitydataComparedtoapproachesusingdataaggregatedfromspeciesoccurrences ingridcellssPlotwillsignificantlyadvanceecologicalanalysesandfutureinterdisciplinaryresearchinatleastfourdiffer-ent ways
1 Using sPlot one can predict the species that can co-exist ina community and also the frequencies of their co-occurrence
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
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AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
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AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
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CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
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Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
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GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
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Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
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Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
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Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
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KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
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traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
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KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
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Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
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Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
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Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
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Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
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PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
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Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
emspensp emsp | emsp179Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
(Breitschwerdt Jandt amp Bruelheide 2015) or niche overlap(Broennimann etal 2012) In addition emerging tools such asMarkovnetworkscanbeusedtoinferstrengthsofinterspecificinteractions (Harris 2016) When investigating community as-sembly rules the same information can be used to derivespeciespoolsforspecificvegetationtypes(deBelloetal2016Karger etal 2016 Lewis Szava-Kovats amp Paumlrtel 2016)Moreover the co-occurrence data from sPlot can be used toaddress fundamental patterns and drivers of plant invasionsbetter than information on large geographic entities (eg vanKleunen etal 2015) alone could
2 sPlot data canbe aggregated across all typesof plots by gridcellsecoregionsenvironmentorevenvegetationtypeorforma-tionFurthermorereplicatedplotswithingridcellsecoregionsoranyothersubdivisionofenvironmentalconditionsorvegetationtypesallowuserstoderivemeasuresofcompositionaldifferencesbetween plant communities within grid cells (= beta diversityTable1)Thusthecommunitydataareanimportantcomplementto regional-scale species occurrence data (eg Enquist etal2016KreftampJetz2007)
3 sPlotdataprovideinformationontheproportionofspeciesinacommunity(intermsofcoverbasalareafrequency)Whencom-binedwithfunctionaltraitinformationrelativeabundanceofspe-ciesallowscalculationofcommunityabundance-weightedmeantraitvalues (Bruelheideetal2018) Informationontherelativecontributionofspeciestoacommunity-aggregatedtraitvalueisparticularlynecessarywhentraitsareusedasproxiesforvegeta-tionfunctionsandprocessesallowingtotestamongotherthingsthemassratiohypothesis(Garnieretal2004Grime1998)andtoassess the rolesofdivergent traits (Diacuteazetal 2007Kroumlberetal2015)
4 Plantspecieswithinplotscanbelinkedtotraitsthatpredictinter-actionswithorganisms fromother trophic groupsbothbelow-ground (mycorrhizae soil decomposers) and above-ground(herbivoresandpollinators)Thiswillallowlinkingvegetationplotinformation to ecosystem processes and services such as pestcontrolpollinationandnutrientcycling(egdeBelloetal2010)
Despitethe largeamountofavailabledataand itspotentialsuit-abilityforglobalresearchanumberoflimitationsmustbeconsideredbyfutureusersofsPlotsuchas(a)biasestowardscertainregionsandcommunities (b)near-complete lackofplotswithcompletevascularplant species composition for certain regions (eg thewet tropics)(c) identificationorsamplingerrorsbythesurveyorsandincompleterecordsbecausethedetectionofsomespeciesmaybeprecludedincertainseasonsbytheirphenology(d)taxonomicuncertaintyparticu-larlyinthetropics(e)stronglyvaryingplotsizesemployedindifferentstudiesandregions(f)lackoftraitmeasuresattheplotlevelForex-amplepatternsofdiversitycomponentsaretypicallyaffectedbygrainsizeThismeansthatusingsPlotdataforsuchstudieseitherrequiresfiltering forplotswith identicalorat least similar sizeoraccountingfortheplot-sizeeffectsinthestatisticalmodelInadditionanalysesof functional diversity with sPlot data are limited by the absence of
traitdatafora(small)portionofthespeciesandbythelackofplot-specifictraitmeasuresFurthermorethenon-randomandgeographi-callyandecologicallyveryunequaldistributionoftheplotscontainedin sPlot call for stratified resampling tobalance recordsofdifferentenvironments(egstratifiedbyclimateFigure2)orphysiognomicfor-mations(Figure4)UsersofsPlotneedtobeawareoftheseandotherlimitationsand tocorrectpotentialbiases for their specific researchquestion
6emsp |emspCONCLUSION
sPlotisauniqueglobaldatabaseofplantcommunityrecordssam-pledwithrelativelysimilarmethodswidelyusedinvegetationecol-ogyThe integrationofco-occurrencedata intoaunifieddatabasethatcanbedirectlylinkedtoenvironmentalfunctionalandphyloge-neticinformationmakessPlotanunprecedentedandessentialtoolforanalyzingglobalplantdiversity thestructureofplantcommu-nitiesandtheco-occurrenceofplantspeciesThecompatibilityofthis consolidated databasewith other global databases eg via ajointtaxonomicbackbonewithTRYandtheGlobalNaturalizedAlienFlora (GloNAF vanKleunenetal 2015) (via taxonnames) or viastandardizedgeo-referencewithdatabasesofenvironmentalinfor-mationsuchasCHELSAWorldClimorSoilGrids (Bruelheideetal2018)facilitatesdataintegrationandcreatesnewresearchoppor-tunitiesTheadaptivemanagementofthedatabaseemployedbythesPlotconsortiumallowsregularincorporationofnewdataresultinginadynamicplatformforstoringandanalyzing themostcompre-hensivecompilationofplantcommunitydataworldwide
ACKNOWLEDG EMENTS
We are grateful to thousands of vegetation scientistswho sam-pledvegetationplots in the fieldordigitized them into regionalnational or international databasesWe also appreciate the sup-portoftheGermanResearchFoundationforfundingsPlotasoneoftheiDiv(DFGFZT118)researchplatformsandtheorganizationofthreeworkshopsthroughthesDivcallsWeacknowledgethissupportwithnamingthedatabaseldquosPlotrdquowheretheldquosrdquoreferstothe sDiv synthesis workshops The studywas supported by theTRY initiativeonplant traits (httpwwwtry-dborg) For all fur-theracknowledgementsseeAppendixS10WethankMeelisPaumlrtelforhisveryfastandconstructivefeedbackonanearlierversionofthismanuscript
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
HBruhadtheoriginalideaandledtheconsortiumfromthestartwhileOPuandJDcoordinatedthesPlotworkshopsJDSMHandUJcompiledthedatabasestobeincludedinsPlotJDandlaterBJ-AandFMScoordinatedthenetworkandthedatabaseOPpreparedthetaxonomicandphylogeneticdataSMHprogrammedtheTurbovegsoftwareBSaFJHBruJDJKMChandVDP
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
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AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
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CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
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Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
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184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
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Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
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PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
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SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
180emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
organizedthenetworkintheSteeringCommitteeBJ-AandHBruled the writing together with JD and input from SMH OPuMChFJ JKVDPBSa IAu IBRKPRFSHUJ JLGPFMSMSFSandMWTherestofauthors(orderedalpha-betically)contributedtheplotandtraitdataAllauthorsagreedwiththefinalmanuscript
DATA ACCE SSIBILIT Y
ThedatacontainedinsPlot(thevegetation-plotdatacomplementedbyspeciesphylogenyandenvironmentalinformation)areavailableonrequestthroughcontactinganyoftheconsortiummembersforsub-mittingapaperproposalTheproposalsshouldfollowtheGovernanceandDataPropertyRulesofthesPlotWorkingGroupwhichareavail-ableonthesPlotwebsite(wwwidivdesPlot)AfteracceptancetherespectivedatawillbeprovidedInadditiontotheplotdataCWMsandCWVsof18planttraitsareavailableforeveryplot
ORCID
Helge Bruelheide httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3135-0356
Juumlrgen Dengler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3221-660X
Borja Jimeacutenez-Alfaro httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6601-9597
Oliver Purschke httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0444-0882
Milan Chytryacute httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8122-3075
Valeacuterio D Pillar httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6408-2891
Jens Kattge httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1022-8469
Idoia Biurrun httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1454-0433
Richard Field httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2613-2688
Jonathan Lenoir httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0638-9582
Robert K Peet httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2823-6587
Francesco Maria Sabatini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7202-7697
Marco Schmidt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6087-6117
Franziska Schrodt httpsorcidorg0000-0001-9053-8872
Emiliano Agrillo httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2346-8346
Miguel Alvarez httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1500-1834
Pierangela Angelini httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5321-9757
Mohammed A S Arfin Khan httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6275-7023
Fabio Attorre httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7744-2195
Michael Beckmann httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5678-265X
Yves Bergeron httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3707-3687
Erwin Bergmeier httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6118-4611
Zoltaacuten Botta-Dukaacutet httpsorcidorg0000-0002-9544-3474
Chaeho Byun httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3209-3275
Laura Casella httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2550-3010
Luis Cayuela httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3562-2662
Tomaacuteš Černyacute httpsorcidorg0000-0003-2637-808X
Victor Chepinoga httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3809-7453
Jaacutenos Csiky httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7920-5070
Els De Bie httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7679-743X
Michele De Sanctis httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7280-6199
Jaime Faguacutendez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6605-7278
Xavier Font httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7253-8905
Estelle Forey httpsorcidorg0000-0001-6082-3023
Andreacute Luis Gasper httpsorcidorg0000-0002-1940-9581
Alvaro G Gutierrez httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8928-3198
Tianhua He httpsorcidorg0000-0002-0924-3637
Pedro Higuchi httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3855-555X
Norbert Houmllzel httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6367-3400
Steven Jansen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4476-5334
Martin Jiroušek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4293-478X
Norbert Juumlrgens httpsorcidorg0000-0003-3211-0549
Ali Kavgacı httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4549-3668
Elizabeth Kearsley httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0046-3606
Michael Kessler httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4612-9937
Ingolf Kuumlhn httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1691-8249
Flavia Landucci httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6848-0384
Ching-Feng Li httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0744-490X
Peter Manning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7940-2023
Corrado Marcenograve httpsorcidorg0000-0003-4361-5200
Maurizio Mencuccini httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0840-1477
Vanessa Minden httpsorcidorg0000-0002-4933-5931
Jesper Erenskjold Moeslund httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8591-7149
Marco Moretti httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5845-3198
Jeacuterocircme Munzinger httpsorcidorg0000-0001-5300-2702
Uumllo Niinemets httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3078-2192
Arkadiusz Nowak httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8638-0208
Gerhard E Overbeck httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8716-5136
Wim A Ozinga httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6369-7859
Hristo Pedashenko httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6743-0625
Josep Pentildeuelas httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7215-0150
Aaron Peacuterez-Haase httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5974-7374
Petr Petřiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8518-6737
Oliver L Phillips httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8993-6168
Cyrus Samimi httpsorcidorg0000-0001-7001-7893
Jozef Šibiacutek httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5949-862X
Željko Škvorc httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3052-699X
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
AćićSPetrovićMŠilcUampDajićStevanovićZ(2012)VegetationdatabaseGrasslandVegetationofSerbia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4418httpsdoiorg107809b-e00206
AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
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vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
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Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
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WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
emspensp emsp | emsp181Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Jens-Christian Svenning httpsorcidorg0000-0002-3415-0862
Grzegorz Swacha httpsorcidorg0000-0002-6380-2954
Emin Ugurlu httpsorcidorg0000-0003-0824-1426
Eduardo Veacutelez-Martin httpsorcidorg0000-0001-8028-8953
Roberto Venanzoni httpsorcidorg0000-0002-7768-0468
Risto Virtanen httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8295-8217
Evan Weiher httpsorcidorg0000-0002-5375-9964
Timothy Whitfeld httpsorcidorg0000-0003-1850-6432
Susan Wiser httpsorcidorg0000-0002-8938-8181
R E FE R E N C E S
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AgrilloEAlessiNMassimiMSpadaFDeSanctisMFrancesconiF hellip Attorre F (2017) Nationwide Vegetation Plot Database ndashSapienzaUniversityofRomestateoftheartbasicfiguresandfutureperspectivesPhytocoenologia47221ndash229httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170139
APGIII(2009)AnupdateoftheAngiospermPhylogenyGroupclassifica-tionfortheordersandfamiliesoffloweringplantsAPGIIIBotanical Journal of the Linnean Society161105ndash121
Apostolova I SopotlievaD PedashenkoH VelevNampVasilev K(2012)BulgarianVegetationDatabasehistoricbackgroundcurrentstatusandfutureprospects In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4141ndash148httpsdoiorg107809b-e
AubinIGachetSMessierCampBouchardA(2007)Howresilientarenorthernhardwood forests tohumandisturbanceAnevaluationusingaplantfunctionalgroupapproachEcoscience14259ndash271httpsdoiorg1029801195-6860(2007)14[259hranhf]20co2
Beck J Ballesteros-Mejia L Buchmann C M Dengler J FritzS A Gruber B hellip Dormann C F (2012) Whats on the hori-zon for macroecology Ecography 35 673ndash683 httpsdoiorg101111j1600-0587201207364x
BiurrunIGarciacutea-MijangosICamposJAHerreraMampLoidiJ(2012)Vegetation-PlotDatabaseof theUniversityof theBasqueCountry(BIOVEG)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 328 httpsdoiorg107809b-e 00121
BoakesEHMcGowanPJFullerRAChang-qingDClarkNEOConnorKampMaceGM(2010)Distortedviewsofbiodiversityspatial and temporalbias in speciesoccurrencedataPLoS Biology8(6)e1000385
Borchardt P amp SchickhoffU (2012) VegetationDatabase of South-WesternKyrgyzstanndash thewalnut-wildfruit forestsandalpinepas-tures In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4309httpsdoiorg107809b-e
BorgyBViolleCCholerPDenellePMunozFKattgeJhellipGarnierE(2017)PlantcommunitystructureandnitrogeninputsmodulatetheclimatesignalonleaftraitsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography261138ndash1152httpsdoiorg101111geb12623
BoyleBHopkinsNLuZRaygozaGarayJAMozzherinDReesThellipEnquistBJ (2013)ThetaxonomicnameresolutionserviceAnonlinetool forautomatedstandardizationofplantnamesBMC Bioinformatics1416httpsdoiorg1011861471-2105-14-16
BreitschwerdtEJandtUampBruelheideH(2015)Donewcomersstickto the rulesof the residentsDesigning trait-basedcommunityas-sembly tests Journal of Vegetation Science26219ndash232httpsdoiorg101111jvs12235
Brisse H de Ruffray P Grandjouan G amp Hoff M (1995) ThePhytosociologicalDatabaseldquoSOPHYrdquoPart1CalibrationofindicatorplantsPartIISocio-ecologicalclassificationofthereleveacutesAnnali di Botanica53177ndash223
Broennimann O Fitzpatrick M C Pearman P B Petitpierre BPellissierLYoccozNGhellipGuisanA (2012)Measuringecolog-icalnicheoverlapfromoccurrenceandspatialenvironmentaldataGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21481ndash497
BruelheideHBoumlhnkeMBothSFangTAssmannTBaruffolMhellipSchmidB(2011)CommunityassemblyduringsecondaryforestsuccessioninaChinesesubtropicalforestEcological Monographs8125ndash41httpsdoiorg10189009-21721
BruelheideHDengler J PurschkeO Lenoir J Jimeacutenez-AlfaroBHennekensSMhellipJandtU (2018)Globaltraitndashenvironmentre-lationships of plant communities Nature Ecology and Evolution 21906ndash1917httpsdoiorg101038s41559-018-0699-8
Butler E E Datta A Flores-Moreno H Chen MWythers K RFazayeliFhellipReichPB(2017)Mappinglocalandglobalvariabil-ity in plant trait distributionsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 114 E10937ndashE10946httpsdoiorg101073pnas1708984114
Casella L Bianco P M Angelini P amp Morroni E (2012) ItalianNational Vegetation Database (BVNISPRA) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4404httpsdoiorg107809b-e
CayuelaLGaacutelvez-BravoLPeacuterezPeacuterezRAlbuquerqueFSGolicherDJZahawiRAhellipZamoraR(2012)TheTreeBiodiversityNetwork(BIOTREE-NET)prospectsforbiodiversityresearchandconservationintheNeotropicsIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4211ndash224httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Cayuela L Stein A amp Oksanen J (2017) Taxonstand Taxonomic Standardization of Plant Species Names R package version 20 RetrievedfromhttpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=Taxonstand
ČernyacuteTKopeckyacuteMPetřiacutekPSongJ-SŠrůtekMValachovičMhellipDoležalJ(2015)ClassificationofKoreanforestspatternsalonggeographicandenvironmentalgradientsApplied Vegetation Science185ndash22
Chamberlain S (2017) rgbif Interface to the Global lsquoBiodiversityrsquo Information Facility lsquoAPIrsquo R package version 098 Retrieved from httpsCRANR-projectorgpackage=rgbif
ChepinogaVV(2012)WetlandVegetationDatabaseofBaikalSiberia(WETBS)In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4311httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteM(2012)DatabaseofMasarykUniversitysVegetationResearchinSiberia In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4290httpsdoiorg107809b-e
ChytryacuteMHennekensSMJimeacutenez-AlfaroBKnollovaacute IDenglerJ Jansen F hellip Yamalov S (2016) European Vegetation Archive(EVA)AnintegrateddatabaseofEuropeanvegetationplotsApplied Vegetation Science19173ndash180httpsdoiorg101111avsc12191
Chytryacute M amp Rafajovaacute M (2003) Czech National PhytosociologicalDatabase basic statistics of the available vegetation-plot dataPreslia751ndash15
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
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CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Franklin J Serra-Diaz J M Syphard A D amp Regan HM (2017)Bigdataforforecastingtheimpactsofglobalchangeonplantcom-munities Global Ecology and Biogeography 26 6ndash17 httpsdoiorg101111geb12501
FranzNMPeetRKampWeakleyAS (2004)Ontheuseoftaxo-nomic concepts in support of biodiversity and taxonomy InQDWheeler(Ed)The new taxonomy(pp63ndash86)BocaRatonFLUSATaylorampFrancis
GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
GastonKJampCurnuttJL(1998)ThedynamicsofabundancendashrangesizerelationshipsOikos8138ndash44httpsdoiorg1023073546465
Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
GrimeJP(1998)Benefitsofplantdiversitytoecosystemsimmediatefilter and founder effects Journal of Ecology86902ndash910httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2745199800306x
Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
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KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
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Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
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Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
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BRUELHEIDE Et aL
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Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
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Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
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Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
182emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
CostelloMJWilsonSampHouldingB(2012)Predictingtotalglobalspecies richness using rates of species description and estimatesof taxonomic effort Systematic Biology 61 871ndash883 httpsdoiorg101093sysbiosyr080
Currie D J Mittelbach G G Cornell H V Field R Gueacutegan J-FHawkins BAhellipTurner J RG (2004) Predictions and testsof climate-based hypotheses of broad-scale variation in tax-onomic richness Ecology Letters 7 1121ndash1134 httpsdoiorg101111j1461-0248200400671x
Davies T J Kraft N J B Salamin N amp Wolkovich E M (2012)Incompletely resolved phylogenetic trees inflate estimates ofphylogenetic conservatism Ecology 93 242ndash247 httpsdoiorg10189011-13601
deBelloFFibichPZelenyacuteDKopeckyacuteMMudraacutekOChytryacuteMhellipPaumlrtelM(2016)Measuringsizeandcompositionofspeciespoolsa comparison of dark diversity estimatesEcology and Evolution64088ndash4101httpsdoiorg101002ece32169
de Bello F Lavorel S Diacuteaz S Harrington R Cornelissen J HC Bardgett R D hellip Harrison P A (2010) Towards an assess-ment ofmultiple ecosystem processes and services via functionaltraits Biodiversity and Conservation 19 2873ndash2893 httpsdoiorg101007s10531-010-9850-9
DeSanctisMampAttorreF(2012)SocotraVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4315httpsdoiorg107809b-e
De SanctisM Fanelli GMullaj A ampAttorre F (2017) Vegetationdatabase of Albania Phytocoenologia 47 107ndash108 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170178
DeeDPUppalaSMSimmonsAJBerrisfordPPoliPKobayashiShellipVitartF(2011)TheERAInterimreanalysisconfigurationandperformanceofthedataassimilationsystemQuarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society137553ndash597httpsdoiorg101002qj828
Dengler J Jansen F Gloumlckler F Peet R K De Caacuteceres MChytryacuteMhellipSpencerN (2011)TheGlobal IndexofVegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD) a new resource for vegetation sci-ence Journal of Vegetation Science 22 582ndash597 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101265x
DenglerJampRūsiņaS(2012)DatabaseDryGrasslandsintheNordicandBaltic region In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 319ndash320 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Diacuteaz S Lavorel S deBello FQueacutetier FGrigulis K ampRobson TM (2007) Incorporating plant functional diversity effects in eco-system service assessments Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America10420684ndash20689httpsdoiorg101073pnas0704716104
DimopoulosPampTsiripidisI(2012)HellenicNatura2000VegetationDatabase (HelNAtVeg) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation data-bases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4388httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Ellenberg H amp Muumlller-Dombois D (1967) Tentative physiognomic-ecological classification of plant formations on earth Berichte des Geobotanischen Institutes der Eidg Techn Hochschule Stiftung Ruumlbel37(196566)21ndash55
Elmendorf S C Henry G H R Hollister R D Bjoumlrk R GBoulanger-LapointeNCooperEJhellipWipfS(2012)Plot-scaleevidenceoftundravegetationchangeandlinkstosummerwarm-ingNature Climate Change2 453ndash457httpsdoiorg101038nclimate1465
Engemann K Sandel B Enquist B J Joslashrgensen P M Kraft NMarcuse-KubitzaAhellipSvenningJ-C(2016)Patternsanddriversof
plantfunctionalgroupdominanceacrosstheWesternHemisphereamacroecologicalre-assessmentbasedonamassivebotanicaldata-set Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society180141ndash160httpsdoiorg101111boj12362
Enquist B J Condit R Peet R K SchildhauerM amp Thiers BM(2016) Cyberinfrastructure for an integrated botanical informa-tionnetworktoinvestigatetheecologicalimpactsofglobalclimatechange on plant biodiversityPeerJ Preprints e2615v1 httpsdoiorg107287peerjpreprints2615v2
EnquistBJNorbergJBonserSPViolleCWebbCTHendersonAhellip Savage VM (2015) Scaling from traits to ecosystems de-velopingageneraltraitdrivertheoryviaintegratingtrait-basedandmetabolicscalingtheoriesAdvances in Ecological Research52249ndash318httpsdoiorg101016bsaecr201502001
Ewald J May R amp Kleikamp M (2012) VegetWeb ndash the nationalonline-repositoryofvegetationplotsfromGermanyIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4173ndash175httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Fazayeli F Banerjee A Kattge J Schrodt F amp Reich P B (2017)BHPMF Uncertainty Quantified Matrix Completion using Bayesian Hierarchical Matrix Factorization R Package Version 10 Retrieved fromhttpsrdrriocranBHPMF
FederhenS (2010)The taxonomyproject In JMcEntyreamp JOstell(Eds)The NCBI handbook [Internet] BethesdaMDUSANationalCenterforBiotechnologyInformation[Accessed25October2011]Retrievedfromhttpwwwncbinlmnihgovguidetaxonomy
Finckh M (2012) Vegetation Database of Southern Morocco In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4297httpsdoiorg107809b-e
FotiadisGTsiripidisIBergmeierEampDimopoulosP(2012)HellenicWoodlandDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 389 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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GarnierECortez JBillegravesGNavasM-LRoumetCDebusscheMhellipToussaintJ-P(2004)Plantfunctionalmarkerscaptureeco-systempropertiesduringsecondarysuccessionEcology852630ndash2637httpsdoiorg10189003-0799
Gaston K J Blackburn T M Greenwood J J D Gregory R DQuinn R M amp Lawton J H (2000) Abundancendashoccupancy re-lationships Journal of Applied Ecology 37 39ndash59 httpsdoiorg101046j1365-2664200000485x
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Golub V Sorokin A Starichkova K Nikolaychuk L BondarevaV amp Ivakhnova T (2012) Lower Volga Valley PhytosociologicalDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4419
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Harris D J (2016) Inferring species interactions from co-occurrencedata with Markov networks Ecology 97 3308ndash3314 httpsdoiorg101002ecy1605
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
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Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
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KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
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traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
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KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
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Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
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LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
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LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
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Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
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PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
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QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
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Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
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Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
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Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
emspensp emsp | emsp183Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
HatimM(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSinaiinEgyptIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4303httpsdoiorg107809b-e
HennekensSMampSchamineacutee JH J (2001)TURBOVEGa com-prehensive data base management system for vegetation dataJournal of Vegetation Science 12 589ndash591 httpsdoiorg 1023073237010
HijmansRJCameronSEParraJLJonesPGampJarvisA(2005)Very high resolution interpolated climate surfaces for global landareas International Journal of Climatology251965ndash1978httpsdoiorg101002(issn)1097-0088
IbanezTMunzingerJDagostiniGHequetVRigaultFJaffreacuteTampBirnbaumP(2014)StructuralandfloristicdiversityofmixedrainforestinNewCaledoniaNewdatafromtheNewCaledonianPlant Inventory and Permanent Plot Network (NC-PIPPN)Applied Vegetation Science17 386ndash397httpsdoiorg101111avsc12070
IndreicaA TurtureanuPD SzaboacuteAamp Irimia I (2017)RomanianForest Database a phytosociological archive of woody vege-tation Phytocoenologia 47 389ndash393 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170201
iPlant Collaborative (2015) The Taxonomic Name Resolution Service Version 40[Accessed20September2015]Retrievedfromhttptnrsiplantcollaborativeorg
Jandt U amp Bruelheide H (2012) German Vegetation ReferenceDatabase (GVRD) In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 355 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Jandt U vonWehrden H amp Bruelheide H (2011) Exploring largevegetation databases to detect temporal trends in species oc-currences Journal of Vegetation Science 22 957ndash972 httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101318x
JansenFampDenglerJ (2010)Plantnames invegetationdatabasesndashaneglectedsourceofbiasJournal of Vegetation Science211179ndash1186httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201001209x
JansenFDengler JampBergC (2012)VegMVndash thevegetationda-tabase of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4149ndash160httpsdoiorg107809b-e
JanszligenTSchmidtMDresslerSHahnKHienMKonateacuteShellipZizkaG(2011)Addressingdatapropertyrightsconcernsandpro-viding incentives forcollaborativedatapooling theWestAfricanVegetation Database approach Journal of Vegetation Science 22614ndash620httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101271x
Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B GirardelloM ChytryacuteM Svenning J-CWillnerW Geacutegout J-C hellipWohlgemuth T (2018) History and environ-ment shape species pools and community diversity in Europeanbeech forests Nature Ecology amp Evolution2 483ndash490 httpsdoiorg101038s41559-017-0462-6
Kącki Z amp Śliwiński M (2012) The Polish Vegetation Databasestructure resources and developmentActa Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae8175ndash79httpsdoiorg105586asbp2012014
KargerDNConradOBoumlhner JKawohlTKreftHSoria-AuzaRWhellipKesslerM(2017)ClimatologiesathighresolutionfortheearthslandsurfaceareasScientific Data4Article170122httpsdoiorg101038sdata2017122
KargerDNCordAFKesslerMKreftHKuumlhn IPompeShellipWesche K (2016)Delineating probabilistic species pools in ecol-ogyandbiogeographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography25489ndash501httpsdoiorg101111geb12422
Kattge J Diacuteaz S Lavorel S Prentice I C Leadley P BoumlnischG hellip Wirth C (2011) TRY ndash a global database of plant
traits Global Change Biology 17 2905ndash2935 httpsdoiorg101111j1365-2486201102451x
Kearsley E deHaulleville T Hufkens K Kidimbu A Toirambe BBaertGhellipVerbeeckH(2013)ConventionaltreeheightndashdiameterrelationshipssignificantlyoverestimateabovegroundcarbonstocksintheCentralCongoBasinNature Communications4Article2269httpsdoiorg101038ncomms3269
KoumlrnerCJetzWPaulsenJPayneDRudmann-MaurerKampSpehnEM (2017)Aglobal inventoryofmountains forbio-geographicalapplications Alpine Botany 127 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101007s00035-016-0182-6
KreftHampJetzW(2007)GlobalpatternsanddeterminantsofvascularplantdiversityProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America1045925ndash5930httpsdoiorg101073pnas0608361104
Kroumlber W Li Y Haumlrdtle W Ma K Schmid B Schmidt K hellipBruelheideH (2015) Early subtropical forest growth is drivenbycommunity mean trait values and functional diversity rather than the abiotic environment Ecology and Evolution5 3541ndash3556 httpsdoiorg101002ece31604
Kuzemko A (2012) Ukrainian Grasslands Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4430httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Laacutejer K Botta-Dukaacutet Z Csiky J Horvaacuteth F Szmorad F BagiI hellip Reacutedei T (2008) Hungarian Phytosociological database(COENODATREF)samplingmethodologynomenclatureanditsac-tualstageAnnali di Botanica Nuova Serie7197ndash201
LamannaCBlonderBViolleCKraftNJBSandelBŠiacutemovaacuteIhellipEnquistBJ(2014)Functionaltraitspaceandthelatitudinaldiver-sitygradientProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America11113745ndash13750httpsdoiorg101073pnas1317722111
LanducciFAcostaATRAgrilloEAttorreFBiondiECambriaVEhellipVenanzoniR(2012)VegItalyTheItaliancollaborativeprojectforanationalvegetationdatabasePlant Biosystems146756ndash763httpsdoiorg101080112635042012740093
Landucci F Řezniacutečkovaacute M Šumberovaacute K Chytryacute M Aunina LBiţă-NicolaeChellipWillnerW (2015)WetVegEuropeAdatabaseof aquatic andwetland vegetation of EuropePhytocoenologia45187ndash194httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150050
Lenoir JGraaeB JAarrestadPAAlsos IGArmbrusterWSAustrheimGhellipSvenningJ-C(2013)LocaltemperaturesinferredfromplantcommunitiessuggeststrongspatialbufferingofclimatewarmingacrossNorthernEuropeGlobal Change Biology191470ndash1481httpsdoiorg101111gcb12129
LessardJ-PBelmakerJMyersJAChaseJMampRahbekC(2012)Inferring local ecological processes amid species pool influencesTrends in Ecology amp Evolution27600ndash607httpsdoiorg101016jtree201207006
Lewis R J Szava-Kovats R amp PaumlrtelM (2016) Estimating dark di-versity and species pools an empirical assessment of two meth-ods Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7 104ndash113 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12443
Liu H Cui H Pott R amp Speier M (2000) Vegetation of thewoodland-steppe ecotone in southeastern Inner MongoliaChina Journal of Vegetation Science 11 525ndash532 httpsdoiorg1023073246582
Lopez-Gonzalez G Lewis S L Burkitt M amp Phillips O L (2011)ForestPlotsnetawebapplicationandresearchtooltomanageandanalyse tropical forest plot data Journal of Vegetation Science22610ndash613httpsdoiorg101111j1654-1103201101312x
Lysenko T Kalmykova O amp Mitroshenkova A (2012) VegetationDatabase of the Volga and the Ural Rivers Basins In J DenglerJ Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
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Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
184emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st centuryBiodiversityampEcology4420ndash421httpsdoiorg107809b-e
MaitnerBSBoyleBCaslerNConditRDonoghue II JDuraacutenSM hellip Enquist B J (2018) The BIEN R package A tool to ac-cess the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) da-tabase Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9 373ndash379 httpsdoiorg1011112041-210x12861
Marcenograve C amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2017) The MediterraneanAmmophiletea Database a comprehensive dataset of coastal dunevegetationPhytocoenologia4795ndash105
Moeslund J E Brunbjerg A K Clausen K K Dalby LFloslashjgaard C Juel A amp Lenoir J (2017) Using dark diver-sity and plant characteristics to guide conservation and resto-ration Journal of Applied Ecology 54 1730ndash1741 httpsdoiorg1011111365-266412867
MucheGSchmiedelUampJuumlrgensN(2012)BIOTASouthernAfricaBiodiversity Observatories Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4111ndash123httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Muumlller J (2003) Zur Vegetationsoumlkologie der Savannenlandschaften im Sahel Burkina FasosPhDthesisFBBiologieundInformatikJW Goethe-Universitaumlt Frankfurt aM Frankfurt am MainGermany
NowakANobisMNowakSNobisASwachaGampKąckiZ(2017)VegetationofMiddleAsiatheprojectstateoftheartaftertenyearsof survey and future perspectives Phytocoenologia 47 395ndash400httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170208
Olson D M Dinerstein E Wikramanayake E D Burgess ND Powell G V N Underwood E C hellip Kassem K R (2001)Terrestrial Ecoregions of theWorldANewMapof Life onEarthAnewglobalmapof terrestrial ecoregionsprovides an innovativetoolforconservingbiodiversityBioScience51933ndash938httpsdoiorg1016410006-3568(2001)051[0933teotwa]20CO2
PaumlrtelMBennettJAampZobelM(2016)Macroecologyofbiodiver-sity disentangling local and regional effectsNew Phytologist211404ndash410httpsdoiorg101111nph13943
PauchardAFuentesNJimeacutenezABustamanteRampMarticorenaA (2013) Alien plants homogenise protected areas evidencefrom the landscape and regional scales in south central Chile InL-C Foxcroft P Pyšek D M Richardson amp P Genovesi (Eds)Plant invasions in protected areas Patterns problems and challenges (pp 191ndash208) Dordrecht The lrmNetherlands Springer httpsdoiorg101007978-94-007-7750-7
PeetRK LeeMTBoyleMFWentworthTRSchafaleMPampWeakley A S (2012) Vegetation-plot database of theCarolinaVegetation Survey In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4 243ndash253 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
PeetRKLeeMTJenningsMDampFaber-LangendoenD(2012)VegBank ndash a permanent open-access archive for vegetation-plot data In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4 233ndash241 httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Perring M P Bernhardt-Roumlmermann M Baeten L Midolo GBlondeelHDepauwLLanduytDhellipVerheyenK(2018)Globalenvironmentalchangeeffectsonplantcommunitycompositiontra-jectoriesdependuponmanagementlegaciesGlobal Change Biology241722ndash1740httpsdoiorg101111gcb14030
Peterka T Jiroušek M Haacutejek M amp Jimeacutenez-Alfaro B (2015)EuropeanMire Vegetation Database a gap-oriented database forEuropeanfensandbogsPhytocoenologia45291ndash297httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150054
Peyre G Balslev H Martiacute D Sklenaacuteř P Ramsay P Lozano P hellipFont X (2015) VegPaacuteramo a flora and vegetation database forthe Andean paacuteramo Phytocoenologia 45 195ndash201 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20150045
Prokhorov V Rogova T amp KozhevnikovaM (2017) Vegetation da-tabase of Tatarstan Phytocoenologia 47 309ndash313 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170172
Purschke O (2017a) oliverpurschkeTaxonomic_Backbone First release of the workflow to generate the taxonomic backbone for sPlot v21 and TRY v30 Zenodo Retrieved from httpsdoiorg105281zenodo845445
PurschkeO(2017b)Phylogenetic tree for the taxa in sPlot 21 Retrieved fromhttpsgithubcomoliverpurschkesPlot_Phylogeny
QianHampJinY(2016)Anupdatedmegaphylogenyofplantsatoolforgeneratingplantphylogeniesandananalysisofphylogeneticcom-munity structure Journal of Plant Ecology 9 233ndash239 httpsdoiorg101093jpertv047
Reich P B (2014) Theworld-wide lsquofastndashslowrsquo plant economics spec-trum a traits manifesto Journal of Ecology102 275ndash301 httpsdoiorg1011111365-274512211
RevermannRGomesA LGonccedilalvesFMWallenfang JHocheT Juumlrgens N amp Finckh M (2016) Vegetation database of theOkavango Basin Phytocoenologia 46 103ndash104 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160103
Ricklefs R E (2004) A comprehensive framework for global pat-terns in biodiversity Ecology Letters 7 1ndash15 httpsdoiorg101046j1461-0248200300554x
RūsiņaS(2012)Semi-naturalGrasslandVegetationDatabaseofLatviaInJDenglerJOldelandFJansenMChytryacuteJEwaldMFinckhampJHJSchamineacutee[Eds]Vegetationdatabasesforthe21stcenturyBiodiversityampEcology4409
Samimi C (2003) Das Weidepotential im Gutu-Distrikt (Zimbabwe) ndash Moumlglichkeiten und Grenzen der Modellierung unter Verwendung von Landsat TM-5 Karlsruher Schriften zur Geographie undGeooumlkologie Vol 19 Karlsruhe Germany Institut fuumlr GeographieundGeooumlkologieUniversitaumltKarlsruhe
SchamineacuteeJHJHennekensSMChytryacuteMampRodwellJS(2009)Vegetation-plotdataanddatabasesinEuropeanoverviewPreslia81173ndash185
Schamineacutee JH J Janssen JAMHavemanRHennekens SMHeuvelinkGBMHuiskesHPJampWeedaEJ(2006)Schatten voor de natuur Achtergronden inventaris en toepassingen van de Landelijke Vegetatie Databank Utrecht The Netherlands KNNVUitgeverij
SchmidtM JanszligenTDressler SHahnKHienMKonateacute ShellipZizka G (2012) The West African Vegetation Database In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity and Ecology4105ndash110httpsdoiorg107809b-e
SchrodtFKattge JShanHFazayeliF Joswig JBanerjeeAhellipReich P B (2015) BHPMF ndash a hierarchical Bayesian approach togap-fillingandtraitpredictionformacroecologyandfunctionalbio-geographyGlobal Ecology and Biogeography241510ndash1521httpsdoiorg101111geb12335
SchuldtAAssmannTBrezziMBuscotFEichenbergDGutknechtJhellipBruelheideH(2018)BiodiversityacrosstrophiclevelsdrivesmultifunctionalityinhighlydiverseforestsNature Communications92989httpsdoiorg101038s41467-018-05421-z
Schultz J (2005) The ecozones of the world the ecological divisionsof the geosphere 2nd ed Berlin Germany Springer httpsdoiorg1010073-540-28527-x
Šibiacutek J (2012) SlovakVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4429
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
emspensp emsp | emsp185Journal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SiegBDreesBampDanieumllsFJA(2006)Vegetationandaltitudinalzonation in continentalWest GreenlandMeddelelser om Groslashnland Bioscience571ndash93
ŠilcU(2012)VegetationDatabaseofSloveniaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology 4428
Šiacutemovaacute I Rueda M amp Hawkins B A (2017) Stress from cold anddroughtasdriversoffunctionaltraitspectrainNorthAmericanan-giospermtreeassemblagesEcology and Evolution77548ndash7559
StančićZ(2012)PhytosociologicalDatabaseofNon-ForestVegetationinCroatiaIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st cen-tury Biodiversity amp Ecology4391
SteinbauerM J Grytnes J-A JurasinskiG Kulonen A Lenoir JPauli H hellipWipf S (2018) Accelerated increase in plant speciesrichness on mountain summits is linked to warmingNature 556231ndash234httpsdoiorg101038s41586-018-0005-6
Swenson N G Enquist B J Pither J Kerkhoff A J Boyle BWeiserMDhellipNolting KM (2012) The biogeography and fil-tering of woody plant functional diversity in North and SouthAmericaGlobal Ecology and Biogeography21798ndash808httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201100727x
SwensonNGWeiserMDMaoLArauacutejoMBDiniz-FilhoJAFKollmannJhellipSvenningJ-C(2017)PhylogenyandthepredictionoftreefunctionaldiversityacrossnovelcontinentalsettingsGlobal Ecology and Biogeography26553ndash562httpsdoiorg101111geb12559
SynesNWampOsbornePE(2011)Choiceofpredictorvariablesasasourceofuncertaintyincontinental-scalespeciesdistributionmod-elling under climate change Global Ecology and Biogeography 20904ndash914httpsdoiorg101111j1466-8238201000635x
ThePlantList(2013)[Internet] Version 11[Accessed19August2015]Retrievedfromhttpwwwtheplantlistorg
TurnerDJSmythAKWalkerCMampLoweAJ (2017)AEligKOSNext-generationonlinedataand information infrastructurefor theecologicalsciencecommunityInAChabbiampHWLoescher(Eds)Terrestrial ecosystem research infrastructures (pp 341ndash368) BocaRatonCRCPresshttpsdoiorg1012019781315368252
van KleunenM DawsonW Essl F Pergl JWinter MWeberEhellipPyšekP (2015)Globalexchangeandaccumulationofnon-native plants Nature 525 100ndash103 httpsdoiorg101038nature14910
Vanselow K A (2016) Eastern Pamirs ndash A vegetation-plot databasefor the high mountain pastures of the Pamir Plateau (Tajikistan)Phytocoenologia 46 105 httpsdoiorg101127phyto2016 0122
Vassilev K Stevanović Z D Cušterevska R Bergmeier E ampApostolovaI(2012)BalkanDryGrasslandsDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4330ndash330httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Vassilev K Pedashenko H Alexandrova A Tashev A GanevaA Gavrilova A hellip Vulchev V (2016) Balkan VegetationDatabase historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 46 89ndash95 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160109
Vassilev K Ruprecht E Alexiu V Becker T Beldean M Biță-NicolaeChellipDenglerJ(2018)TheRomanianGrasslandDatabase(RGD) Historical background current status and future per-spectives Phytocoenologia 48 91ndash100 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20170229
VibransACSevgnaniLLingnerDVdeGasperALampSabbaghS(2010)TheFloristicandForestInventoryofSantaCatarinaState(IFFSC)methodological andoperational aspectsPesquisa Florestal Brasileira30291ndash302httpsdoiorg1043362010jvip
vonWehrdenHWescheKampMieheG(2009)PlantcommunitiesofthesouthernMongolianGobiPhytocoenologia39331ndash376httpsdoiorg1011270340-269x20090039-0331
Wagner V (2009) Eurosiberian meadows at their southern edgepatterns and phytogeography in the NW Tien Shan Journal of Vegetation Science 20 199ndash208 httpsdoiorg101111 j1654-1103200901032x
Wagner V Spribille T Abrahamczyk S amp Bergmeier E (2014)Timberlinemeadowsalonga1000kmtransectinNWNorthAmericaspeciesdiversityandcommunitypatternsApplied Vegetation Science17129ndash141httpsdoiorg101111avsc12045
WalkerDABreenALDruckenmillerLAWirthLWFisherWRaynoldsM K hellip Zona D (2016) The Alaska Arctic VegetationArchive (AVA-AK) Phytocoenologia 46 221ndash229 httpsdoiorg101127phyto20160128
WanaDampBeierkuhnleinC(2011)Responsesofplantfunctionaltypesto environmental gradients in the south-west Ethiopian highlandsJournal of Tropical Ecology 27 289ndash304 httpsdoiorg101017s0266467410000799
WangYHeberlingGGoumlrzenEMieheG SeeberEampWescheK (2017) Combined effects of livestock grazing and abiotic en-vironment on vegetation and soils of grasslands across TibetApplied Vegetation Science 20 327ndash339 httpsdoiorg101111avsc12312
Westoby M (1998) A leaf-height-seed (LHS) plant ecologystrategy scheme Plant and Soil 199 213ndash227 httpsdoiorg101023a1004327224729
Whitfeld T J S Lasky J R Damas K Sosanika G Molem K ampMontgomery R A (2014) Species richness forest structure andfunctionaldiversityduringsuccessionintheNewGuinealowlandsBiotropica46538ndash548httpsdoiorg101111btp12136
WiensJJ(2011)ThecausesofspeciesrichnesspatternsacrossspacetimeandcladesandtheroleoflsquoecologicallimitsrsquoQuarterly Review of Biology8675ndash96httpsdoiorg101086659883
WillnerW Berg C ampHeiselmayer P (2012) AustrianVegetationDatabase In J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4333httpsdoiorg107809b-e
Wiser S K (2016) Achievements and challenges in the integrationreuse and synthesis of vegetation plot data Journal of Vegetation Science27868ndash879httpsdoiorg101111jvs12419
WiserSKBellinghamPJampBurrowsLE(2001)Managingbiodiver-sityinformationdevelopmentofNewZealandsNationalVegetationSurveydatabankNew Zealand Journal of Ecology251ndash17
WiszMSPottierJKisslingWDPellissierLLenoirJDamgaardC F hellip Svenning J-C (2013) The role of biotic interactions inshaping distributions and realised assemblages of species impli-cations for species distributionmodellingBiological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society8815ndash30httpsdoiorg101111 j1469-185x201200235x
WohlgemuthT(2012)SwissForestVegetationDatabaseIn J Dengler J Oldeland F Jansen M Chytryacute J Ewald M Finckh amp JHJ Schamineacutee [Eds] Vegetation databases for the 21st century Biodiversity amp Ecology4340httpsdoiorg107809b-e
WrightIJDongNMaireVPrenticeICWestobyMDiacuteazShellipWilfP(2017)GlobalclimaticdriversofleafsizeScience357917ndash921httpsdoiorg101126scienceaal4760
ZanneAETankDCCornwellWKEastmanJMSmithSAFitzJohn RGhellipBeaulieu JM (2014) Three keys to the radia-tionofangiospermsintofreezingenvironmentsNature50689ndash92httpsdoiorg101038nature12872
Zhang TNiinemetsUuml Sheffield Jamp Lichstein JW (2018) Shiftsin tree functional composition amplify the responseof forest bio-mass to climate Nature 556 99ndash102 httpsdoiorg101038nature26152
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710
186emsp |emsp emspenspJournal of Vegetation Science
BRUELHEIDE Et aL
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Additional supporting information may be found online in theSupportingInformationsectionattheendofthearticle
Appendix S1Additionalreferencesattributionsanddisclaimersfordatasets included in sPlot 21Appendix S2Dataassociatedtothevegetationplotrecordsstoredin sPlot 21Appendix S3Detailsontheworkflowforsettingupplotdefinitionsin sPlot 21Appendix S4 Biome classification created for sPlot 21Appendix S5 Zip file of the biome classification of Appendix S4containing the shapefile (Geospatial vector data for geographic
information system (GIS) software) and accompanying accessoryfiles(databaseprojectionetc)Appendix S6 Trait information in sPlot 21Appendix S7PhylogeneticinformationinsPlot21Appendix S8Gap-filledtraitinformationAppendix S9Globalpatternsofcommunity-weightedvariancesAppendix S10Detailedacknowledgements
How to cite this articleBruelheideHDenglerJJimeacutenez-AlfaroBetalsPlotndashAnewtoolforglobalvegetationanalyses J Veg Sci 201930161ndash186 httpsdoiorg101111jvs12710