title: A plant growth form dataset for the New World.
abstract: This dataset provides growth form classifications for 67,413 vascular plant species from North, Central, and South America. The data used to determine growth form were compiled from five major integrated sources and two original publications: the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN), the Plant Trait Database (TRY), the SALVIAS database, the USDA PLANTS database, Missouri Botanical Garden's Tropicos database, Wright (2010), and Boyle (1996). We defined nine plant growth forms based on woodiness (woody or non-woody), shoot structure (self-supporting or not self-supporting), and root traits (rooted in soil, not rooted in soil, parasitic or aquatic): Epiphyte, Liana, Vine, Herb, Shrub, Tree, Parasite, or Aquatic. Species with multiple growth form classifications were assigned the growth form classification agreed upon by the majority (>2/3) of sources. Species with ambiguous or otherwise not interpretable growth form assignments were excluded from the final dataset but are made available with the original data. Comparisons with independent estimates of species richness for the Western hemisphere suggest that our final dataset includes the majority of New World vascular plant species. Coverage is likely more complete for temperate than for tropical species. In addition, aquatic species are likely under-represented. Nonetheless, this dataset represents the largest compilation of plant growth forms published to date, and should contribute to new insights across a broad range of research in systematics, ecology, biogeography, conservation, and global change science.
authors.affiliation: Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, Aarhus C, DK-8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Engemann
authors.affiliation: Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, Aarhus C, DK-8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sandel
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Biosciences West 310, Tuscon, Arizona, 85721, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boyle
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Biosciences West 310, Tuscon, Arizona, 85721, USA.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Enquist
authors.affiliation: Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri, 63166, USA.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Jørgensen
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, 07745, Germany.|German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kattge
authors.affiliation: School of Biology & Ecology and Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, 04473, USA.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: McGill
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, University of California - Berkeley, 3040 VLSB, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Morueta-Holme
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, USA.
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Peet
authors.affiliation: Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln, 7640, New Zealand.
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Spencer
authors.affiliation: CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS - Université de Montpellier - Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier - EPHE, 1919 route de Mende, Montpellier, CEDEX 5, F-34293, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Violle
authors.affiliation: Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln, 7640, New Zealand.
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Wiser
authors.affiliation: Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, Aarhus C, DK-8000, Denmark.
authors.forename: J-C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Svenning
mesh_terms: D002489:Central America; D003710:Demography; D009656:North America; D063245:Plant Development; D010944:Plants / Q000145:classification*; D013020:South America; D013045:Species Specificity
keywords: botanical collections; habit; life form; plant functional groups; plant traits; vascular plants