- 1Biodiversity, Macroecology and Biogeography, Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany (nathaly.guerrero-ramirez@forst.uni-goettingen.de)
- 2Centre of Biodiversity and Sustainable Land Use, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany (nathaly.guerrero-ramirez@forst.uni-goettingen.de)
- 3Center for Tree Science, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois, USA (lmccormack@mortonarb.org)
- 4Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA (acordeir@umn.edu)
Community-led initiatives that have focused on providing standardized protocols and ready-to-use data are transforming our understanding of terrestrial ecosystems, for example, by allowing the inclusion of above- and below-ground plant functional traits. However, as plant diversity comprises more than 300,000 species globally, continuous data collection, mobilization, and curation are necessary to address gaps in species’ traits and their ecological functions (Raunkiaer’s shortfall) and in geographical distribution (Wallacean shortfall). For instance, root traits capture key dimensions of plant responses to environmental conditions and their effects on ecosystem processes. Recent increases in publicly available data through initiatives such as the Fine Root Trait Database (FRED)1 and the Global Root Trait (GRooT)2 database have facilitated integration of root traits with aboveground traits and ecosystem processes across local to global scales. Focused initiatives such as the Tropical Root Initiative (TropiRoot)3 have targeted the mobilization of root-trait data from some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth. These data are being leveraged to understand natural and anthropogenic factors shaping plant (functional) diversity and better represent tropical ecosystems in global analyses. While these initiatives have contributed significantly to putting roots on the map, they cover fewer than 5% of the world's plant species. Further, they currently depend on manual data extraction. Thus, we aim to have an open discussion of how new advances in data mobilization could catalyze the integration of other facets of biodiversity, such as functional diversity and, particularly, the mobilization of key root traits.
These community initiatives are made possible by the engagement and support of multiple contributors.
1Iversen CM, McCormack ML, Baer JK, Powell AS, et al., 2021. Fine-Root Ecology Database (FRED): A Global Collection of Root Trait Data with Coincident Site, Vegetation, Edaphic, and Climatic Data. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TES SFA, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A. https://doi.org/10.25581/ornlsfa.014/1459186.
2Guerrero-Ramirez N, Mommer L, Freschet GT, Iversen CM, McCormack ML, Kattge J, et al., 2021. Global Root Traits (GRooT) Database. Global Ecology and Biogeography 30(1):25-37 https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13179
3Cordeiro A, Cusack DF, Guerrero-Ramírez N, Norby RJ, et al., 2025. TropiRoot 1.0: Database of tropical root characteristics across environments. Ecology 106(5):e-70074 https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.70074
How to cite: Guerrero-Ramírez, N., McCormack, L., and Longhi Cordeiro, A.: Leveraging scientific literature to integrate root functional traits in our understanding of terrestrial ecosystems, World Biodiversity Forum 2026, Davos, Switzerland, 14–19 Jun 2026, WBF2026-615, https://doi.org/10.5194/wbf2026-615, 2026.
