Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects.We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives. Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP) and DIVERSITAS, the TRY database (TRY-not an acronym, rather a statement of sentiment; https ://www.try-db.org; Kattge et al., 2011) was proposed with the explicit assignment to improve the availability and accessibility of plant trait data for ecology and earth system sciences. The Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (MPI-BGC) offered to host the database and the different groups joined forces for this community-driven program. Two factors were key to the success of TRY: the support and trust of leaders in the field of functional plant ecology submitting large databases and the long-term funding by the Max Planck Society, the MPI-BGC and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, which has enabled the continuous development of the TRY database.

Recent changes to fire regimes in many regions of the world have led to renewed interest in plant flammability experiments to understand and predict the consequences of such changes. These experiments require the development of practical and standardised flammability testing protocols. The research aims were (i) to compare plant flammability assessments carried out using two different approaches, namely functional trait analysis and testing with a shoot‐level device; and (ii) to evaluate the effect of disturbances and seasonal variability on flammability. The study area was located in the Western Chaco region, Argentina, and 11 species were selected based on their representativeness in forests. We studied six functional traits related to flammability, growth habit and foliar persistence, in forests without disturbances over the three last decades as well as in disturbed forests. The seasonal variation of these functional traits was evaluated over two consecutive years. Functional trait flammability index (FI) and shoot‐level measurements followed standard protocols. Sixty per cent of the species measured presented a high to very high FI. The results of both assessment methods were significantly correlated. Both methods identified the same species as having medium flammability, but differed in regards to the most flammable species. Senegalia gilliesii was identified as the most flammable species when using functional trait analysis, whereas shoot‐level assessments found Larrea divaricata and Schinus johnstonii to be the most flammable. There were no disturbance effects on the FI but there was seasonal variation. Our results validate the use of functional traits as a predictive method of flammability testing and represent the first global effort comparing flammability obtained through functional trait analysis with empirical measurements. The significant correlation between both methods allows the selection of the one that is more appropriate for the size of the area to be evaluated and for the availability of technical resources.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.

Resprouting is one of the main regeneration strategies in woody plants that allows post-fire vegetation recovery. However, the stress produced by fires promotes the biosynthesis of compounds which could affect the post-fire resprouting, and this approach has been poorly evaluated in fire ecology. In this study, we evaluate the changes in the concentration of chlorophylls, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and tannins as a result of experimental burns (EB). We asked whether this biochemical response to fire could influence the resprouting responses. For that, we conducted three EB in three successive years in three different experimental units. Specifically, we selected six woody species from the Chaco region, and we analyzed their biochemical responses to EB. We used spectrophotometric methods to quantify the metabolites, and morphological variables to estimate the resprouting responses. Applying a multivariate analysis, we built an index to estimate the biochemical response to fire to EB per each species. Our results demonstrate that photosynthetic pigment concentration did not vary significantly in burnt plants that resprout in response to EB, whereas concentrations of secondary metabolites (phenolic compounds and tannins) increased up to two years after EB. Our main results showed that phenolic compounds could play a significant role in the resprouting responses, while photosynthetic pigments seem to have a minor but significant role. Such results were reaffirmed by the significant correlation between the biochemical response to fire and both resprouting capacity and resprouting growth. However, we observed that the biochemical response effect on resprouting was lower in tree species than in shrubby species. Our study contributes to the understanding of the biochemical responses that are involved in the post-fire vegetation recovery.