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.

Running headline: Assembly rules along a long stress gradient Summary 1. A central issue of community ecology is finding rules that explain the composition and abundance of co-existing species. Nowadays two main processes, environmental filtering and limiting similarity are thought to play the main roles in structuring communities. Their relative importance under different environmental conditions, however, is still not properly clarified. 2. We studied the strength and the effect of environmental filtering (causing convergence) and limiting similarity (causing divergence) in 137 sample plots along an extremely long environmental gradient ranging from open sand grasslands to highly productive marshes, using a trait based approach. The main environmental gradient (i.e. productivity) was characterised by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, an indicator of aboveground live biomass. Cover of the plant species was estimated visually. Values of 11 plant traits were collected from field measurements and databases. Mean and dispersion of the trait values of the plots were quantified by community-weighted means and Rao's quadratic entropy. Trait convergence and divergence were tested by randomization tests, followed by the study of changes in effect size along the productivity gradient by fitting generalized additive mixed models (GAMM). 3. For vegetative traits we found mainly convergence, indicating the filtering effect of environmental constraints, while traits related to regeneration showed divergence. 4. The strength of convergence in vegetative traits generally decreased as productivity grew, indicating that while under harsh conditions environmental constraints strongly limit the possible trait values; under more benign conditions various water and nutrient-use strategies are adaptable. At high productivity, the strength of divergence in regenerative traits decreased. Since the larger diversity of vegetative traits found here reduces competition, the importance of diverse reproductive strategy is probably lower. 5. Synthesis: Our results partly support the stress-dominance hypothesis, but reveal that assembly rules are more complex. The relative importance of environmental filtering and limiting similarity depends on the trait and on the environmental conditions of the habitat. Traits related to resource use are generally limited by environmental filtering, and this restriction is weakening as conditions become more favourable, while traits related to regeneration are constrained by limiting similarity and are more diverse under harsh conditions.

Invasion of alien plant species is one of the main reasons for biodiversity loss in terrestrial ecosystems. However, alien plant species are not evenly distributed in the landscape. We studied which factors determine the actual level of neophyte invasion in a landscape with heterogeneous land-use and which habitats are the most infected. Since neophyte species with different life-forms can respond differently to the factors determining the invasion, species groups of annual, herbaceous perennial and woody neophytes were also analyzed separately. The study was conducted within the field site network of the Kiskun-LTER program (Hungary), in 16 sites of 5 km  5 km. Fifteen habitat types were distinguished belonging to five major land-use/land cover types (agricultural land, abandoned agricultural land, tree plantation, semi-natural grassland and semi-natural forest). Present and past land-use, landscape composition and environmental variables were included as factors with a potential impact on the level of invasion. The most important factor determining invasion level was present habitat type, followed by the past habitat type of the location and landscape context. Tree plantations, agricultural habitats and recently abandoned agricultural habitats had the highest level of invasion. As expected, annual neophytes were most abundant in agricultural habitats, while perennial herbaceous neophytes were most abundant in old-fields and plantations, and woody neophytes in tree plantations. Past agricultural land-use was reflected in the higher levels of invasion of annuals and perennials, and past forestry practice resulted in higher levels of invasion of woody neophytes. In a landscape with a higher proportion of tree plantations, not only the tree plantations, but primary woodland [ 2 4 0 _ T D $ D I F F ] patches also showed higher levels of invasion by woody neophyte species. Our results indicate the importance of present and past land-use in plant invasion and suggest that tree plantations are hot-spots of plant invasion and threaten the remnants of semi-natural vegetation.

Aim To test whether the onset of spring growth in European shrublands is advanced in response to the warmer conditions projected for the next two decades by climate models, and, if there is a change, whether it differs across Europe. LocationThe studied sites spanned a broad north-south European gradient with average annual temperatures (8.2-15.6 ° C) and precipitation (511-1427 mm).Methods 'Bud break' was monitored in eight shrub and grass species in six European sites under control and experimentally warmer conditions generated by automatic roofs covering vegetation during the night.Results Species responsive to increased temperatures were Vaccinium myrtillus and Empetrum nigrum in Wales, Deschampsia flexuosa in Denmark, Calluna vulgaris in Netherlands, Populus alba in Hungary and Erica multiflora in Spain. Although the acceleration of spring growth was the commonest response to warming treatments, the responses at each site were species specific and year dependent. Under experimental warming 25% of cases exhibited a significantly earlier onset of the growing season and 10% had a significantly delayed onset of vegetative growth. No geographical gradient was detected in the experimental warming effects. However, there was a trend towards a greater dominance of phenological advances with more intense the warming treatments. Above 0.8 ° C warming, only advancements were recorded. Main conclusionsOur results show that warmer temperatures projected for the next decades have substantial potential effects on the phenology of the spring growth of dominant species in different European shrublands, with a dominant trend towards advancements the more intense the warming is. However, our study also demonstrates the overall difficulties of applying simple predictive relationships to extrapolate the effects of global change on phenology. Various combinations of environmental factors occur concurrently at different European sites and the interactions between different drivers (e.g. water and chilling) can alter phenology significantly.

No abstract

Canopy height, leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) data of 210 species of the Hungarian flora resulting from our field sampling are presented in this data paper.Trait-based approach is a more and more widely used tool in ecological studies (Díaz et al. 2016, Götzenberger et al. 2012, McGill et al. 2006. Using traits instead of species identities can lead to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the observed patterns and processes of communities. Trait-based approach may also help in finding general rules that are valid for communities building from different species pools (Fortunel et al. 2014), and using this approach quantitative comparisons can be made between communities that have no species in common (Webb et al. 2010).In a recent research project (Lhotsky et al. 2016) we collected plant trait data to explore the changes in the importance of community assembly rules along environmental gradients. Although large international efforts have been made to build more and more complete trait databases, and several databases and datasets are accessible 1994)), several species of the Hungarian flora -especially endemic species and species with continental range -were missing from them. To collect trait data of these missing species we carried out field samplings in 2011-2015.Acta Bot. Hung. 58, 2016 398 LHOTSKY, B., CSECSERITS, A., KOVÁCS, B. and BOTTA-DUKÁT, Z.Here we present canopy height, leaf area (LA), specific leaf area (SLA) and leaf dry matter content (LDMC) data of 210 species of the Hungarian flora resulting from our field sampling. During the field and the laboratory measurements we followed the standard protocols of the LEDA database (Kleyer et al. 2008, Knevel et al. 2003 and the suggestions of Cornelissen et al. (2003). We measured the canopy height (i.e. the height of the foliage) of 25 or more randomly selected robust, well-grown individuals of the species in the field, then collected two mature and intact leaves from ten individuals for laboratory measurements. In case of leafless plants (e.g. Ephedra distachya) a younger shoot was collected. The fresh weight of the whole leaves (including petiole and rachis) was measured either shortly after field sampling or after a 12-hour-long rehydration. Then leaves were scanned at 300 DPI and their projected area was calculated from the raster image using Lafore analysing software (free software, Veiko Lehsten, University of Oldenburg). In case of rolled-up leaves (e.g. Festuca vaginata) or shoots (e.g. Equisetum species) we calculated the upper half of the circumference by multiplying the projected area by pi/2. After the scanning process, leaves were dried in oven at 60 °C for 72 hours, then their dry mass was measured. For calculating SLA the onesided area of the fresh leaves (LA) was divided by their oven-dry mass, for calculating LDMC their dry mass was divided by their fresh weight. For more information and for the datasets see Appendix 1-6.

During environmental change, invasive species may be favored by increased resource input or reduced resource use of the resident community. Plasticity in certain plant traits of invasive species may be one possible mechanism behind their ability to quickly exploit unused resources. We tested whether rainfall manipulations (severe drought, moderate drought, watering) alter the growth and reproductive success of the invasive annual Conyza canadensis, and if it translates into a change in the abundance of the species in a semiarid perennial grassland in Central Hungary. Overall, C. canadensis exhibited greater individual performance and higher abundance in drought plots than in control and watered plots. At individual level, plants showed the strongest response to moderate drought: they grew 2.5-times taller than in control and watered plots, and produced twice and 2.5-times more seeds than in watered and control plots, respectively. Reproductive phenology was advanced in response to rain exclusions. Although severe drought caused 40% mortality, the cumulative performance of C. canadensis, expressed as plot-level aboveground biomass, was consistently greater in severe drought plots than in control and watered plots throughout the 3 years of the study. The higher performance of C. canadensis in drought plots is most likely due to the decreased abundance and, thus, decreased competitive effect of previously dominant perennial grasses caused by the rain exclusions. We conclude that drier summers that suppress perennial grasses will favor this alien annual forb, and phenotypic plasticity in growth and reproduction may contribute to its invasion success.

Precipitation changes may induce shifts in plant species or life form dominance in ecosystems, making some previously subordinate species abundant. The plasticity of certain plant functional traits of these expanding subordinate species may be one possible mechanism behind their success. In this study, we tested if the subordinate winter annual grass Secale sylvestre shows plasticity in growth and reproduction in response to altered environment associated with field-scale rainfall manipulations (severe drought, moderate drought, watering) in a semiarid grassland, and whether the maternal environment influences offspring germination or growth in a subsequent pot experiment. Compared to control plots, S. sylvestre plants grew 38% taller, and produced 32% more seeds in severe drought plots, while plants in watered plots were 17% shorter, and had 22% less seeds. Seed mass was greatest in severe drought plots. Plants growing in drought plots had offspring with enhanced juvenile shoot growth compared to the progeny whose mother plants grew in watered plots. These responses are most likely explained by the decreased cover of previously dominant perennial grasses in severe drought plots, which resulted in wetter soil compared to control and watered plots during the peak growth of S. sylvestre. We conclude that the plasticity of this subordinate annual species in response to changing environment may help to gain dominance with recurring droughts that suppress perennial grasses. Our results highlight that exploring both within-generation and transgenerational 2 plasticity of subordinate species may lead to a better prediction of changes in plant species dominance under climate change.