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.

Contents Summary1001I.Introduction1001II.Giant eucalypts in a global context1002III.Giant eucalypts – taxonomy and distribution1004IV.Growth of giant eucalypts1006V.Fire and regeneration of giant eucalypts1008VI.Are giant eucalypts different from other rain‐forest trees?1009VII.Conclusions1010Acknowledgements1011References1011 Summary Tree species exceeding 70 m in height are rare globally. Giant gymnosperms are concentrated near the Pacific coast of the USA, while the tallest angiosperms are eucalypts (Eucalyptus spp.) in southern and eastern Australia. Giant eucalypts co‐occur with rain‐forest trees in eastern Australia, creating unique vegetation communities comprising fire‐dependent trees above fire‐intolerant rain‐forest. However, giant eucalypts can also tower over shrubby understoreys (e.g. in Western Australia). The local abundance of giant eucalypts is controlled by interactions between fire activity and landscape setting. Giant eucalypts have features that increase flammability (e.g. oil‐rich foliage and open crowns) relative to other rain‐forest trees but it is debatable if these features are adaptations. Probable drivers of eucalypt gigantism are intense intra‐specific competition following severe fires, and inter‐specific competition among adult trees. However, we suggest that this was made possible by a general capacity of eucalypts for ‘hyper‐emergence’. We argue that, because giant eucalypts occur in rain‐forest climates and share traits with rain‐forest pioneers, they should be regarded as long‐lived rain‐forest pioneers, albeit with a particular dependence on fire for regeneration. These unique ecosystems are of high conservation value, following substantial clearing and logging over 150 yr.

We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of measurements of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 375 traits across 29230 taxa from field campaigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and individual taxa descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological parameters (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised individual-, species- and genus-level observations coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties. This data descriptor provides information on version 2.1.0 of AusTraits which contains data for 937243 trait-by-taxa combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data to increase our collective understanding of the Australian flora.

We introduce the AusTraits database - a compilation of values of plant traits for taxa in the Australian flora (hereafter AusTraits). AusTraits synthesises data on 448 traits across 28,640 taxa from field campaigns, published literature, taxonomic monographs, and individual taxon descriptions. Traits vary in scope from physiological measures of performance (e.g. photosynthetic gas exchange, water-use efficiency) to morphological attributes (e.g. leaf area, seed mass, plant height) which link to aspects of ecological variation. AusTraits contains curated and harmonised individual- and species-level measurements coupled to, where available, contextual information on site properties and experimental conditions. This article provides information on version 3.0.2 of AusTraits which contains data for 997,808 trait-by-taxon combinations. We envision AusTraits as an ongoing collaborative initiative for easily archiving and sharing trait data, which also provides a template for other national or regional initiatives globally to fill persistent gaps in trait knowledge.

Tropical rain forest expansion and savanna woody vegetation thickening appear to be a global trend, but there remains uncertainty about whether there is a common set of global drivers. Using geographic information techniques, we analyzed aerial photography of five areas in the humid tropics of northeastern Queensland, Australia, taken in the 1950s and 2008, to determine if changes in rain forest extent match those reported for the Australian monsoon tropics using similar techniques. Mapping of the 1950s aerial photography showed that of the combined study area (64,430 ha), 63% was classified as eucalypt forests/woodland and 37% as rain forest. Our mapping revealed that although most boundaries remained stable, there was a net increase of 732 ha of the original rain forest area over the study period, and negligible conversion of rain forest to eucalypt forest/woodland. Statistical modeling, controlling for spatial autocorrelation, indicated distance from preexisting rain forest as the strongest determinant of rain forest expansion. Margin extension had a mean rate across the five sites of 0.6 m per decade. Expansion was greater in tall open forest types but also occurred in shorter, more flammable woodland vegetation types. No correlations were detected with other local variables (aspect, elevation, geology, topography, drainage). Using a geographically weighted mean rate of rain forest margin extension across the whole region, we predict that over 25% of tall open forest (a forest type of high conservation significance) would still remain after 2000 years of rain forest expansion. This slow replacement is due to the convoluted nature of the rain forest boundary and the irregular shape of the tall open forest patches. Our analyses point to the increased concentration of atmospheric CO2 as the most likely global driver of indiscriminate rain forest expansion occurring in northeastern Australia, by increasing tree growth and thereby overriding the effects of fire disturbance.