Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina

About: Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina is a education organization based out in Florianópolis, Brazil. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 8993 authors who have published 12408 publications receiving 86555 citations.

TRY plant trait database : Enhanced coverage and open access

Abstract: 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.

Organic matter storage in a sandy clay loam Acrisol affected by tillage and cropping systems in southern Brazil.

Abstract: Soil organic matter decline and associated degradation of soil and environmental conditions under conventional tillage in tropical and subtropical regions underline the need to develop sustainable soil management systems. This study aimed first to evaluate the long-term effect (9 years) of two soil-tillage systems (conventional tillage: CT, and no-tillage: NT) and two cropping systems (oat (Avena strigosa Schreb)/maize (Zea mays L.): O/M; and oatacommon vetch (Vicia sativa L.)/ maizeacowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp): OaV/MaC without N fertilization on total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations in a sandy clay loam Acrisol in southern Brazil. The second objective was to assess soil potential for acting as an atmospheric CO2 sink. Under NT an increase of soil TOC and TN concentrations occurred, in both cropping systems, when compared with CT. However, this increase was restricted to soil surface layers and it was higher for OaV/MaC than for O/M. The OaV/MaC under NT, which probably results in the lowest soil organic matter losses (due to erosion and oxidation) and highest addition of crop residues, had 12 Mg ha ˇ1 more TOC and 0.9 Mg ha ˇ1 more TN in the 0‐30.0 cm depth soil layer, compared with O/M under CT which exhibits highest soil organic matter losses and lowest crop residue additions to the soil. These increments represent TOC and TN accumulation rates of 1.33 and 0.10 Mg ha ˇ1 per year, respectively. Compared with CT and O/M, this TOC increase under NT and OaV/MaC means a net carbon dioxide removal of about 44 Mg ha ˇ1 from the atmosphere in 9 years. NT can therefore be considered, as it is in temperate climates, an important management strategy for increasing soil organic matter. In the tropicals and subtropicals, where climatic conditions cause intense biological activity, in order to maintain or increase soil organic matter, improve soil quality and contribute to mitigation of CO2 emissions, NT should be associated with cropping systems resulting in high annual crop residue additions to soil surface. # 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.