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Tropical Seed Trait Database: advancing seed functional ecology in the world's most biodiverse region

  • Davi N. Oliveira
  • , Carlos A. Ordóñez-Parra
  • , Si Chong Chen
  • , A. Elizabeth Arnold
  • , Adam S. Davis
  • , Alba Marina Torres González
  • , Alcides L. Morales-Pérez
  • , Aleida Rocío Díaz-Castellanos
  • , Alejandra Pérez-Enriquez
  • , Alessandra Fidelis
  • , Amanda S.R. Carvalho
  • , Amanda S. Santos
  • , Ana C. Sandoval
  • , Ana Cristina V. Crestani
  • , Ana Luiza A. Mairinck
  • , André Dias Azevedo Neto
  • , Anina Coetzee
  • , Anna Traveset
  • , Antonio Carlos S. Andrade
  • , Aparajita Datta
  • Aristônio M. Teles, Ashish N. Nerlekar, Asmita Sengupta, Avishkar Munje, Beatriz Salgado Negret, Bibidishananda Basu, Carla Souza Rocha, Carlos De Melo e Silva-Neto, Carlos Henrique Barbosa Santos, Carolina Sarmiento, Caroline da Cruz Vasconcelos, Catherine A. Offord, Cecilia L. López, Cesar Mayta, Cesar Alejandro Ordoñez-Salanueva, Charlotte E. Seal, Claudineia Regina Pelacani Cruz, Colleen Lynda Seymour, Daiane Sampaio Almeida, Daniel Salgado Pifano, Daniel Luis Mascia Vieira, Daniela Pereira Dias, Daniela Ramos-Chuquimia, Daniela Cristine Mascia Vieira, David Alejandro Sánchez, Diana Maria Cruz-Tejada, Diego Da Silva Cunha, Diego Fernando Escobar Escobar, Dionei Lima Santos, Dulce Alves Silva, Edilma Pereira Gonçalves, Edjane Silva Damasceno, Edson Ferreira Duarte, Eduardo Teles Barbosa Mendes, Elkys Tomás Peña-Miranda, Elzineide Moreira do Carmo, Fabio L. Tarazona-Tubens, Fabricio Francisco Santos Silva, Fatima Conceição Márquez Piña-Rodrigues, Fernanda Cristina Souza, Flavia Santos Faria, Francinete Alves Nascimento, Francisco Javier Torres-Romero, Gabriel Schmidt Teixeira Motta, Gabriela Akemi Oda, Ganesha S. Liyanage, Geângelo Petene Calvi, Glória Fabiani Leão Costa, Graeme Errington, Grant Stuart Joseph, Grênivel Mota Da Costa, Guilherme Gonzalez Canassa, Guilherme Gama, Hanci Liang, Hao Yu Wang, Harsh Yadav, Hélder Nagai Consolaro, Heleno Dias Ferreira, Heloisa Sinatora Miranda, Heloiza Lourenço Zirondi, Hillary Mireku Botey, Hudson Gabriel Virtuoso Fontenele, Hugh W. Pritchard, Ícaro Menezes Pinto, Ilana Araujo-Santos, Isolde Dorothea Kossmann Ferraz, Itamara Gonçalves Da Gama, Ivonne Andrea Narváez Zambrano, James W. Dalling, Jaylson Araujo Dos Santos, Jeandson Silva Viana, Jeiner De Jesús Castellanos-Barliza, Jeniffer Viviana Díaz Rodríguez, Jennifer Lorena Lopez Hoyos, Jennifer Sarah Powers, Jenny Paola Corredor-Prado, Jerónimo Vázquez-Ramírez, Jerônimo Boelsums Barreto Sansevero, Jhon Alexander Vargas-Figueroa, João Guilherme Scarpelli Magalhães, João Paulo Goes Da Silva Borges, Joel Flores, Jonathan Wesley Ferreira Ribeiro, Jos Barlow, Jose Miguel Rojas, José Damián Fonseca-Altahon, José Carlos Morante-Filho, José Hermeson Severo Dos Santos, Joyce Naiara Silva, Juan Sebastian Hurtado, Juan Manuel Ley-López, Juan Carlos Villalba-Malaver, Julia Maria Medeiros Lage, Julieta Benítez-Malvido, Jun Ying Lim, K. M.G.Gehan Jayasuriya, Karen D. Sommerville, Karishma Pradhan, Kelvin G.J. Chong, Kim R. Mcconkey, Lara Amaral Garcia, Laura Évora Brito, Laura Esperanza Ruiz Marín, L. Patricia C. Morellato, Lidyanne Yuriko Saleme Aona, Lucas Silva de Oliveira, Luciano Macias-Sposito, Luis Alfonso Martinez-Martinez, Luis Navarro, Luís Felipe Daibes, Luís Francisco Mello Coelho, Luiz Felipe Souza Pinheiro, Luz Marina Melgarejo, Maíra Benchimol, Malaka Maduranga Wijayasinghe, Marcos Vinicius Meiado, Maria Camila Amador-Cubides, Maria Isabel Guedes Braz, Mariana Dairel, Mariana Villegas, Mariane Rodrigues Guedes, Marilena Menezes Silva Conde, Marília Larocerie Lupchinski Magalhães, Marília Shibata, Marina Corrêa Côrtes, Mark K.J. Ooi, Mateus Brandão Prates, Matthias Seng En Chua, Maurílio Assis Figueiredo, Mauro Galetti, Maxmiller Cardoso Ferreira, Michael Arthur, Michelle Vanesa Soto-Avendaño, Miguel Cházaro-Basañez, Milène N. Koutouan-Kontchoi, Monalisa Alves Diniz Da Silva, Monique Alves, Natali Ramírez Bullón, Noopur Borawake, Núbia Sousa Carrijo Dos Santos, Onja Harinala Razafindratsima, Patricia Dávila-Aranda, Paul Camilo Zalamea, Pedro Dias Laumann, Pedro León-Lobos, Peter Poschlod, Ramón Souza-Perera, Ramon Athayde Souza Cavalcante, Raquel Gasparini, Renato Garcia Rodrigues, Renita B.C. Frigeri, Ricardo X. Alvarez-Espino, Rita De Cássia Quitete Portela, Robert Timmers, Rohit Naniwadekar, Romano Staneke, Rosana Marta Kolb, Ruben Dario Contreras, Ruben H. Heleno, Rudi Crispin Swart, Ryan Tangney, Santiago Madriñán, Sarah J. McInnes, Semírian Campos Amoêdo, Seokmin Kim, Shyam S. Phartyal, Sigfredo Edmundo Escalante-Rebolledo, Silvia C. Gallegos, Soizig Le Stradic, Steffy Margarita Hernandez-Ortiz, Swati Sidhu, Talita Marques Zupo, Tiago Vilas-Boas, Tiziana Ulian, Ushma Shukla, Vânia Regina Pivello, Vera Lúcia Gomes Klein, Verônica Marques Feliciano Da Silva, Victor Ferreira De Lima, Viviana Londoño-Lemos, Willian Barbosa Simioni, Willinton Andrés Barranco-Pérez, Yara Cristina Da Silva Varela, Yasoja S. Athugala, Zoe Joy Newby, Fernando A.O. Silveira

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Plant functional traits connect biodiversity to ecosystem processes, serving as key metrics for assessing how biota responds to environmental conditions. Functional seed traits are critical because they underpin recruitment and colonization, shaping biodiversity patterns and influencing ecosystem resilience. Yet, seed traits remain underrepresented in major data repositories, with severe gaps in the tropics. Climatic, geological, and historical differences between tropical and temperate regions drive distinct regeneration dynamics, suggesting that the paucity of tropical seed trait data limits our ability to predict regeneration niches and weakens global models largely based on temperate ecosystems. To address this gap, we introduce the Tropical Seed Trait Database (TSTD), an open-access repository spanning the full ecological spectrum of tropical seeds. The TSTD is conceived as a community-driven repository of primary data contributed directly by data owners, rather than as a secondary aggregation of global databases. It was built through contributions from ecologists working across all tropical regions, reached through direct contact, and its first version compiles 78 datasets, totaling 137 583 records across 44 functional traits. Covering 5115 species in 33 countries, with the Neotropics overrepresented, the TSTD marks a crucial step toward more inclusive, globally representative trait databases that can open multiple research avenues.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)945-958
Number of pages14
JournalNew Phytologist
Volume251
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Aug 2026
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • big data
  • plant regeneration
  • regeneration niche
  • seed ecological spectrum
  • seed ecology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Plant Science

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