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Journal article
Crowdsourced biodiversity monitoring fills gaps in global plant trait mapping
Nature communications, Vol.17(1), 1203
2026
PMID: 41617716
Abstract
Plant functional traits are fundamental to ecosystem dynamics and Earth system processes, but their global characterization is limited by available field surveys and trait measurements. Recent expansions in biodiversity data aggregation—including vegetation surveys, citizen science observations, and trait measurements—offer new opportunities to overcome these constraints. Here we demonstrate that combining these diverse data sources with high-resolution Earth observation data enables accurate modeling of key plant traits at up to 1 km2 resolution. Our approach achieves correlations up to 0.63 (15 of 31 traits exceeding 0.50) and improved spatial transferability, effectively bridging gaps in under-sampled regions. By capturing a broad range of traits with high spatial coverage, these maps can enhance understanding of plant community properties and ecosystem functioning, while serving as tools for modeling global biogeochemical processes and informing conservation efforts. Our framework highlights the power of crowdsourced biodiversity data in addressing longstanding extrapolation challenges in global plant trait modeling, with continued advancements in data collection and remote sensing poised to further refine trait-based understanding of the biosphere.
Details
- Title
- Crowdsourced biodiversity monitoring fills gaps in global plant trait mapping
- Authors/Creators
- Daniel Lusk - University of FreiburgSophie Wolf - Leipzig UniversityDaria Svidzinska - Leipzig UniversityCarsten F. Dormann - University of FreiburgJens Kattge - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity ResearchHelge Bruelheide - Martin Luther University Halle-WittenbergFrancesco Maria Sabatini - University of BolognaGabriella Damasceno - Martin Luther University Halle-WittenbergÁlvaro Moreno Martínez - Signal Processing (United States)Cyrille Violle - Université de MontpellierDaniel Hending - University of OxfordGeorg J. A. Hähn - Martin Luther University Halle-WittenbergSolana Tabeni - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y TécnicasShyam Phartyal - Mizoram UniversityFernando Gonçalves - University of ZurichHolger Kreft - University of GöttingenMarco Schmidt - Kliniken der Stadt KölnHan Chen - Inner Mongolia Agricultural UniversityBehlül Güler - Dokuz Eylül UniversityJiri Dolezal - University of South Bohemia in České BudějoviceRemigiusz Pielech - Jagiellonian UniversityAnaclara Guido - Universidad de la República de UruguayCiara Dwyer - Lund UniversityFrancesca Napoleone - Sapienza University of RomeJacob Willie - Royal Zoological Society of AntwerpAndré Luís Gasper - Universidade Regional de BlumenauManuel J. Macía - Universidad Autónoma de MadridMilan Chytry - Masaryk UniversityJonathan Lenoir - Ecologie et Dynamique des Systèmes AnthropisésDinesh Thakur - Institute of Botany of the Slovak Academy of SciencesJürgen Dengler - University of BayreuthSebastian Świerszcz - Wrocław University of Environmental and Life SciencesJan Altman - Czech University of Life Sciences PragueLadislav Mucina - Murdoch University, Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and SustainabilityAshish N. Nerlekar - Michigan State UniversityKaoru Kakinuma - Korea Advanced Institute of Science and TechnologyPravin Rawat - Forest Research InstituteZvjezdana Stančić - University of ZagrebRiccardo Testolin - University of BolognaMohamed Z. Hatim - Wageningen University & ResearchFlávio Rodrigues - Universidade do Estado de Mato GrossoJürgen Homeier - University of GöttingenMarcia C. M. Marques - Universidade Federal do ParanáJames K. McCarthy - Manaaki Whenua - Landcare ResearchM. A. El-Sheikh - King Saud UniversityKirill Korznikov - Institute of Botany of the Slovak Academy of SciencesKilian Gerberding - University of FreiburgTeja Kattenborn - University of Freiburg
- Publication Details
- Nature communications, Vol.17(1), 1203
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group UK; BERLIN
- Number of pages
- 17
- Grant note
- TMPFP2_217531 / Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (Swiss National Science Foundation) (501100001711) 444524904; 504978936; 442032008; 459819582; EXC 3127 Future Forests; 202548816; 202548816; 202548816 / Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) (501100001659) 88887.974741/2024-00 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Brazilian Federal Agency for the Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education) (501100002322) Italian Ministry of University and Research, Maria Levi Montalcini programme FORTRACK / European Space Agency (ESA) (501100000844)
- Identifiers
- 991005861092307891
- Copyright
- © The Author(s) 2026
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Harry Butler Institute; Centre for Terrestrial Ecosystem Science and Sustainability
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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