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BIOPOP — A database of plant traits and internet application for nature conservation

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Abstract

In scientific literature there is a wealth of information about the ecological and life-history traits of plant species. This information would be very valuable for a functional analysis of the response of species and communities to environmental changes and subsequent vulnerability/viability analysis or predictive modelling. However, the information is scattered in a multiple of different sources. Researchers often are discouraged from searching all available information.

We are compiling a database of plant traits of the flora of Germany. Our aim is to create a comprehensive, well documented database to be made freely accessible within FLORAWEB, an Internet portal of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN). An interactive user-interface will enable the data to be readily used for extracting biological risk factors and for decision-making in nature conservation.

A further aim of the project is to develop an application to enable simple predictions of plant population responses to habitat conservation or restoration management.

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Poschlod, P., Kleyer, M., Jackel, AK. et al. BIOPOP — A database of plant traits and internet application for nature conservation. Folia Geobot 38, 263–271 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803198

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