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.

This study is focused on the selection of variables affecting lichen and bryophyte diversity in Mediterranean deciduous forests. Plots representing two forest types (Fagus sylvatica and Quercus cerris forests) and two forest continuity categories (old‐growth (OG) and non‐OG forests) were selected in the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park (Italy). The presence and the abundance of bryophytes and epiphytic lichens were recorded. Structural variables of the forests and vascular plant species richness have been used as predictors. A strong positive correspondence between the two groups of organisms was found. Higher species richness and the distribution of rare species are related to OG stands, while a qualitative (species composition) rather than a quantitative (species richness) difference between the two forest types was observed. Some species elsewhere considered as indicators of forest continuity, such as Lobaria pulmonaria, Antitrichia curtipendula, and Homalothecium sericeum, are associated with OG forests, independently from forest type, suggesting that they can be regarded as suitable indicators also in Mediterranean forests. Finally, our results suggest that old trees, high levels of basal area, a broad range of diameter classes, and high understory diversity are the main structural features affecting cryptogamic communities, while no correlation was found with the occurrence of deadwood.

Cichorieae, one of the six tribes of the sub-family Cichorioideae (Asteraceae), produces a well-recognisable fenestrate pollen type. In the Mediterranean area, the significance of high percentages of Cichorieae pollen from archaeological layers is still questioned. We assessed the presence of Cichorieae as indicators of open habitats and pasturelands in current plant communities by comparing data on vegetation composition with pollen spectra from two Hellenistic sites of Basilicata (southern Italy): Difesa San Biagio in the low valley of the river Bradano and Torre di Satriano in the Lucanian Apennines. We also analysed the pollen morphology bringing to the discrimination of size classes within the fenestrate type of Cichorieae. Pollen spectra from the considered archaeological sites have low forest cover (7% on average); Asteraceae and Poaceae are prevalent; Cichorieae account to ca. 23%; coprophilous fungal spores are varied and present high concentrations. In surface soil samples collected near the sites, Cichorieae pollen is about 12%. In current vegetation types, an increasing abundance of Cichorieae was observed from salt marshes, forests and shrublands to open habitats and grasslands. This is coherent with the actual land cover around the study sites and the findings of the archaeological sample that point to an open landscape dominated by pastures and cultivated fields. Our integrated approach confirmed that today Cichorieae are common in secondary pastures and in some types of primary open habitats of southern Italy: hence, high percentages of this pollen can be considered a good indicator of these habitats even in past environment reconstructions.