1. Key information from FDOS Global distribution of plant communities as described by quantitative traits [and their association with phylogenetic composition??] – Canopy height – LES (N, pigments, LMA) – Other nutrients (e.g., rock-derived nutrients) – Leaf and canopy water content – Foliar Carbon fractions (NSC vs SC) – Phenology of dynamic canopy variables to capture seasonal response cycles Changes in plant communities in response to environmental change. (Large scale spatial changes in continuous distributions of PFT composition and associated ecosystem processes.) Growth responses to climate variability, extreme events and secular change

2. Relationship to other biodiversity information systems Basis for exploring, understanding and extrapolating distribution of species as constructed from ground observations of taxa Conservation planning and priority setting Species invasions Agriculture and silvicultural diversity?

3. Relationship to earth system science – improved (biophysical) estimates of… Carbon stocks and fluxes Ecohydrology and associated water provisioning Environmental biogeochemistry – N and P cycling and budgets, pollution fate and impacts Surface energy balance