Welcome to the FLOWBASE.
FLOWBASE is a riparian plant trait base which provides standardized information on 225 woody species from 65 families that can be found in Mediterranean and semi-arid worldwide riparian habitats. FLOWBASE aims to make easily and freely accessible currently scattered information about Mediterranean riparian plants, their connections to flow processes and information on geographic locations.
At the moment, data compilation addresses 55 functional plant traits in four trait categories (Morphology, Phenology, Reproduction and Ecology), characterizing dispersal, establishment and persistence in riparian areas and with expected linkages with hydrological changes, water availability and flood resistance.
FLOWBASE offers the possibility of quick search by scientific name (or part of species names), by trait(s) or by local(s) of occurrence. Two buttons allow the direct search of all the FLOWBASE content: Trait item and Local item.
Both buttons provide taxa information including scientific name, family, genus, common names, two synonyms, region of origin, riparian classification and photo. Flora Europaea (http://rbg-web2.rbge.org.uk/FE/fe.html), as well as national and international check-lists, was used to harmonize taxonomic data.
The “Traits” button links to a table with information on the values of a set of traits for each taxa, providing also links to a description of each trait and to the respective bibliographic source. Specific information about a given species, trait, source or locality can be assessed by the respective link. The Back link allows returning to the previous frame. To begin a new search on traits or locals the box Home will redirect to buttons Traits and Locals.
Sources for trait data compilation were classified as primary sources of information (Floras, Herbaria, ISI articles, project OASIS) and secondary sources (e.g. books, field guides, other databases). Each trait value is linked with the respective source of information.
The “Locals” button links to a table with information about the localities of occurrences of each species. The description of each locality includes coordinates, site name, basin, sub-basin and a landscape photo, when available. A code is attributed to each location, beginning with the acronym of the country (e.g. PT – Portugal, SP – Spain), and ending in two digits of the sampling year. Source types for Locality items were classified as public institutions, R&D Projects, expertise, institutional protocols, reports, articles, books. Each recorded occurrence is linked to the respective source of information. Presently, most of the information regarding species occurrence is limited to the Iberian Peninsula.
FLOWBASE is an open-ended database, and it is progressing on increasing the number of sources, species, traits, images and locations.
