A Web-Based Software Platform for Restoration-Oriented Species Selection Based on Plant Functional Traits

Chen Wang,Hai Ren,Nan Liu,Shuguang Jian,Junhua Yan

doi:10.3389/fevo.2021.570454

Chen Wang, Hai Ren + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.570454

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Abstract

Plant functional traits are fundamental to the understanding of plant adaptations and distributions. Recently, scientists proposed a trait-based species selection theory to support the selection of suitable plant species to restore the degraded ecosystems, to prevent the invasive exotic species and to manage the sustainable ecosystems. Based on this theory, in a previous study, we developed a species screening model and successfully applied it to a project where plant species were selected for restoring a tropical coral island. However, during this process we learned that a software platform is necessary to automate the selection process because it can flexible to assist users. Here, we developed a generalized software platform called the “Restoration Plant Species Selection (RPSS) Platform.” This flexible software is designed to assist users in selecting plant species for particular purposes (e.g., restore the degraded ecosystems and others). It is written in R language and integrated with external R packages, including the packages that computing similarity indexes, providing graphic outputs, and offering web functions. The software has a web-based graphical user interface that allows users to execute required functions via checkboxes and buttons. The platform has cross-platform functionality, which means that it can run on all common operating systems (e.g., Windows, Linux, macOS, and others). We also illustrate a successful case study in which the software platform was used to select suitable plant species for restoration purpose. The objective of this paper is to introduce the newly developed software platform RPSS and to provide useful guidances on using it for various applications. At this step, we also realized that the software platform should be constantly updated (e.g., add new features) in the future. Based on the existing successful application and the possible updates, we believe that our RPSS software platform will have broader applications in the future.

Highlights

Climate change and human activities have caused the land ecosystem degraded worldwide (Chapin et al, 2000)
We introduced a newly developed, web-based species selection software platform and named it as “Restoration Plant Species Selection (RPSS) Platform.”
We developed a web-based software platform named “Restoration Plant Species Selection (RPSS) Platform” to aid in the trait-based plant species selection process

Summary

Introduction

Climate change and human activities (e.g., ore mining and agricultural use) have caused the land ecosystem degraded worldwide (Chapin et al, 2000). Among all, identifying the suitable species that can successfully restore the degraded ecosystems is the primary challenge in restoration science (Fry et al, 2013) This step requires a comprehensive understanding of the ecological restoration theory, including information on species interactions, successional processes, and resource-use patterns. Because these processes differ greatly across different ecosystems, it remains an enormous challenge. The trial-and-error method based largely on expert knowledge of the ecosystem (Rosenthal, 2003), and such information requires the involvement of a restoration practitioner who has a wealth of practical experience which is based on years of training (Padilla et al, 2009; Ostertag et al, 2015)

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