Davi N. Oliveira, Carlos A. Ordóñez‐Parra, Si‐Chong Chen, A. Elizabeth Arnold, Adam S. Davis, Alba Marina Torres González, Alcides L. Morales‐Pérez, Aleida Rocío Díaz‐Castellanos, Alejandra Pérez‐Enriquez, Alessandra Fidelis, Amanda S. R. Carvalho, Amanda S. Santos, Ana C. Sandoval, Ana Cristina V. Crestani, Ana Luiza A. Mairinck, André Dias Azevedo Neto, Anina Coetzee, Anna Traveset, Antonio Carlos S. Andrade, Aparajita Datta, Aristônio M. Teles, Ashish N. Nerlekar, Asmita Sengupta, Avishkar Munje, Beatriz Salgado Negret, Bibidishananda Basu, Carla Souza Rocha, Carlos De Melo e Silva‐Neto, Carlos Henrique Barbosa Santos, Carolina Sarmiento, Caroline da Cruz Vasconcelos, Catherine A. Offord, Cecilia L. López, Cesar Mayta, Cesar Alejandro Ordoñez‐Salanueva, Charlotte E. Seal, Claudineia Regina Pelacani Cruz, Colleen Lynda Seymour, Daiane Sampaio Almeida, Daniel Salgado Pifano, Daniel Luis Mascia Vieira, Daniela Pereira Dias, Daniela Ramos‐Chuquimia, Daniela Cristine Mascia Vieira, David Alejandro Sánchez, Diana Maria Cruz‐Tejada, Diego Da Silva Cunha, Diego Fernando Escobar Escobar, Dionei Lima Santos, Dulce Alves Silva, Edilma Pereira Gonçalves, Edjane Silva Damasceno, Edson Ferreira Duarte, Eduardo Teles Barbosa Mendes, Elkys Tomás Peña‐Miranda, Elzineide Moreira do Carmo, Fabio L. Tarazona‐Tubens, Fabricio Francisco Santos Silva, Fatima Conceição Márquez Piña‐Rodrigues, Fernanda Cristina Souza, Flavia Santos Faria, Francinete Alves Nascimento, Francisco Javier Torres‐Romero, Gabriel Schmidt Teixeira Motta, Gabriela Akemi Oda, Ganesha S. Liyanage, Geângelo Petene Calvi, Glória Fabiani Leão Costa, Graeme Errington, Grant Stuart Joseph, Grênivel Mota Da Costa, Guilherme Gonzalez Canassa, Guilherme Gama, Hanci Liang, Hao‐Yu Wang, Harsh Yadav, Hélder Nagai Consolaro, Heleno Dias Ferreira, Heloisa Sinatora Miranda, Heloiza Lourenço Zirondi, Hillary Mireku Botey, Hudson Gabriel Virtuoso Fontenele, Hugh W. Pritchard, Ícaro Menezes Pinto, Ilana Araujo‐Santos, Isolde Dorothea Kossmann Ferraz, Itamara Gonçalves Da Gama, Ivonne Andrea Narváez Zambrano, James W. Dalling, Jaylson Araujo Dos Santos, Jeandson Silva Viana, Jeiner De Jesús Castellanos‐Barliza, Jeniffer Viviana Díaz Rodríguez, Jennifer Lorena Lopez Hoyos, Jennifer Sarah Powers, Jenny Paola Corredor‐Prado, Jerónimo Vázquez‐Ramírez, Jerônimo Boelsums Barreto Sansevero, Jhon Alexander Vargas‐Figueroa, João Guilherme Scarpelli Magalhães
Plant functional traits connect biodiversity to ecosystem processes, serving as key metrics for assessing how biota responds to environmental conditions. Functional seed traits are critical because they underpin recruitment and colonization, shaping biodiversity patterns and influencing ecosystem resilience. Yet, seed traits remain underrepresented in major data repositories, with severe gaps in the tropics. Climatic, geological, and historical differences between tropical and temperate regions drive distinct regeneration dynamics, suggesting that the paucity of tropical seed trait data limits our ability to predict regeneration niches and weakens global models largely based on temperate ecosystems. To address this gap, we introduce the Tropical Seed Trait Database (TSTD), an open-access repository spanning the full ecological spectrum of tropical seeds. The TSTD is conceived as a community-driven repository of primary data contributed directly by data owners, rather than as a secondary aggregation of global databases. It was built through contributions from ecologists working across all tropical regions, reached through direct contact, and its first version compiles 78 datasets, totaling 137 583 records across 44 functional traits. Covering 5115 species in 33 countries, with the Neotropics overrepresented, the TSTD marks a crucial step toward more inclusive, globally representative trait databases that can open multiple research avenues.