We live in an exciting time for ecology. The ease of access and availability of environmental data has increased exponentially over the past few decades. There are now online databases with ecological data from around the world. These large collaborative datasets can help us advance ecological theory and identify overarching principles that structure ecosystems at a global scale. Below are a few of my favorite open-access databases. You can request data from these websites to test your own questions, or help support these efforts by contributing data!
TRY - Global plant trait database
Worldclim - free interpolated global climate data for past conditions and future predictions
DRYAD - A digital repository for data published in the peer-reviewed literature
Polar Data Catalog - diverse datasets from Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems
USANPN - USA national phenology network data
PEP725 - Pan European phenology database
Drought-Net - Information about drought experiments around the world
TRY - Global plant trait database
Worldclim - free interpolated global climate data for past conditions and future predictions
DRYAD - A digital repository for data published in the peer-reviewed literature
Polar Data Catalog - diverse datasets from Arctic and Antarctic ecosystems
USANPN - USA national phenology network data
PEP725 - Pan European phenology database
Drought-Net - Information about drought experiments around the world
