AusTraits is not a single product but a family of connected open-source tools, datasets, and vocabularies. Each piece does one job well and hands off to the next: a controlled vocabulary defines the traits, a taxonomy tool standardises the names, a workflow engine harmonises contributed data into a single database, and an R package plus web tools let anyone access it. This page shows how the pieces fit together and where to go for each.
How the pieces connect
flowchart TD
APD["<b>APD</b><br/>trait vocabulary<br/>(definitions, units, allowed values)"]
APC["<b>APCalign</b><br/>taxonomy alignment<br/>(APC / APNI)"]
RAW["contributed<br/>source datasets"]
TB["<b>traits.build</b><br/>workflow engine<br/>+ data model"]
BUILD["<b>austraits.build</b><br/>the AusTraits<br/>dataset compilation"]
ZEN[("Zenodo<br/>austraits-X.Y.Z")]
PKG["<b>austraits</b><br/>R access & wrangling"]
WEB["Data portal & API<br/>code-free access"]
REUSE["reused beyond AusTraits<br/>(other trait databases<br/>& taxonomy projects)"]
APD --> BUILD
APC --> BUILD
RAW --> BUILD
TB -. engine .-> BUILD
BUILD --> ZEN
ZEN --> PKG
ZEN --> WEB
APC -. reused by .-> REUSE
TB -. reused by .-> REUSE
classDef core fill:#e8f4ec,stroke:#4a8a68,color:#1d3b2a;
classDef data fill:#eef2f7,stroke:#7089a8,color:#243044;
classDef reuse fill:#fbf6ea,stroke:#c9a340,color:#5b4a12,stroke-dasharray:4 3;
class APD,APC,TB,BUILD,PKG core;
class RAW,ZEN,WEB data;
class REUSE reuse;
A key subtlety: the data flow above is not the same as the R-package install graph. In the build, traits.build is the engine that assembles austraits.build; but as R packages, traits.build actually depends on a few helpers from austraits. The authoritative, up-to-date map of both graphs lives in austraits-meta.
The core pipeline
APD — AusTraits Plant Dictionary
The trait vocabulary: definitions, allowed categorical values, units, and links to other trait databases. Everything downstream conforms to it.
Aligns and updates plant names against the Australian Plant Census / APNI, and reports native vs introduced status. Used to standardise taxonomy before data is compiled — and reusable as a standalone taxonomy tool in any other project.
A general-purpose data model and R workflow for harmonising trait data into a documented, relational structure. AusTraits is built with it — and so can any other trait database.
Wires the vocabulary (APD), taxonomy (APCalign), and the engine (traits.build) together over hundreds of contributed source datasets to produce the released AusTraits database.
The R package for loading, filtering, joining, reshaping, and plotting AusTraits (and any traits.build database) once it has been compiled and released.