Seed germination is a crucial phase of plant responses in early life to current and future environmental conditions. However, germination data are still scarce or disaggregated for many plant lineages and regions, including global biodiversity hotspots such as the Mediterranean Basin. We present MedGermDB, the first germination database for characteristic species of Mediterranean habitats, as defined by the EUNIS classification. We also present a systematic approach to build germination databases using automatic and semi‐automatic data extraction from the literature. MedGermDB contains germination data for 4680 laboratory tests performed with 236 angiosperm species from 43 families, extracted from 125 literature sources (2837 sources screened). Each test is associated to a seed lot (i.e., a seed collection of a plant species obtained from a specific location at a specific time) and its metadata, recording geographical information and experimental conditions (storage, dormancy‐breaking treatments, incubation temperature, and photoperiod). MedGermDB is available as a csv file, and through a web app: https://dianamariacruztejada.shinyapps.io/medgermdb/. MedGermDB can be used to explore eco‐evolutionary questions and provides a backbone data set for informing effective seed‐based conservation and ecological restoration activities targeting EUNIS habitats. Our methodological approach to data extraction can be extended to other study systems, contributing to global efforts to mobilize germination data.

中文翻译：

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MedGermDB：地中海栖息地特征物种的种子发芽数据库

种子发芽是植物早期生命对当前和未来环境条件做出反应的关键阶段。然而，许多植物谱系和地区的发芽数据仍然稀缺或分类，包括地中海盆地等全球生物多样性热点地区。我们推出了 MedGermDB，这是第一个根据 EUNIS 分类定义的地中海栖息地特征物种的发芽数据库。我们还提出了一种使用从文献中自动和半自动数据提取来构建发芽数据库的系统方法。 MedGermDB 包含对 43 个科的 236 种被子植物进行的 4680 次实验室测试的发芽数据，这些数据是从 125 个文献来源（筛选的 2837 个来源）中提取的。每个测试都与种子批次（即在特定时间从特定地点获得的植物物种的种子集合）及其元数据相关，记录地理信息和实验条件（储存、打破休眠处理、孵化温度和光周期）。 MedGermDB 可作为数据集文件，并通过网络应用程序：https://dianamariacruztejada.shinyapps.io/medgermdb/。 MedGermDB 可用于探索生态进化问题，并提供骨干数据集，为针对 EUNIS 栖息地的有效种子保护和生态恢复活动提供信息。我们的数据提取方法可以扩展到其他研究系统，为全球动员发芽数据的努力做出贡献。