Resource description:
The maximum size, growth rate, and lifespan of trees determines the rate of forest carbon accumulation. These life history traits are thought to be correlated, but studies have been limited to local scales in tropical systems. Bialic-Murphy et al. used data on tree size and status from over 1000 species across North, Central, and South America to show that these relationships are more complex. Unexpectedly, they found weak positive correlations between measures of size, lifespan, and growth rate. However, species clustered into four types: one fast-growing species and three groups of slow-growing species that varied from small and long-lived to large and short-lived. Species in cold regions tended to grow more slowly and live longer, but these traits were largely independent. —Bianca Lopez
Author/Contact:
Corresponding author: Lalasia Bialic-Murphy, lalasia.bialicmurphy@usys.ethz.ch