Widespread slow growth of acquisitive tree species

Trees are an important carbon sink as they accumulate biomass through photosynthesis<sup>1</sup>. Identifying tree species that grow fast is therefore commonly considered to be essential for effective climate change mitigation through forest planting. Although species characteristics are key information for plantation design and forest management, field studies often fail to detect clear relationships between species functional traits and tree growth<sup>2</sup>. Here, by consolidating four independent datasets and classifying the acquisitive and conservative species based on their functional trait values, we show that acquisitive tree species, which are supposedly fast-growing species, generally grow slowly in field conditions. This discrepancy between the current paradigm and field observations is explained by the interactions with environmental conditions that influence growth. Acquisitive species require moist mild climates and fertile soils, conditions that are generally not met in the field. By contrast, conservative species, which are supposedly slow-growing species, show generally higher realized growth due to their ability to tolerate unfavourable environmental conditions. In general, conservative tree species grow more steadily than acquisitive tree species in non-tropical forests. We recommend planting acquisitive tree species in areas where they can realize their fast-growing potential. In other regions, where environmental stress is higher, conservative tree species have a larger potential to fix carbon in their biomass.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature
Published
2025-03-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08692-x
Citations
31
Primary Topic
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
71.71

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article

Widespread slow growth of acquisitive tree species

Mattias C. Larsson, Harald Auge, An De Schrijver, Alain Paquette et al.
31 citations
Nature
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
71.71
article

Widespread slow growth of acquisitive tree species

Mattias C. Larsson, Harald Auge, An De Schrijver, Alain Paquette, Gavriil Spyroglou, Douglas L. Godbold, Jorge Martín‐García, Bart Muys, Mark R. Bakker, Quentin Ponette, Céline Meredieu, Antra Boča, Ander Arias‐González, Kris Verheyen, Rebecca Montgomery, Nico Eisenhauer, Éric Paillassa, Michael J. Gundale, Elena Vanguelova, Francisco Javier Silva‐Pando, Brigitte Musch, António Correia, Marie Charru, Jeannine Cavender‐Bares, Mariangela N. Fotelli, John D. Parker, Ricardo Ruíz‐Peinado, Julio Javier Díez, Julia Koricheva, William C. Parker, Simone Mereu, Vito Armando Laudicina, Gildas Gâteblé, C.K. Reynolds, Laurent Augusto, M. J. Rozados-Lorenzo, Lars Vesterdal, Lucie Bon, Alejandro Cantero, Michael Scherer‐Lorenzen, Frédéric Bernier, Nahia Gartzia‐Bengoetxea, Christophe Orazio, Aino Smolander, Arnaud Legout, Hervé Jactel, W. L. Mason, R Borelle, M Gomes-Caetano-Ferreira, Xabier Santesteban Insausti, E B Teixeira-Barcelos
article en
31 citations

Abstract

Trees are an important carbon sink as they accumulate biomass through photosynthesis<sup>1</sup>. Identifying tree species that grow fast is therefore commonly considered to be essential for effective climate change mitigation through forest planting. Although species characteristics are key information for plantation design and forest management, field studies often fail to detect clear relationships between species functional traits and tree growth<sup>2</sup>. Here, by consolidating four independent datasets and classifying the acquisitive and conservative species based on their functional trait values, we show that acquisitive tree species, which are supposedly fast-growing species, generally grow slowly in field conditions. This discrepancy between the current paradigm and field observations is explained by the interactions with environmental conditions that influence growth. Acquisitive species require moist mild climates and fertile soils, conditions that are generally not met in the field. By contrast, conservative species, which are supposedly slow-growing species, show generally higher realized growth due to their ability to tolerate unfavourable environmental conditions. In general, conservative tree species grow more steadily than acquisitive tree species in non-tropical forests. We recommend planting acquisitive tree species in areas where they can realize their fast-growing potential. In other regions, where environmental stress is higher, conservative tree species have a larger potential to fix carbon in their biomass.

NatureVol. 640(8058)
Universidad de Valladolid (ES), Universidade dos Açores (PT), Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LV), University of Copenhagen (DK), Université d'Orléans (FR), HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts (BE), CEA CESTA (FR), Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (CA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES), Harvard University (US), Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE), University of Lisbon (PT), Université de Bordeaux (FR), Université du Québec à Montréal (CA), University of Freiburg (DE), Royal Holloway University of London (GB), German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE), Natural Resources Institute Finland (FI), Ghent University (BE), Institute of Forest Ecology of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SK), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Biologie du Fruit et Pathologie (FR), École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine (FR), Institut Européen De La Qualité Totale (FR), Santé et Agroécologie du Vignoble (FR), Electricidade dos Açores (Portugal) (PT), Centre National de la Propriété Forestière (FR), Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology (IT), Centre Procédés, Energies Renouvelables et Systèmes Energétiques (FR), Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo (PT), NEIKER, Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development (ES), Unité mixte de recherche Œnologie (FR), Forest Research (GB), UMR BIOdiversity, GEnes & Communities (FR), Complejo Hospitalario de Pontevedra (ES), Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (US), Mendel University in Brno (CZ), University of Pamplona (CO), University of Palermo (IT), Leipzig University (DE), UCLouvain (BE), KU Leuven (BE)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Mendelova Univerzita v Brně, Novo Nordisk Fonden, Deutsches Zentrum für integrative Biodiversitätsforschung Halle-Jena-Leipzig, U.S. Forest Service, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Interreg
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
71.71
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