The global spectrum of tree crown architecture

Trees can differ enormously in their crown architectural traits, such as the scaling relationships between tree height, crown width and stem diameter. Yet despite the importance of crown architecture in shaping the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems, we lack a complete picture of what drives this incredible diversity in crown shapes. Using data from 374,888 globally distributed trees, we explore how climate, disturbance, competition, functional traits, and evolutionary history constrain the height and crown width scaling relationships of 1914 tree species. We find that variation in height-diameter scaling relationships is primarily controlled by water availability and light competition. Conversely, crown width is predominantly shaped by exposure to wind and fire, while also covarying with functional traits related to mechanical stability and photosynthesis. Additionally, we identify several plant lineages with highly distinctive stem and crown forms, such as the exceedingly slender dipterocarps of Southeast Asia, or the extremely wide crowns of legume trees in African savannas. Our study charts the global spectrum of tree crown architecture and pinpoints the processes that shape the 3D structure of woody ecosystems.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-05-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x
Citations
20
Primary Topic
Plant and animal studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
60.54

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article

The global spectrum of tree crown architecture

Maryam Kazempour Larsary, Hassan Pourbabaei, John L. Godlee, Suwash Kunwar et al.
20 citations
Nature Communications
Plant and animal studies
60.54
article

The global spectrum of tree crown architecture

Maryam Kazempour Larsary, Hassan Pourbabaei, John L. Godlee, Suwash Kunwar, Anvar Sanaei, Tomoaki Ichie, Miguel Angel Zavala, Yannick E. Bocko, Mohammad Aminpour, Yaozhan Xu, Ted R. Feldpausch, José Luis Hernández‐Stefanoni, Jefferson S. Hall, Sabina Cerruto Ribeiro, Samuel Bowers, Arthur Chantrain, Peter Waldner, Wenhua Xiang, Éric Forni, Jean‐Christophe Domec, Yadvinder Singh Malhi, Eskil Mattsson, Tanaka Kenzo, Moisés Enríquez, Steven I. Higgins, Alejandra G. Vovides, Zamah S. Nur Hajar, Mark C. Vanderwel, Puspa Raj Joshi, Radim Matula, Murray Woods, Francisco Mora, Liqiu Wang, Fabiano de Aquino Ximenes, David Ian Forrester, Andreas Hemp, Bonaventure Sonké, Tommaso Jucker, Jorge A. Meave, Niklaus E. Zimmermann, Haisheng Jiang, William Farfán-Ríos, John J. Battles, Christian Wirth, Steven Pearce, Jean‐Louis Doucet, Jiekun He, Stephen Adu‐Bredu, Takashi Kohyama, Raphaël Pélissier, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Lindsay F. Banin, Michael Schlund, Karin Y. van Ewijk, John P. Caspersen, S H Kaboli, Hans Beeckman, Lourens Poorter, Peter Marshall, Ahmad Valipour, Shem Kuyah, Martin Svátek, Jérôme Chave, Y. Iida, Ben Bond‐Lamberty, Michiel van Breugel, Juan Manuel Dupuy Rada, Emily R. Lines, Siliang Lin, Frans Bongers, Stéphane Momo Takoudjou, Luciana F. Alves, Jingyu Dai, Jakub Kvasnica, Fabian Jörg Fischer, Narayanan Ayyappan, S. P. Nissanka, Kiramat Hussain, Alexander Shenkin, Arshad Ali, Grâce Jopaul Loubota Panzou, Sylvanus Mensah, Toshihiro Yamada, Pablo L. Peri, Bhély Angoboy Ilondea, Matthias Haeni, V. А. Usoltsev, Rajeev Chaudhary, Giacomo Sellan, Craig G. Lorimer, Robert J. Holdaway, Lindsay B. Hutley, Kentaro Takagi, Cécile Antin, Marco Ferretti, Kevin L. O’Hara, Remko A. Duursma, Toby Jackson, Glenn R. Moncrieff, Nicolas Barbier, Kangbéni Dimobe, Rodrigo Muñoz, Anna T. Trugman, Casey M. Ryan, Mohsen Javanmiri Pour, Daniel S. Falster, Niels P. R. Anten, David A. Coomes, Adeline Fayolle, Pierre Ploton, Frank J. Sterck, Hongyan Liu, Weiwei Wang, Brian D. Kloeppel, Hammad Gilani, Jean‐Joël Loumeto, Yousef Askari, Jennifer Sanger, Xiangcheng Mi, Michele Dalponte
article en
20 citations

Abstract

Trees can differ enormously in their crown architectural traits, such as the scaling relationships between tree height, crown width and stem diameter. Yet despite the importance of crown architecture in shaping the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems, we lack a complete picture of what drives this incredible diversity in crown shapes. Using data from 374,888 globally distributed trees, we explore how climate, disturbance, competition, functional traits, and evolutionary history constrain the height and crown width scaling relationships of 1914 tree species. We find that variation in height-diameter scaling relationships is primarily controlled by water availability and light competition. Conversely, crown width is predominantly shaped by exposure to wind and fire, while also covarying with functional traits related to mechanical stability and photosynthesis. Additionally, we identify several plant lineages with highly distinctive stem and crown forms, such as the exceedingly slender dipterocarps of Southeast Asia, or the extremely wide crowns of legume trees in African savannas. Our study charts the global spectrum of tree crown architecture and pinpoints the processes that shape the 3D structure of woody ecosystems.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
New Mexico State University (US), Fondazione Edmund Mach (IT), University of Peradeniya (LK), Joint Global Change Research Institute (US), Hiroshima University (JP), Central South University of Forestry and Technology (CN), Manchester Metropolitan University (GB), The Nature Conservancy (US), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (PA), Royal Museum for Central Africa (BE), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU), Forest Research Institute Malaysia (MY), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), The University of Sydney (AU), Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg (DE), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Universidade Federal do Acre (BR), Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (CA), Université de Yaoundé I (CM), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), Central South University (CN), University of British Columbia (CA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), Tribhuvan University (NP), University of Cape Town (ZA), University of Liège (BE), University of Freiburg (DE), University of New Hampshire (US), University of California, Los Angeles (US), National University of Singapore (SG), Nanjing Forestry University (CN), Duke University (US), University of Toronto (CA), South China Normal University (CN), Universidad de Alcalá (ES), University of Regina (CA), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN), Université de Montpellier (FR), Princeton University (US), Peking University (CN), Northern Arizona University (US), Washington University in St. Louis (US), Queen's University (CA), Hokkaido University (JP), Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse (FR), Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ), University of Exeter (GB), University of Cambridge (GB), Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (KE), Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (BE), Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (CH), German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (DE), New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (AU), Charles Darwin University (AU), University of Kurdistan (IR), National University of Austral Patagonia (AR), UNSW Sydney (AU), University of Bristol (GB), Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences (IR), University of Oxford (GB), Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research (IR), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JP), École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine (FR), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB), Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CN), Hendrix Genetics (Netherlands) (NL), Ural State Forestry Engineering University (RU), Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (AU), IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (SE), Secretaría de Investigación, Innovación y Educación Superior (MX), Université d'Abomey-Calavi (BJ), Wuhan Botanical Garden (CN), Horonobe Research Institute for the Subsurface Environment (JP), Forests and Societies (FR), Institut Supérieur de Statistique de Lubumbashi (CD), Tasmanian Abalone Council (Australia) (AU), Laboratoire Dynamique de la Biodiversité (FR), Université Pédagogique Nationale (CD), Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation (NP), National Institute of Biomedical Research (CD), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (GH), Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (JP), Agricultural Research & Education Organization (IR), Ministère de l’Environnement et du Développement Durable (SN), Guiana Space Centre (GF), Conservation Leadership Programme (GB), Yale-NUS College (SG), Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (GF), National Agricultural Technology Institute (AR), Institute of Botany (CN), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Hebei University (CN), University of Bayreuth (DE), Mendel University in Brno (CZ), Marien Ngouabi University (CG), Kōchi University (JP), University of Glasgow (GB), University of Otago (NZ), Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research (NZ), French Institute of Pondicherry (IN), University of Guilan (IR), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (MX), Wageningen University & Research (NL), Leipzig University (DE), Semnan University (IR), University of Twente (NL), University of California, Berkeley (US), University of Edinburgh (GB)
National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, HSBC Bank USA, Yale University, Western Carolina University, Nanjing Forestry University, Yale-NUS College, UK Research and Innovation, Leverhulme Trust, Royal Geographical Society, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Hebei University, Office of Science, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Natural Environment Research Council, Biological and Environmental Research
Life in Land, Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 0%
Plant and animal studies
60.54
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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