Contrasting pathways to tree longevity in gymnosperms and angiosperms

Tree longevity is thought to increase in growth-limiting, adverse environments, but a quantitative assessment of drivers of global variation in tree longevity is lacking. We assemble a global database of maximum longevity for 739 tree species and analyse associations between longevity and climate, soil, and species' functional traits. Our results show two primary pathways towards long lifespans. The first is slow growth in resource-limited environments, consistent with the "adversity begets longevity" paradigm. The second pathway is through relief from abiotic constraints in productive environments. Despite notable exceptions, long-lived gymnosperms tend to follow the first path through slow growth in cold environments, whereas long-lived angiosperms tend to follow the second ("productivity") path reaching maximum longevity generally in humid environments. For angiosperms, we identify two mechanisms for increased longevity under humid conditions. First, higher water availability increases species' maximum tree height which is associated with greater longevities. Secondly, greater water availability increases stand density and inter-tree competition, limiting growth which may increase tree lifespan. The documented differences between gymnosperm and angiosperm longevity are likely rooted in intrinsic differences in hydraulic architecture that provide fitness advantages for gymnosperms under high abiotic stress, and for angiosperms under increased productivity or competition.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-12-19
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-67619-2
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.63

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Contrasting pathways to tree longevity in gymnosperms and angiosperms

Václav Bažant, Christina Restaino, Jan Altman, Jochen Schöngart et al.
2 citations
Nature Communications
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
4.63
article

Contrasting pathways to tree longevity in gymnosperms and angiosperms

Václav Bažant, Christina Restaino, Jan Altman, Jochen Schöngart, Dan J. Smith, José Villanueva‐Díaz, Samuli Helama, David Sauchyn, R. Justin DeRose, David B. Lindenmayer, Michele Baliva, Jakob Pavlin, Ron Sunny, Alfredo Di Filippo, John D. Shaw, Stefan Klesse, Giuliano Maselli Locosselli, Steven L. Voelker, Louis Duchesne, Peter B. Reich, Peter M. Brown, Christopher J. Earle, Ricardo Villalba, Thomas A. Nagel, Lisa J. Wood, Gregório Ceccantini, Pavel Fibich, Kirill Korznikov, Gianluca Piovesan, Miroslav Svoboda, Neil Pederson, Hardy P. Griesbauer, Stefan Krottenthaler, Deepak Barua, Lidio López, Bryan A. Black, Jiří Doležal, Leander D. L. Anderegg, Maurizio Mencuccini, Roel Brienen, Emanuel Gloor, Nela Altmanová, Shuhui Liu, Chunyu Zhang, Robyn Wrigley
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Tree longevity is thought to increase in growth-limiting, adverse environments, but a quantitative assessment of drivers of global variation in tree longevity is lacking. We assemble a global database of maximum longevity for 739 tree species and analyse associations between longevity and climate, soil, and species' functional traits. Our results show two primary pathways towards long lifespans. The first is slow growth in resource-limited environments, consistent with the "adversity begets longevity" paradigm. The second pathway is through relief from abiotic constraints in productive environments. Despite notable exceptions, long-lived gymnosperms tend to follow the first path through slow growth in cold environments, whereas long-lived angiosperms tend to follow the second ("productivity") path reaching maximum longevity generally in humid environments. For angiosperms, we identify two mechanisms for increased longevity under humid conditions. First, higher water availability increases species' maximum tree height which is associated with greater longevities. Secondly, greater water availability increases stand density and inter-tree competition, limiting growth which may increase tree lifespan. The documented differences between gymnosperm and angiosperm longevity are likely rooted in intrinsic differences in hydraulic architecture that provide fitness advantages for gymnosperms under high abiotic stress, and for angiosperms under increased productivity or competition.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 17(1)
Australian National University (AU), Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES), Michigan Technological University (US), Utah State University (US), University of Minnesota (US), University of Leeds (GB), Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (US), University of Nevada, Reno (US), Harvard University (US), University of Arizona (US), Università degli Studi della Tuscia (IT), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR), University of Northern British Columbia (CA), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune (IN), University of Passau (DE), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (BR), University of Regina (CA), Saint Joseph's College (US), Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZ), University of Victoria (CA), University of Michigan (US), Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (CH), Special Olympics (US), Natural Resources Institute Finland (FI), University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (CZ), Beijing Forestry University (CN), Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agrícolas y Pecuarias (MX), Government of British Columbia (CA), Instituto de Botânica (BR), Slovenian Forestry Institute (SI), Film Independent (US), Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications (ES), Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany (CZ), State Forestry and Grassland Administration (CN), Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (US), Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts (Québec) (CA), Rocky Mountain Research Station (US), Centro Científico Tecnológico - Mendoza (AR), Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts (CA), Institute of Botany (AM), University of Tartu (EE)
National Science Foundation, Utah State University, Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, National Research Centre, Dipartimenti di Eccellenza, European Commission, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Grantová Agentura České Republiky, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Akademie Věd České Republiky, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas, National Science and Technology Council, Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Environmental Biology, Division of Emerging Frontiers
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
4.63
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.