The global spectrum of tree crown architecture

Jucker, Tommaso ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0751-6312; Fischer, Fabian Jörg; Chave, Jérôme ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7766-1347; Coomes, David A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8261-2582; Caspersen, John; Ali, Arshad ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9966-2917; Loubota Panzou, Grace Jopaul; Feldpausch, Ted R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6631-7962; Falster, Daniel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9814-092X; Usoltsev, Vladimir A.; Jackson, Toby D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8143-6161; Adu-Bredu, Stephen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7487-7911; Alves, Luciana F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8944-1851; Aminpour, Mohammad; Angoboy Ilondea, Bhely; Anten, Niels P. R.; Antin, Cécile; Askari, Yousef; Ayyappan, Narayanan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4383-557X; Banin, Lindsay F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1168-3914; Barbier, Nicolas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5323-3866; Battles, John J.; Beeckman, Hans ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8954-6277; Bocko, Yannick E.; Bond-Lamberty, Ben ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9525-4633; Bongers, Frans ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8431-6189; Bowers, Samuel; van Breugel, Michiel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2778-7803; Chantrain, Arthur; Chaudhary, Rajeev; Dai, Jingyu; Dalponte, Michele; Dimobe, Kangbéni ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5536-9700; Domec, Jean-Christophe ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0478-2559; Doucet, Jean-Louis; Dupuy Rada, Juan Manuel; Duursma, Remko A.; Enríquez, Moisés ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4255-1356; van Ewijk, Karin Y.; Farfán-Rios, William ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3196-0317; Fayolle, Adeline; Ferretti, Marco ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8488-0804; Forni, Eric; Forrester, David I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4546-3554; Gilani, Hammad; Godlee, John L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5595-255X; Haeni, Matthias ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3977-2166; Hall, Jefferson S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4761-9268; He, Jie-Kun ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9401-4208; Hemp, Andreas ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5369-2122; Hernández-Stefanoni, José L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9559-7131; Higgins, Steven I.; Holdaway, Robert J.; Hussain, Kiramat; Hutley, Lindsay B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5533-9886; Ichie, Tomoaki; Iida, Yoshiko ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6544-0101; Jiang, Hai-Sheng ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4793-1924; Joshi, Puspa Raj; Kaboli, Hasan; Kazempour Larsary, Maryam ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9228-797X; Kenzo, Tanaka; Kloeppel, Brian D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0215-4671; Kohyama, Takashi S.; Kunwar, Suwash; Kuyah, Shem ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7692-585X; Kvasnica, Jakub ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2104-5318; Lin, Siliang; Lines, Emily R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5357-8741; Liu, Hongyan ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6721-4439; Lorimer, Craig; Loumeto, Jean-Joël; Malhi, Yadvinder ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3503-4783; Marshall, Peter L.; Mattsson, Eskil; Matula, Radim ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7460-0100; Meave, Jorge A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6241-8803; Mensah, Sylvanus ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6838-749X; Mi, Xiangcheng ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2971-5881; Momo, Stéphane T.; Moncrieff, Glenn R.; Mora, Francisco; Muñoz, Rodrigo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9434-0126; Nissanka, Sarath P.; Nur Hajar, Zamah Shari; O’Hara, Kevin L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3800-9188; Pearce, Steven; Pelissier, Raphaël ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4845-5090; Peri, Pablo L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5398-4408; Ploton, Pierre ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8800-3593; Poorter, Lourens ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1391-4875; Pour, Mohsen Javanmiri; Pourbabaei, Hassan; Ribeiro, Sabina C.; Ryan, Casey ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1802-0128; Sanaei, Anvar ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8334-6944; Sanger, Jennifer; Schlund, Michael ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6657-6713; Sellan, Giacomo; Shenkin, Alexander; Sonké, Bonaventure; Sterck, Frank J.; Svátek, Martin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2328-4627; Takagi, Kentaro ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1321-2841; Trugman, Anna T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7903-9711; Vadeboncoeur, Matthew A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8269-0708; Valipour, Ahmad ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7087-8191; Vanderwel, Mark C.; Vovides, Alejandra G.; Waldner, Peter; Wang, Weiwei; Wang, Li-Qiu; Wirth, Christian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2604-8056; Woods, Murray; Xiang, Wenhua ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6762-7938; de Aquino Ximenes, Fabiano; Xu, Yaozhan; Yamada, Toshihiro; Zavala, Miguel A. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1456-0132; Zimmermann, Niklaus E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3099-9604. 2025 The global spectrum of tree crown architecture. Nature Communications, 16, 4876. 16, pp. 10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x

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Abstract/Summary

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.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Land-Atmosphere Interactions (2025-)
ISSN:	2041-1723
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	ecosystem ecology, forest ecology
NORA Subject Terms:	Botany
Related URLs:	Dataset Dataset Dataset Dataset Code
Date made live:	17 Jun 2025 12:43 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/539607

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