Abstract

The relationships that control seed production in trees are fundamental to understanding the evolution of forest species and their capacity to recover from increasing losses to drought, fire, and harvest. A synthesis of fecundity data from 714 species worldwide allowed us to examine hypotheses that are central to quantifying reproduction, a foundation for assessing fitness in forest trees. Four major findings emerged. First, seed production is not constrained by a strict trade-off between seed size and numbers. Instead, seed numbers vary over ten orders of magnitude, with species that invest in large seeds producing more seeds than expected from the 1:1 trade-off. Second, gymnosperms have lower seed production than angiosperms, potentially due to their extra investments in protective woody cones. Third, nutrient-demanding species, indicated by high foliar phosphorus concentrations, have low seed production. Finally, sensitivity of individual species to soil fertility varies widely, limiting the response of community seed production to fertility gradients. In combination, these findings can inform models of forest response that need to incorporate reproductive potential.

The relationships that control seed production in trees are key to understand evolutionary pressures that have shaped forests. A global synthesis of fecundity data reveals that while seed production is not constrained by a strict size-number trade-off, it is influenced by taxonomy and nutrient allocation.

Details

Title
Limits to reproduction and seed size-number trade-offs that shape forest dominance and future recovery
Author
Qiu, Tong 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Andrus, Robert 2 ; Aravena Marie-Claire 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ascoli Davide 4 ; Bergeron, Yves 5   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Berretti Roberta 4 ; Berveiller, Daniel 6 ; Bogdziewicz Michal 7   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Boivin, Thomas 8 ; Bonal Raul 9 ; Bragg, Don C 10 ; Caignard, Thomas 11 ; Calama Rafael 12 ; Julio, Camarero J 13   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Chang-Yang, Chia-Hao 14   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Cleavitt, Natalie L 15 ; Courbaud Benoit 16 ; Courbet Francois 17 ; Thomas, Curt 18 ; Das, Adrian J 19   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Daskalakou Evangelia 20   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Davi Hendrik 21 ; Delpierre Nicolas 6 ; Delzon Sylvain 11 ; Dietze, Michael 22   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Calderon, Sergio Donoso 3 ; Dormont Laurent 23 ; Espelta Josep 24   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Fahey, Timothy J 15 ; Farfan-Rios, William 25   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Gehring, Catherine A 26 ; Gilbert, Gregory S 27   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Gratzer Georg 28 ; Greenberg, Cathryn H 29 ; Guo Qinfeng 30   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Hacket-Pain, Andrew 31   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Hampe Arndt 11 ; Han Qingmin 32   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Hille Ris Lambers Janneke 33 ; Hoshizaki Kazuhiko 34   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ibanez Ines 35   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Johnstone, Jill F 36   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Journé Valentin 16   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kabeya Daisuke 32 ; Kilner, Christopher L 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kitzberger, Thomas 37 ; Knops Johannes M H 38 ; Kobe, Richard K 39   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Kunstler Georges 16 ; Lageard Jonathan G A 40   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; LaMontagne, Jalene M 41   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Ledwon Mateusz 42 ; Lefevre, Francois 43   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Leininger Theodor 44 ; Limousin Jean-Marc 45 ; Lutz, James A 46   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Macias, Diana 47 ; McIntire Eliot J B 48 ; Moore, Christopher M 49 ; Moran, Emily 50   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Motta Renzo 4 ; Myers, Jonathan A 51   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Nagel, Thomas A 52 ; Noguchi Kyotaro 53 ; Jean-Marc, Ourcival 45 ; Parmenter, Robert 54   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Pearse, Ian S 55 ; Perez-Ramos, Ignacio M 56 ; Piechnik Lukasz 57 ; Poulsen, John 1 ; Poulton-Kamakura Renata 1 ; Redmond, Miranda D 58 ; Reid, Chantal D 1 ; Rodman, Kyle C 59   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Rodriguez-Sanchez, Francisco 60 ; Sanguinetti, Javier D 61 ; Lane, Scher C 1 ; Schlesinger, William H 1 ; Schmidt Van Marle Harald 3 ; Seget, Barbara 57 ; Sharma Shubhi 1 ; Silman Miles 62 ; Steele, Michael A 63 ; Stephenson, Nathan L 19   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Straub, Jacob N 64 ; I-Fang, Sun 65   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Sutton, Samantha 1 ; Swenson, Jennifer J 1 ; Swift, Margaret 1 ; Thomas, Peter A 66   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Uriarte, Maria 67   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Vacchiano Giorgio 68   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Veblen, Thomas T 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Whipple, Amy V 26 ; Whitham, Thomas G 26 ; Wion, Andreas P 69 ; Wright, Boyd 70 ; Joseph, Wright S 71   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Zhu, Kai 27   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Zimmerman, Jess K 72 ; Zlotin Roman 73 ; Zywiec Magdalena 57 ; Clark, James S 74   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961) 
 University of Colorado Boulder, Department of Geography, Boulder, USA (GRID:grid.266190.a) (ISNI:0000000096214564) 
 Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y de la Conservacion de la Naturaleza (FCFCN), La Pintana, Chile (GRID:grid.443909.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 0385 4466) 
 University of Torino, Department of Agriculture, Forest and Food Sciences, Grugliasco, Italy (GRID:grid.7605.4) (ISNI:0000 0001 2336 6580) 
 University of Quebec in Abitibi-Temiscamingue, Forest Research Institute, Rouyn-Noranda, Canada (GRID:grid.265695.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2181 0916) 
 Universite Paris-Saclay, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systematique et Evolution, Orsay, France (GRID:grid.463962.c) 
 Adam Mickiewicz University, Department of Systematic Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Poznan, Poland (GRID:grid.5633.3) (ISNI:0000 0001 2097 3545) 
 Institut National de Recherche pour Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement (INRAE), Ecologie des Forets Mediterranennes, Avignon, France (GRID:grid.5633.3) 
 Complutense University of Madrid, Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Madrid, Spain (GRID:grid.4795.f) (ISNI:0000 0001 2157 7667) 
10  Southern Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Monticello, USA (GRID:grid.497399.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2106 5338) 
11  Universite Bordeaux, Institut National de Recherche pour Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement (INRAE), Biodiversity, Genes, and Communities (BIOGECO), Pessac, France (GRID:grid.412041.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2106 639X) 
12  Centro de Investigacion Forestal - Instituto Nacional de Investigacion y Tecnologia Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA-CIFOR), Madrid, Spain (GRID:grid.419190.4) (ISNI:0000 0001 2300 669X) 
13  Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (IPE-CSIC), Instituto Pirenaico de Ecologla, Zaragoza, Spain (GRID:grid.4711.3) (ISNI:0000 0001 2183 4846) 
14  National Sun Yat-sen University, Department of Biological Sciences, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (GRID:grid.412036.2) (ISNI:0000 0004 0531 9758) 
15  Cornell University, Natural Resources, Ithaca, USA (GRID:grid.5386.8) (ISNI:000000041936877X) 
16  Universite Grenoble Alpes, Institut National de Recherche pour Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement (INRAE), Laboratoire EcoSystemes et Societes En Montagne (LESSEM), St. Martin-d’Heres, France (GRID:grid.450307.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 0944 2786) 
17  Institut National de Recherche pour Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement (INRAE), Ecologie des Forets Mediterranennes, Avignon, France (GRID:grid.450307.5) 
18  Aix Marseille universite, Institut National de Recherche pour Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement (INRAE), Aix-en-Provence, France (GRID:grid.5399.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2176 4817) 
19  USGS Western Ecological Research Center, Three Rivers, USA (GRID:grid.2865.9) (ISNI:0000000121546924) 
20  Institute of Mediterranean and Forest Ecosystems, Athens, Greece (GRID:grid.2865.9) 
21  Institut National de Recherche pour Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement (INRAE), Ecologie des Forets Mediterranennes, Avignon, France (GRID:grid.2865.9) 
22  Boston University, Earth and Environment, Boston, USA (GRID:grid.189504.1) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7558) 
23  Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Montpellier, France (GRID:grid.433534.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2169 1275) 
24  Centre de Recerca Ecologica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF), Bellaterra, Spain (GRID:grid.433534.6) 
25  Washington University in Saint Louis, Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, USA (GRID:grid.4367.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2355 7002) 
26  Northern Arizona University, Department of Biological Sciences, Flagstaff, USA (GRID:grid.261120.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8040) 
27  University of California, Department of Environmental Studies, Santa Cruz, USA (GRID:grid.205975.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 0740 6917) 
28  Institute of Forest Ecology, Wien, Austria (GRID:grid.205975.c) 
29  Bent Creek Experimental Forest, USDA Forest Service, Asheville, USA (GRID:grid.472551.0) (ISNI:0000 0004 0404 3120) 
30  Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center, USDA Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Research Triangle Park, USA (GRID:grid.497399.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2106 5338) 
31  University of Liverpool, Department of Geography and Planning, School of Environmental Sciences, Liverpool, UK (GRID:grid.10025.36) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8470) 
32  Department of Plant Ecology Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI), Tsukuba, Japan (GRID:grid.417935.d) (ISNI:0000 0000 9150 188X) 
33  ETH Zurich, Department of Environmental Systems Science, Zurich, Switzerland (GRID:grid.5801.c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2156 2780) 
34  Akita Prefectural University, Department of Biological Environment, Akita, Japan (GRID:grid.411285.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 1761 8827) 
35  University of Michigan, School for Environment and Sustainability, Ann Arbor, USA (GRID:grid.214458.e) (ISNI:0000000086837370) 
36  University of Alaska, Institute of Arctic Biology, Fairbanks, USA (GRID:grid.175455.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2206 1080) 
37  Instituto de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Medioambiente (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas - Universidad Nacional del Comahue), Department of Ecology, Bariloche, Argentina (GRID:grid.412234.2) (ISNI:0000 0001 2112 473X) 
38  Xian Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Health and Environmental Sciences Department, Suzhou, China (GRID:grid.440701.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 1765 4000) 
39  Michigan State University, Department of Plant Biology, Program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior, East Lansing, USA (GRID:grid.17088.36) (ISNI:0000 0001 2150 1785) 
40  Manchester Metropolitan University, Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester, UK (GRID:grid.25627.34) (ISNI:0000 0001 0790 5329) 
41  DePaul University, Department of Biological Sciences, Chicago, USA (GRID:grid.254920.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0707 2013) 
42  Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Krakow, Poland (GRID:grid.413454.3) (ISNI:0000 0001 1958 0162) 
43  Institut National de Recherche pour Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement (INRAE), Ecologie des Forets Mediterranennes, Avignon, France (GRID:grid.413454.3) 
44  USDA, Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Stoneville, USA (GRID:grid.497399.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2106 5338) 
45  CEFE, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier Cedex 5, France (GRID:grid.433534.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2169 1275) 
46  Utah State University, Department of Wildland Resources, and the Ecology Center, Logan, USA (GRID:grid.53857.3c) (ISNI:0000 0001 2185 8768) 
47  University of New Mexico, Department of Biology, Albuquerque, USA (GRID:grid.266832.b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2188 8502) 
48  Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, Canada (GRID:grid.202033.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2295 5236) 
49  Colby College, Department of Biology, Waterville, USA (GRID:grid.254333.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 2296 8213) 
50  School of Natural Sciences, UC Merced, Merced, USA (GRID:grid.266096.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 0049 1282) 
51  Washington University in St. Louis, Department of Biology, St. Louis, USA (GRID:grid.4367.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 2355 7002) 
52  University of Ljubljana, Department of forestry and renewable forest resources, Biotechnical Faculty, Ljubljana, Slovenia (GRID:grid.8954.0) (ISNI:0000 0001 0721 6013) 
53  Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Tohoku Research Center, Morioka, Japan (GRID:grid.417935.d) (ISNI:0000 0000 9150 188X) 
54  Valles Caldera National Preserve, National Park Service, Jemez Springs, USA (GRID:grid.454846.f) (ISNI:0000 0001 2331 3972) 
55  Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, USA (GRID:grid.2865.9) (ISNI:0000000121546924) 
56  Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (IRNAS-CSIC), Inst. de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiologia de Sevilla, Seville, Spain (GRID:grid.4711.3) (ISNI:0000 0001 2183 4846) 
57  Polish Academy of Sciences, W. Szafer Institute of Botany, Krakow, Poland (GRID:grid.413454.3) (ISNI:0000 0001 1958 0162) 
58  COlorado State University, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Fort COllins, USA (GRID:grid.47894.36) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8083) 
59  University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, Madison, USA (GRID:grid.14003.36) (ISNI:0000 0001 2167 3675) 
60  Universidad de Sevilla, Department of Biologia Vegetal y Ecologia, Sevilla, Spain (GRID:grid.9224.d) (ISNI:0000 0001 2168 1229) 
61  Bilogo Dpto. Conservacin y Manejo Parque Nacional Lanin Elordi y Perito Moreno, San Marten de los Andes Neuqun, Argentina (GRID:grid.9224.d) 
62  Wake Forest University, Department of Biology, Winston-Salem, USA (GRID:grid.241167.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 2185 3318) 
63  Wilkes University, Department of Biology, Wilkes-Barre, USA (GRID:grid.268256.d) (ISNI:0000 0000 8510 1943) 
64  State University of New York-Brockport, Department of Environmental Science and Ecology, Brockport, USA (GRID:grid.264262.6) (ISNI:0000 0001 0725 9953) 
65  College of Environmental Studies, National Dong Hwa University, Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Ecology and Sustainability, Hualien, Taiwan (GRID:grid.260567.0) (ISNI:0000 0000 8964 3950) 
66  School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK (GRID:grid.9757.c) (ISNI:0000 0004 0415 6205) 
67  Columbia University, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, New York, USA (GRID:grid.21729.3f) (ISNI:0000000419368729) 
68  Agroenergy (DISAA), University of Milan, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences - Production, Territory, Milano, Italy (GRID:grid.4708.b) (ISNI:0000 0004 1757 2822) 
69  Colorado State University, Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Fort Collins, USA (GRID:grid.47894.36) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 8083) 
70  University of New England, Botany, School of Environmental and Rural Science, Armidale, Australia (GRID:grid.1020.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7371) 
71  Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843n03092, Balboa, Republic of Panama (GRID:grid.438006.9) (ISNI:0000 0001 2296 9689) 
72  University of Puerto Rico, Department of Environmental Sciences, Rio Piedras, USA (GRID:grid.205975.c) 
73  Geography Department and Russian and East European Institute, Bloomington, USA (GRID:grid.411377.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 0790 959X) 
74  Duke University, Nicholas School of the Environment, Durham, USA (GRID:grid.26009.3d) (ISNI:0000 0004 1936 7961); Universite Grenoble Alpes, Institut National de Recherche pour Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement (INRAE), Laboratoire EcoSystemes et Societes En Montagne (LESSEM), St. Martin-d’Heres, France (GRID:grid.450307.5) (ISNI:0000 0001 0944 2786) 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
2022
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2658409503
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2022. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.