Nature Search

Effect of climate on traits of dominant and rare tree species in the world’s forests

Species’ traits and environmental conditions determine the abundance of tree species across the globe. Here, the authors find that dominant tree species are taller and have softer wood compared to rare species and that these trait differences are more strongly associated with temperature than water availability.

Iris Hordijk
Lourens Poorter
Thomas W. Crowther
ResearchOpen Access22 May 2025
Nature Communications

Volume: 16, P: 1-15
Native diversity buffers against severity of non-native tree invasions

Analysis combining multiple global tree databases reveals that whether a ___location is invaded by non-native tree species depends on anthropogenic factors, but the severity of the invasion depends on the native species diversity.

Camille S. Delavaux
Thomas W. Crowther
Daniel S. Maynard
ResearchOpen Access23 Aug 2023
Nature

Volume: 621, P: 773-781
Integrated global assessment of the natural forest carbon potential

Analysis of ground-sourced and satellite-derived models reveals a global forest carbon potential of 226 Gt outside agricultural and urban lands, with a difference of only 12% across these modelling approaches.

Lidong Mo
Constantin M. Zohner
Thomas W. Crowther
ResearchOpen Access13 Nov 2023
Nature

Volume: 624, P: 92-101
The global distribution and drivers of wood density and their impact on forest carbon stocks

Wood density is an important plant trait. Data from 1.1 million forest inventory plots and 10,703 tree species show a latitudinal gradient in wood density, with temperature and soil moisture explaining variation at the global scale and disturbance also having a role at the local level.

Lidong Mo
Thomas W. Crowther
Constantin M. Zohner
ResearchOpen Access15 Oct 2024
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 8, P: 2195-2212
How deregulation, drought and increasing fire impact Amazonian biodiversity

Remote-sensing estimates of fires and the estimated geographic ranges of thousands of plant and vertebrate species in the Amazon Basin reveal that fires have impacted the ranges of 77–85% of threatened species over the past two decades.

Xiao Feng
Cory Merow
Brian J. Enquist
Research01 Sept 2021
Nature

Volume: 597, P: 516-521
Climate change and land use threaten global hotspots of phylogenetic endemism for trees

Species that are evolutionary distinct and have geographically narrow or isolated distributions may be in particular need of conservation. Here, the authors identify global patterns of tree phylogenetic endemism and their linkages with climate and land use, and estimate future trends.

Wen-Yong Guo
Josep M. Serra-Diaz
Jens-Christian Svenning
ResearchOpen Access31 Oct 2023
Nature Communications

Volume: 14, P: 1-13
More than 17,000 tree species are at risk from rapid global change

Tree species may be vulnerable to multiple global change factors. Here, the authors find that more than 17 thousand tree species are exposed to increasing anthropogenic threats, including many species classified as data-deficient in the IUCN Red List.

Coline C. F. Boonman
Josep M. Serra-Diaz
Jens-Christian Svenning
ResearchOpen Access02 Jan 2024
Nature Communications

Volume: 15, P: 1-14
Elevated extinction risk of cacti under climate change

Contrary to expectations that a warmer planet from climate change would be good for cactus species, this analysis of 400 species under three climate scenarios finds that over half may experience a reduction in their suitable climate, challenging perceptions of impacts for this plant family around the world

Michiel Pillet
Barbara Goettsch
Brian J. Enquist
Research14 Apr 2022
Nature Plants

Volume: 8, P: 366-372
Consistent trait–environment relationships within and across tundra plant communities

Using plant community trait composition data and microclimate and soil chemistry data from four distinct tundra regions, the authors demonstrate strong, consistent trait–environment relationships across Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Julia Kemppinen
Pekka Niittynen
Miska Luoto
Research25 Feb 2021
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 5, P: 458-467
Author Correction: Areas of global importance for conserving terrestrial biodiversity, carbon and water

Martin Jung
Andy Arnell
Piero Visconti
Amendments and Corrections23 Sept 2021
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 5, P: 1557
Better incentives are needed to reward academic software development

Cory Merow
Brad Boyle
Adam M. Wilson
Correspondence27 Feb 2023
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 7, P: 626-627
Co-limitation towards lower latitudes shapes global forest diversity gradients

Examining drivers of the latitudinal biodiversity gradient in a global database of local tree species richness, the authors show that co-limitation by multiple environmental and anthropogenic factors causes steeper increases in richness with latitude in tropical versus temperate and boreal zones.

Jingjing Liang
Javier G. P. Gamarra
Cang Hui
Research08 Aug 2022
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 6, P: 1423-1437
Areas of global importance for conserving terrestrial biodiversity, carbon and water

Global spatial data for terrestrial vertebrate and vascular plant diversity, above- and below-ground biomass carbon, and potential clean freshwater volume are combined in a joint optimization study to identify potential synergies for conservation management.

Martin Jung
Andy Arnell
Piero Visconti
Research23 Aug 2021
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 5, P: 1499-1509
Publisher Correction: Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life

Rachael V. Gallagher
Daniel S. Falster
Brian J. Enquist
Amendments and Corrections09 Mar 2020
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 4, P: 662
The global biogeography of tree leaf form and habit

Integrating inventory data with machine learning models reveals the global composition of tree types—needle-leaved evergreen individuals dominate, followed by broadleaved evergreen and deciduous trees—and climate change risks.

Haozhi Ma
Thomas W. Crowther
Constantin M. Zohner
ResearchOpen Access23 Oct 2023
Nature Plants

Volume: 9, P: 1795-1809
Positive feedbacks and alternative stable states in forest leaf types

Alternative stable states in forests have implications for the biosphere. Here, the authors combine forest biodiversity observations and simulations revealing that leaf types across temperate regions of the NH follow a bimodal distribution suggesting signatures of alternative forest states.

Yibiao Zou
Constantin M. Zohner
Thomas W. Crowther
ResearchOpen Access31 May 2024
Nature Communications

Volume: 15, P: 1-15
Global distribution and conservation status of ecologically rare mammal and bird species

There are many available ways to rank species for conservation prioritization. Here the authors identify species of mammals and birds that are both spatially restricted and functionally distinct, finding that such species are currently insufficiently protected and disproportionately sensitive to current and future threats.

Nicolas Loiseau
Nicolas Mouquet
Cyrille Violle
ResearchOpen Access08 Oct 2020
Nature Communications

Volume: 11, P: 1-11
Author Correction: Native diversity buffers against severity of non-native tree invasions

Camille S. Delavaux
Thomas W. Crowther
Daniel S. Maynard
Amendments and CorrectionsOpen Access26 Sept 2023
Nature

Volume: 622, P: E2
Global Future Drought Layers Based on Downscaled CMIP6 Models and Multiple Socioeconomic Pathways

Diogo S. A. Araujo
Brian J. Enquist
Efthymios I. Nikolopoulos
ResearchOpen Access19 Feb 2025
Scientific Data

Volume: 12, P: 1-14
Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life

A decentralized community is introduced that aims to standardize and integrate species trait data across organismal groups, based on principles of Open Science.

Rachael V. Gallagher
Daniel S. Falster
Brian J. Enquist
Reviews17 Feb 2020
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 4, P: 294-303
Author Correction: Climatic controls of decomposition drive the global biogeography of forest-tree symbioses

B. S. Steidinger
T. W. Crowther
Irie Casimir Zo-Bi
Amendments and Corrections28 Jun 2019
Nature

Volume: 571, P: E8
Climatic controls of decomposition drive the global biogeography of forest-tree symbioses

A spatially explicit global map of tree symbioses with nitrogen-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi reveals that climate variables are the primary drivers of the distribution of different types of symbiosis.

B. S. Steidinger
T. W. Crowther
Irie Casimir Zo-Bi
Research15 May 2019
Nature

Volume: 569, P: 404-408
Plant trait and vegetation data along a 1314 m elevation gradient with fire history in Puna grasslands, Perú

Aud H. Halbritter
Vigdis Vandvik
Brian J. Enquist
ResearchOpen Access21 Feb 2024
Scientific Data

Volume: 11, P: 1-18
Plant traits and associated data from a warming experiment, a seabird colony, and along elevation in Svalbard

Vigdis Vandvik
Aud H. Halbritter
Brian J. Enquist
ResearchOpen Access04 Sept 2023
Scientific Data

Volume: 10, P: 1-21
Plant traits and vegetation data from climate warming experiments along an 1100 m elevation gradient in Gongga Mountains, China

Vigdis Vandvik
Aud H. Halbritter
Brian J. Enquist
ResearchOpen Access19 Jun 2020
Scientific Data

Volume: 7, P: 1-15

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