Scholars@Duke

The global spectrum of tree crown architecture.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Jucker, T; Fischer, FJ; Chave, J; Coomes, DA; Caspersen, J; Ali, A; Loubota Panzou, GJ; Feldpausch, TR; Falster, D; Usoltsev, VA; Jackson, TD ...
Published in: Nature communications
May 2025
Published version (DOI)

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.

Duke Scholars

Jean Christophe Domec
Author Jean Christophe Domec Environmental Sciences and Policy
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Published In

Nature communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x

EISSN

2041-1723

ISSN

2041-1723

Publication Date

May 2025

Volume

16

Issue

1

Start / End Page

4876

Related Subject Headings

  • Trees
  • Plant Stems
  • Phylogeny
  • Photosynthesis
  • Ecosystem
  • Climate
  • Biological Evolution
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Jucker, T., Fischer, F. J., Chave, J., Coomes, D. A., Caspersen, J., Ali, A., … Zimmermann, N. E. (2025). The global spectrum of tree crown architecture. Nature Communications, 16(1), 4876. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x
Jucker, Tommaso, Fabian Jörg Fischer, Jérôme Chave, David A. Coomes, John Caspersen, Arshad Ali, Grace Jopaul Loubota Panzou, et al. “The global spectrum of tree crown architecture.” Nature Communications 16, no. 1 (May 2025): 4876. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x.
Jucker T, Fischer FJ, Chave J, Coomes DA, Caspersen J, Ali A, et al. The global spectrum of tree crown architecture. Nature communications. 2025 May;16(1):4876.
Jucker, Tommaso, et al. “The global spectrum of tree crown architecture.” Nature Communications, vol. 16, no. 1, May 2025, p. 4876. Epmc, doi:10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x.
Jucker T, Fischer FJ, Chave J, Coomes DA, Caspersen J, Ali A, Loubota Panzou GJ, Feldpausch TR, Falster D, Usoltsev VA, Jackson TD, Adu-Bredu S, Alves LF, Aminpour M, Angoboy Ilondea B, Anten NPR, Antin C, Askari Y, Ayyappan N, Banin LF, Barbier N, Battles JJ, Beeckman H, Bocko YE, Bond-Lamberty B, Bongers F, Bowers S, van Breugel M, Chantrain A, Chaudhary R, Dai J, Dalponte M, Dimobe K, Domec J-C, Doucet J-L, Dupuy Rada JM, Duursma RA, Enríquez M, van Ewijk KY, Farfán-Rios W, Fayolle A, Ferretti M, Forni E, Forrester DI, Gilani H, Godlee JL, Haeni M, Hall JS, He J-K, Hemp A, Hernández-Stefanoni JL, Higgins SI, Holdaway RJ, Hussain K, Hutley LB, Ichie T, Iida Y, Jiang H-S, Joshi PR, Kaboli H, Kazempour Larsary M, Kenzo T, Kloeppel BD, Kohyama TS, Kunwar S, Kuyah S, Kvasnica J, Lin S, Lines ER, Liu H, Lorimer C, Loumeto J-J, Malhi Y, Marshall PL, Mattsson E, Matula R, Meave JA, Mensah S, Mi X, Momo ST, Moncrieff GR, Mora F, Muñoz R, Nissanka SP, Nur Hajar ZS, O’Hara KL, Pearce S, Pelissier R, Peri PL, Ploton P, Poorter L, Pour MJ, Pourbabaei H, Ribeiro SC, Ryan C, Sanaei A, Sanger J, Schlund M, Sellan G, Shenkin A, Sonké B, Sterck FJ, Svátek M, Takagi K, Trugman AT, Vadeboncoeur MA, Valipour A, Vanderwel MC, Vovides AG, Waldner P, Wang W, Wang L-Q, Wirth C, Woods M, Xiang W, de Aquino Ximenes F, Xu Y, Yamada T, Zavala MA, Zimmermann NE. The global spectrum of tree crown architecture. Nature communications. 2025 May;16(1):4876.

Published In

Nature communications

DOI

10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x

EISSN

2041-1723

ISSN

2041-1723

Publication Date

May 2025

Volume

16

Issue

1

Start / End Page

4876

Related Subject Headings

  • Trees
  • Plant Stems
  • Phylogeny
  • Photosynthesis
  • Ecosystem
  • Climate
  • Biological Evolution