Functional ecology has long considered the support function as important, but its
biomechanical complexity is only just being elucidated. We show here that it can be …

Degraded tropical peatlands lack tree cover and are often subject to seasonal flooding and
repeated burning. These harsh environments for tree seedlings to survive and grow are …

The whole‐plant economics spectrum (PES) refers to the trade‐offs among the many plant
functional traits that are commonly used as indicators of major adaptive strategies, thereby …

Stem xylem characteristics have a great impact on growth and adult stature of trees because
of their role in mechanical support, long‐distance water transport and whole‐plant carbon …

Species distributions and assemblage composition may be the result of trait selection
through environmental filters. Here, we ask whether filtering of species at the local scale …

Shrubs are multi-stemmed short woody plants, more widespread than trees, important in
many ecosystems, neglected in ecology compared to herbs and trees, but currently in focus …

Wood structure differs widely among tree species and species with faster growth, higher
mortality and larger maximum size have been reported to have fewer but larger vessels and …

Wood specific gravity (WSG) is a strong predictor of tree performance across environmental
gradients. Yet it remains unclear how anatomical elements linked to different wood functions …

Objectives Just as people with the same weight can have different body builds, woods with
the same wood density can have different anatomies. Here, our aim was to assess the …

Understanding how tropical trees coordinate fast growth with water consumption and carbon
investment is of high relevance because climate warming may expose tropical forests to …