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Scale of mast-seeding and tree-ring growth

Nature volume 396, pages 225–226 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

The synchronous production of large seed crops by a population of plants1,2, known as mast-seeding, and synchronous tree-ring growth3,4 within sites are well known phenomena among trees in the temperate zone. But information about the geographic or taxonomic extent of such synchronous growth or reproduction, or about the geographic extent of switching between them, is sparse. We have detected synchrony in growth and reproduction, both within and among genera of Northern Hemisphere boreal trees, across geographical areas almost the size of a continent. Furthermore, we found a significant negative correlation between seed production and tree-ring growth at sites up to 1,000 kilometres apart, implying that there are trade-offs between them. This discovery suggests that mast-seeding is an evolved strategy that occurs on a geographic scale far larger than previously suspected5.

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Figure 1: Correlations between synchronous activity of Northern Hemisphere coniferous trees depending on the geographical distance between sites.
Figure 2: Cross-correlation between mean annual seed or cone crops and mean annual tree-ring growth of Northern Hemisphere coniferous trees depending on the geographical distance between sites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hastings Reservation, University of California, Berkeley, 38601 East Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley, 93924, California, USA

    Walter D. Koenig

  2. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1987 Upper Buford Circle, St Paul, 55108, Minnesota, USA

    Johannes M. H. Knops

Authors
  1. Walter D. Koenig
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  2. Johannes M. H. Knops
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Koenig, W., Knops, J. Scale of mast-seeding and tree-ring growth. Nature 396, 225–226 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/24293

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