The global spectrum of tree crown architecture

Tommaso Jucker; Fabian Jörg Fischer; Jérôme Chave; David A. Coomes; John Caspersen; Arshad Ali; Grace Jopaul Loubota Panzou; Ted R. Feldpausch; Daniel Falster; Vladimir A. Usoltsev; Toby D. Jackson; Stephen Adu-Bredu; Luciana F. Alves; Mohammad Aminpour; Bhely Angoboy Ilondea; Niels P.R. Anten; Cécile Antin; Yousef Askari; Narayanan Ayyappan; Lindsay F. Banin; Nicolas Barbier; John J. Battles; Hans Beeckman; Yannick E. Bocko; Ben Bond-Lamberty; Frans Bongers; Samuel Bowers; Michiel van Breugel; Arthur Chantrain; Rajeev Chaudhary; Jingyu Dai; Michele Dalponte; Kangbéni Dimobe; Jean Christophe Domec; Jean Louis Doucet; Juan Manuel Dupuy Rada; Remko A. Duursma; Moisés Enríquez; Karin Y. van Ewijk; William Farfán-Rios; Adeline Fayolle; Marco Ferretti; Eric Forni; David I. Forrester; Hammad Gilani; John L. Godlee; Matthias Haeni; Jefferson S. Hall; Jie Kun He; Andreas Hemp; José L. Hernández-Stefanoni; Steven I. Higgins; Robert J. Holdaway; Kiramat Hussain; Lindsay B. Hutley; Tomoaki Ichie; Yoshiko Iida; Hai Sheng Jiang; Puspa Raj Joshi; Hasan Kaboli; Maryam Kazempour Larsary; Tanaka Kenzo; Brian D. Kloeppel; Takashi S. Kohyama; Suwash Kunwar; Shem Kuyah; Jakub Kvasnica; Siliang Lin; Emily R. Lines; Hongyan Liu; Craig Lorimer; Jean Joël Loumeto; Yadvinder Malhi; Peter L. Marshall; Eskil Mattsson; Radim Matula; Jorge A. Meave; Sylvanus Mensah; Xiangcheng Mi; Stéphane T. Momo; Glenn R. Moncrieff; Francisco Mora; Rodrigo Muñoz; Sarath P. Nissanka; Zamah Shari Nur Hajar; Kevin L. O’Hara; Steven Pearce; Raphaël Pelissier; Pablo L. Peri; Pierre Ploton; Lourens Poorter; Mohsen Javanmiri Pour; Hassan Pourbabaei; Sabina C. Ribeiro; Casey Ryan; Anvar Sanaei; Jennifer Sanger; Michael Schlund; Giacomo Sellan; Alexander Shenkin; Bonaventure Sonké; Frank J. Sterck; Martin Svátek; Kentaro Takagi; Anna T. Trugman; Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur; Ahmad Valipour; Mark C. Vanderwel; Alejandra G. Vovides; Peter Waldner; Weiwei Wang; Li Qiu Wang; Christian Wirth; Murray Woods; Wenhua Xiang; Fabiano de Aquino Ximenes; Yaozhan Xu; Toshihiro Yamada; Miguel A. Zavala; Niklaus E. Zimmermann

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x

The global spectrum of tree crown architecture

Tommaso Jucker, Fabian Jörg Fischer, Jérôme Chave, David A. Coomes, John Caspersen, Arshad Ali, Grace Jopaul Loubota Panzou, Ted R. Feldpausch, Daniel Falster, Vladimir A. Usoltsev, Toby D. Jackson, Stephen Adu-Bredu, Luciana F. Alves, Mohammad Aminpour, Bhely Angoboy Ilondea, Niels P.R. Anten, Cécile Antin, Yousef Askari, Narayanan Ayyappan, Lindsay F. BaninNicolas Barbier, John J. Battles, Hans Beeckman, Yannick E. Bocko, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Frans Bongers, Samuel Bowers, Michiel van Breugel, Arthur Chantrain, Rajeev Chaudhary, Jingyu Dai, Michele Dalponte, Kangbéni Dimobe, Jean Christophe Domec, Jean Louis Doucet, Juan Manuel Dupuy Rada, Remko A. Duursma, Moisés Enríquez, Karin Y. van Ewijk, William Farfán-Rios, Adeline Fayolle, Marco Ferretti, Eric Forni, David I. Forrester, Hammad Gilani, John L. Godlee, Matthias Haeni, Jefferson S. Hall, Jie Kun He, Andreas Hemp, José L. Hernández-Stefanoni, Steven I. Higgins, Robert J. Holdaway, Kiramat Hussain, Lindsay B. Hutley, Tomoaki Ichie, Yoshiko Iida, Hai Sheng Jiang, Puspa Raj Joshi, Hasan Kaboli, Maryam Kazempour Larsary, Tanaka Kenzo, Brian D. Kloeppel, Takashi S. Kohyama, Suwash Kunwar, Shem Kuyah, Jakub Kvasnica, Siliang Lin, Emily R. Lines, Hongyan Liu, Craig Lorimer, Jean Joël Loumeto, Yadvinder Malhi, Peter L. Marshall, Eskil Mattsson, Radim Matula, Jorge A. Meave, Sylvanus Mensah, Xiangcheng Mi, Stéphane T. Momo, Glenn R. Moncrieff, Francisco Mora, Rodrigo Muñoz, Sarath P. Nissanka, Zamah Shari Nur Hajar, Kevin L. O’Hara, Steven Pearce, Raphaël Pelissier, Pablo L. Peri, Pierre Ploton, Lourens Poorter, Mohsen Javanmiri Pour, Hassan Pourbabaei, Sabina C. Ribeiro, Casey Ryan, Anvar Sanaei, Jennifer Sanger, Michael Schlund, Giacomo Sellan, Alexander Shenkin, Bonaventure Sonké, Frank J. Sterck, Martin Svátek, Kentaro Takagi, Anna T. Trugman, Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur, Ahmad Valipour, Mark C. Vanderwel, Alejandra G. Vovides, Peter Waldner, Weiwei Wang, Li Qiu Wang, Christian Wirth, Murray Woods, Wenhua Xiang, Fabiano de Aquino Ximenes, Yaozhan Xu, Toshihiro Yamada, Miguel A. Zavala, Niklaus E. Zimmermann

Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods

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Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Article number	4876
Pages (from-to)	1-16
Number of pages	16
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	16
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x
Publication status	Published - Dec 2025

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Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.

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10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x

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Jucker, T., Fischer, F. J., Chave, J., Coomes, D. A., Caspersen, J., Ali, A., Loubota Panzou, G. J., Feldpausch, T. R., Falster, D., Usoltsev, V. A., Jackson, T. D., Adu-Bredu, S., Alves, L. F., Aminpour, M., Angoboy Ilondea, B., Anten, N. P. R., Antin, C., Askari, Y., Ayyappan, N., ... Zimmermann, N. E. (2025). The global spectrum of tree crown architecture. Nature Communications, 16(1), 1-16. Article 4876. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x

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title = "The global spectrum of tree crown architecture",

abstract = "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.",

author = "Tommaso Jucker and Fischer, {Fabian J{\"o}rg} and J{\'e}r{\^o}me Chave and Coomes, {David A.} and John Caspersen and Arshad Ali and {Loubota Panzou}, {Grace Jopaul} and Feldpausch, {Ted R.} and Daniel Falster and Usoltsev, {Vladimir A.} and Jackson, {Toby D.} and Stephen Adu-Bredu and Alves, {Luciana F.} and Mohammad Aminpour and {Angoboy Ilondea}, Bhely and Anten, {Niels P.R.} and C{\'e}cile Antin and Yousef Askari and Narayanan Ayyappan and Banin, {Lindsay F.} and Nicolas Barbier and Battles, {John J.} and Hans Beeckman and Bocko, {Yannick E.} and Ben Bond-Lamberty and Frans Bongers and Samuel Bowers and {van Breugel}, Michiel and Arthur Chantrain and Rajeev Chaudhary and Jingyu Dai and Michele Dalponte and Kangb{\'e}ni Dimobe and Domec, {Jean Christophe} and Doucet, {Jean Louis} and {Dupuy Rada}, {Juan Manuel} and Duursma, {Remko A.} and Mois{\'e}s Enr{\'i}quez and {van Ewijk}, {Karin Y.} and William Farf{\'a}n-Rios and Adeline Fayolle and Marco Ferretti and Eric Forni and Forrester, {David I.} and Hammad Gilani and Godlee, {John L.} and Matthias Haeni and Hall, {Jefferson S.} and He, {Jie Kun} and Andreas Hemp and Hern{\'a}ndez-Stefanoni, {Jos{\'e} L.} and Higgins, {Steven I.} and Holdaway, {Robert J.} and Kiramat Hussain and Hutley, {Lindsay B.} and Tomoaki Ichie and Yoshiko Iida and Jiang, {Hai Sheng} and Joshi, {Puspa Raj} and Hasan Kaboli and {Kazempour Larsary}, Maryam and Tanaka Kenzo and Kloeppel, {Brian D.} and Kohyama, {Takashi S.} and Suwash Kunwar and Shem Kuyah and Jakub Kvasnica and Siliang Lin and Lines, {Emily R.} and Hongyan Liu and Craig Lorimer and Loumeto, {Jean Jo{\"e}l} and Yadvinder Malhi and Marshall, {Peter L.} and Eskil Mattsson and Radim Matula and Meave, {Jorge A.} and Sylvanus Mensah and Xiangcheng Mi and Momo, {St{\'e}phane T.} and Moncrieff, {Glenn R.} and Francisco Mora and Rodrigo Mu{\~n}oz and Nissanka, {Sarath P.} and {Nur Hajar}, {Zamah Shari} and O{\textquoteright}Hara, {Kevin L.} and Steven Pearce and Rapha{\"e}l Pelissier and Peri, {Pablo L.} and Pierre Ploton and Lourens Poorter and Pour, {Mohsen Javanmiri} and Hassan Pourbabaei and Ribeiro, {Sabina C.} and Casey Ryan and Anvar Sanaei and Jennifer Sanger and Michael Schlund and Giacomo Sellan and Alexander Shenkin and Bonaventure Sonk{\'e} and Sterck, {Frank J.} and Martin Sv{\'a}tek and Kentaro Takagi and Trugman, {Anna T.} and Vadeboncoeur, {Matthew A.} and Ahmad Valipour and Vanderwel, {Mark C.} and Vovides, {Alejandra G.} and Peter Waldner and Weiwei Wang and Wang, {Li Qiu} and Christian Wirth and Murray Woods and Wenhua Xiang and {de Aquino Ximenes}, Fabiano and Yaozhan Xu and Toshihiro Yamada and Zavala, {Miguel A.} and Zimmermann, {Niklaus E.}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",

year = "2025",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x",

language = "English",

volume = "16",

pages = "1--16",

journal = "Nature Communications",

issn = "2041-1723",

publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",

number = "1",

}

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, JC, Doucet, JL, 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, JK, Hemp, A, Hernández-Stefanoni, JL, Higgins, SI, Holdaway, RJ, Hussain, K, Hutley, LB, Ichie, T, Iida, Y, Jiang, HS, 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, JJ, 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, LQ, Wirth, C, Woods, M, Xiang, W, de Aquino Ximenes, F, Xu, Y, Yamada, T, Zavala, MA & Zimmermann, NE 2025, 'The global spectrum of tree crown architecture', Nature Communications, vol. 16, no. 1, 4876, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x

TY - JOUR

T1 - The global spectrum of tree crown architecture

AU - Jucker, Tommaso

AU - Fischer, Fabian Jörg

AU - Chave, Jérôme

AU - Coomes, David A.

AU - Caspersen, John

AU - Ali, Arshad

AU - Loubota Panzou, Grace Jopaul

AU - Feldpausch, Ted R.

AU - Falster, Daniel

AU - Usoltsev, Vladimir A.

AU - Jackson, Toby D.

AU - Adu-Bredu, Stephen

AU - Alves, Luciana F.

AU - Aminpour, Mohammad

AU - Angoboy Ilondea, Bhely

AU - Anten, Niels P.R.

AU - Antin, Cécile

AU - Askari, Yousef

AU - Ayyappan, Narayanan

AU - Banin, Lindsay F.

AU - Barbier, Nicolas

AU - Battles, John J.

AU - Beeckman, Hans

AU - Bocko, Yannick E.

AU - Bond-Lamberty, Ben

AU - Bongers, Frans

AU - Bowers, Samuel

AU - van Breugel, Michiel

AU - Chantrain, Arthur

AU - Chaudhary, Rajeev

AU - Dai, Jingyu

AU - Dalponte, Michele

AU - Dimobe, Kangbéni

AU - Domec, Jean Christophe

AU - Doucet, Jean Louis

AU - Dupuy Rada, Juan Manuel

AU - Duursma, Remko A.

AU - Enríquez, Moisés

AU - van Ewijk, Karin Y.

AU - Farfán-Rios, William

AU - Fayolle, Adeline

AU - Ferretti, Marco

AU - Forni, Eric

AU - Forrester, David I.

AU - Gilani, Hammad

AU - Godlee, John L.

AU - Haeni, Matthias

AU - Hall, Jefferson S.

AU - He, Jie Kun

AU - Hemp, Andreas

AU - Hernández-Stefanoni, José L.

AU - Higgins, Steven I.

AU - Holdaway, Robert J.

AU - Hussain, Kiramat

AU - Hutley, Lindsay B.

AU - Ichie, Tomoaki

AU - Iida, Yoshiko

AU - Jiang, Hai Sheng

AU - Joshi, Puspa Raj

AU - Kaboli, Hasan

AU - Kazempour Larsary, Maryam

AU - Kenzo, Tanaka

AU - Kloeppel, Brian D.

AU - Kohyama, Takashi S.

AU - Kunwar, Suwash

AU - Kuyah, Shem

AU - Kvasnica, Jakub

AU - Lin, Siliang

AU - Lines, Emily R.

AU - Liu, Hongyan

AU - Lorimer, Craig

AU - Loumeto, Jean Joël

AU - Malhi, Yadvinder

AU - Marshall, Peter L.

AU - Mattsson, Eskil

AU - Matula, Radim

AU - Meave, Jorge A.

AU - Mensah, Sylvanus

AU - Mi, Xiangcheng

AU - Momo, Stéphane T.

AU - Moncrieff, Glenn R.

AU - Mora, Francisco

AU - Muñoz, Rodrigo

AU - Nissanka, Sarath P.

AU - Nur Hajar, Zamah Shari

AU - O’Hara, Kevin L.

AU - Pearce, Steven

AU - Pelissier, Raphaël

AU - Peri, Pablo L.

AU - Ploton, Pierre

AU - Poorter, Lourens

AU - Pour, Mohsen Javanmiri

AU - Pourbabaei, Hassan

AU - Ribeiro, Sabina C.

AU - Ryan, Casey

AU - Sanaei, Anvar

AU - Sanger, Jennifer

AU - Schlund, Michael

AU - Sellan, Giacomo

AU - Shenkin, Alexander

AU - Sonké, Bonaventure

AU - Sterck, Frank J.

AU - Svátek, Martin

AU - Takagi, Kentaro

AU - Trugman, Anna T.

AU - Vadeboncoeur, Matthew A.

AU - Valipour, Ahmad

AU - Vanderwel, Mark C.

AU - Vovides, Alejandra G.

AU - Waldner, Peter

AU - Wang, Weiwei

AU - Wang, Li Qiu

AU - Wirth, Christian

AU - Woods, Murray

AU - Xiang, Wenhua

AU - de Aquino Ximenes, Fabiano

AU - Xu, Yaozhan

AU - Yamada, Toshihiro

AU - Zavala, Miguel A.

AU - Zimmermann, Niklaus E.

PY - 2025/12

Y1 - 2025/12

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105006773527&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x

DO - 10.1038/s41467-025-60262-x

M3 - Article

C2 - 40419494

AN - SCOPUS:105006773527

SN - 2041-1723

VL - 16

SP - 1

EP - 16

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

IS - 1

M1 - 4876

ER -

The global spectrum of tree crown architecture

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