Nature ecology & evolution最新文献

{"title":"Evolutionary integration of forelimb and hindlimb proportions within the bat wing membrane inhibits ecological adaptation","authors":"Andrew Orkney, David B. Boerma, Brandon P. Hedrick","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02572-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02572-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Bats and birds are defined by their convergent evolution of flight, hypothesized to require the modular decoupling of wing and leg evolution. Although a wealth of evidence supports this interpretation in birds, there has been no systematic attempt to identify modular organization in the bat limb skeleton. Here we present a phylogenetically representative and ecologically diverse collection of limb skeletal measurements from 111 extant bat species. We compare this dataset with a compendium of 149 bird species, known to exhibit modular evolution and anatomically regionalized skeletal adaptation. We demonstrate that, in contrast to birds, morphological diversification across crown bats is associated with strong trait integration both within and between the forelimb and hindlimb. Different regions of the bat limb skeleton adapt to accommodate variation in distinct ecological activities, with flight-style variety accommodated by adaptation of the distal wing, while the thumb and hindlimb play an important role facilitating adaptive responses to variation in roosting habits. We suggest that the wing membrane enforces evolutionary integration across the bat skeleton, highlighting that the evolution of the bat thumb is less correlated with the evolution of other limb bone proportions. We propose that strong limb integration inhibits bat adaptive responses, explaining their lower rates of phenotypic evolution and relatively homogeneous evolutionary dynamics in contrast to birds. Powered flight, enabled by the membranous wing, is therefore not only a key bat innovation but their defining inhibition.</p>","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142561896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reply to: An Initial Upper Palaeolithic attribution is not empirically supported at Shiyu, northern China","authors":"Shi-Xia Yang, Jia-Fu Zhang, Jian-Ping Yue, Fa-Xiang Huan, Andreu Ollé, Francesco d’Errico, Michael Petraglia","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02554-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02554-x","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;span&gt;replying to&lt;/span&gt; L. Carmignani et al. &lt;i&gt;Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution&lt;/i&gt; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02548-9 (2024)&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Carmignani and colleagues&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; contend that our identification of the oldest and easternmost Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP) attribution at Shiyu, northern China&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt; is based on a misuse of technological definitions and biased artefact sampling. However, this criticism is hampered by restrictive Eurocentric definitions and methodological misunderstandings. Carmignani et al.&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; apply a narrow definition of the Asian IUP based on the presence of points and blades reduced from sub-volumetric, non-Levallois-system burin cores. Shiyu does not perfectly conform to this definition, so they exclude its lithic industry from the IUP. We argue that this definition hampers understanding of modern human dispersals across Eurasia. Like any other discipline where classification is central, archaeologists define categories of objects and assemblages based on similarities in sets of traits. These categories are not inherently meaningful; rather, their significance arises from assumptions about underlying biological and cultural processes. The assumption that lends meaning to the IUP is that it reflects a combination of demic and cultural diffusion processes associated with the spread of &lt;i&gt;Homo sapiens&lt;/i&gt; throughout Eurasia&lt;sup&gt;3&lt;/sup&gt;. To understand this evolutionary history, we need to adopt a flexible comparative approach that uses the original IUP definition as a baseline rather than a set of strict, restrictive criteria. A more flexible approach may help to disentangle cultural innovations and diffusion occurring during or after demic diffusion, as well as cultural blending with local populations on a regional scale, thereby illuminating the complex interactions that certainly occurred, with possible implications for gene exchange. Success in this endeavour depends on being able to distinguish diffusion of innovation from cultural convergence. Opening up our definitions admittedly creates greater uncertainty about the drivers of similarity and the meaning that underlies cultural constructs&lt;sup&gt;4,5&lt;/sup&gt;, but there are good reasons for taking this risk. Can we reasonably believe that in a territory of 44 million km&lt;sup&gt;2&lt;/sup&gt;, stretching from the Arctic to the Equator, the expansion of &lt;i&gt;H. sapiens&lt;/i&gt; over thousands of years, encountering different hominin species, was associated with a single, uniform technology? It is clear in this context that the strict application by Carmignani et al.&lt;sup&gt;1&lt;/sup&gt; of a points, blades and volumetric burin core definition, possibly useful in characterizing the IUP in one region, will fail to capture the overall complexity of &lt;i&gt;H. sapiens&lt;/i&gt;’ expansion in others. This strict Eurocentric definition and interpretive framework does not pay attention to regional traditions in which cultural novelties occur, possibly signalling the dispersal of &lt;i&gt;H. sapiens&lt;","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":"97 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142519949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Diverse prehistoric cattle husbandry strategies in the forests of Central Europe","authors":"Rosalind E. Gillis, Iain P. Kendall, Mélanie Roffet-Salque, Marco Zanon, Alexandra Anders, Rose-Marie Arbogast, Peter Bogucki, Veronika Brychova, Emmanuelle Casanova, Erich Classen, Piroska Csengeri, Lech Czerniak, László Domboróczki, Denis Fiorillo, Detlef Gronenborn, Lamys Hachem, János Jakucs, Michael Ilett, Kyra Lyublyanovics, Eva Lenneis, Arkadiusz Marciniak, Tibor Marton, Krisztián Oross, Juraj Pavúk, Joachim Pechtl, Joanna Pyzel, Peter Stadler, Harald Stäuble, Ivana Vostrovská, Ivo van Wijk, Jean-Denis Vigne, Marie Balasse, Richard P. Evershed","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02553-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02553-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>During the sixth millennium <span>bce</span>, the first farmers of Central Europe rapidly expanded across a varied mosaic of forested environments. Such environments would have offered important sources of mineral-rich animal feed and shelter, prompting the question: to what extent did early farmers exploit forests to raise their herds? Here, to resolve this, we have assembled multi-regional datasets, comprising bulk and compound-specific stable isotope values from zooarchaeological remains and pottery, and conducted cross-correlation analyses within a palaeo-environmental framework. Our findings reveal a diversity of pasturing strategies for cattle employed by early farmers, with a notable emphasis on intensive utilization of forests for grazing and seasonal foddering in some regions. This experimentation with forest-based animal feeds by early farmers would have enhanced animal fertility and milk yields for human consumption, concurrently contributing to the expansion of prehistoric farming settlements and the transformation of forest ecosystems. Our study emphasizes the intricate relationship that existed between early farmers and forested landscapes, shedding light on the adaptive dynamics that shaped humans, animals and environments in the past.</p>","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":"13 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142520174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An Initial Upper Palaeolithic attribution is not empirically supported at Shiyu, northern China","authors":"Leonardo Carmignani, Igor Djakovic, Peiqi Zhang, Nicolas Teyssandier, Nicolas Zwyns, Marie Soressi","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02548-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02548-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><span>arising from</span>: S.-X. Yang et al. <i>Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</i> https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-023-02294-4 (2024)</p><p>Initial Upper Palaeolithic (IUP) assemblages are increasingly thought to be linked to the first widespread dispersal of <i>Homo sapiens</i> across Eurasia between 55 and 40 thousand years ago (kya cal <span>bp</span>). As a result, today the identification of IUP assemblages plays a key role in archaeological research focused on this key period, which is also characterized by the eventual disappearance of Neandertals and Denisovans from the fossil record. In a recent paper, Yang et al.¹ claim to have identified the oldest and easternmost IUP at Shiyu, northern China, dated to ~45 kya cal <span>bp</span> and with this to transform knowledge of the routes and timing of the migration of <i>H. sapiens</i> in Asia. We argue, however, that this attribution is based on a biased sample of artefacts, the misuse of technological definitions and the misreading of stone artefacts central to their argument. Furthermore, it relies on the questionable assumption that the studied material (750 lithic artefacts from an original number of ~15,000) is a representative sample of a single assemblage. Although we recognize the value of technological re-evaluations of previously excavated assemblages, we believe that an IUP attribution is not empirically supported. In fact, it detracts attention from more pressing issues concerning the character of this technology, the association between lithics and personal ornaments and the overall integrity of the assemblage. Below, we highlight the key problems in the conclusions reached by Yang et al. ¹.</p>","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":"51 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":16.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142520172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gradual exacerbation of obstetric constraints during hominoid evolution implied by re-evaluation of cephalopelvic fit in chimpanzees","authors":"Nicole M. Webb,&nbsp;Cinzia Fornai,&nbsp;Viktoria A. Krenn,&nbsp;Laura M. Watson,&nbsp;Eva C. Herbst,&nbsp;Martin Haeusler","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02558-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41559-024-02558-7","url":null,"abstract":"Under the obstetrical dilemma hypothesis, sexual dimorphism in pelvic shape is a solution to accommodate high fetopelvic constraints. It is therefore unclear why chimpanzees display a human-like pattern of pelvic sexual dimorphism despite having easier births enabled by small neonates and capacious pelvic canals. Here we reassessed chimpanzee fetopelvic fit using three-dimensional simulations, revealing a similarly constricted midpelvis as in humans, with even narrower outlet dimensions. Geometric morphometric analyses confirm that female chimpanzees have larger pelvic canals than males despite a smaller body size and a morphology that maximizes pelvic dimensions favourable for parturition, particularly in smaller-bodied individuals. Together with evidence for increased neurological immaturity at birth relative to monkeys, our findings imply substantial obstetric constraints in chimpanzees and possibly other apes. We therefore propose that difficult birth did not arise abruptly in Homo with increasing encephalization but evolved gradually through a series of obstetric compromises from an already constricted birth canal shared across anthropoid primates. Specifically, we propose that obstetric selection pressures exacerbated incrementally with the stiffening of the symphysis that accompanied body size increase in hominoids, while subsequent adaptations to bipedalism shortened the ilium. The resulting contorted birth canal required obligatory fetal rotation, thus greatly increasing birth difficulty. The ‘obstetrical dilemma’ hypothesis states that opposing selective pressures from an increased neonatal brain size and efficient bipedal locomotion constrain the birth canal in humans. However, three-dimensional simulations of chimpanzee fetopelvic fit indicate a constricted midpelvis comparable to humans, indicative of obstetric constraints that may be shared with apes thereby suggesting a gradual exacerbation of birth difficulty in hominoid evolution.","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":"8 12","pages":"2228-2238"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142487096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gene expression in developing hemichordates gives insights into deuterostome evolution","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02563-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41559-024-02563-w","url":null,"abstract":"Hemichordates hold a key position in the animal tree of life that makes them a useful organism for genetic studies that compare the evolutionary mechanisms behind different metazoan life strategies. Gene expression analysis in developing hemichordates suggests that the last common ancestor (LCA) of deuterostomes might be more similar to the LCA of bilaterians than previously thought.","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":"8 12","pages":"2161-2162"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142452639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hemichordate cis-regulatory genomics and the gene expression dynamics of deuterostomes","authors":"Alberto Pérez-Posada,&nbsp;Che-Yi Lin,&nbsp;Tzu-Pei Fan,&nbsp;Ching-Yi Lin,&nbsp;Yi-Chih Chen,&nbsp;José Luis Gómez-Skarmeta,&nbsp;Jr-Kai Yu,&nbsp;Yi-Hsien Su,&nbsp;Juan J. Tena","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02562-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41559-024-02562-x","url":null,"abstract":"Deuterostomes are one major group of bilaterians composed by hemichordates and echinoderms (collectively called Ambulacraria) and chordates. Comparative studies between these groups can provide valuable insights into the nature of the last common ancestor of deuterostomes and that of bilaterians. Indirect development of hemichordates, with larval phases similar to echinoderms and an adult body plan with an anteroposterior polarity like chordates and other bilaterians, makes them a suitable model for studying the molecular basis of development among deuterostomes. However, a comprehensive, quantitative catalogue of gene expression and chromatin dynamics in hemichordates is still lacking. In this study, we analysed the transcriptomes and chromatin accessibility of multiple developmental stages of the indirect-developing hemichordate Ptychodera flava. We observed that P. flava development is underpinned by a biphasic transcriptional program probably controlled by distinct genetic networks. Comparisons with other bilaterian species revealed similar transcriptional and regulatory dynamics during hemichordate gastrulation, cephalochordate neurulation and elongation stages of annelids. By means of regulatory networks analysis and functional validations by transgenesis experiments in echinoderms, we propose that gastrulation is the stage of highest molecular resemblance in deuterostomes and that much of the molecular basis of deuterostome development was probably present in the bilaterian last common ancestor. Analysis of transcriptomes and chromatin accessibility of multiple developmental stages of the indirect-developing hemichordate Ptychodera flava shows similar transcriptional dynamics of different developmental stages across hemichordates, echinoderms and chordates.","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":"8 12","pages":"2213-2227"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02562-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142448350","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Grassland communities rapidly respond to climate change to settle climatic debts","authors":"","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02561-y","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41559-024-02561-y","url":null,"abstract":"Compositional shifts in forest communities are known to not keep pace with climate change, which leads to accumulating ‘climatic debts’. We show that grassland communities in California are transforming rapidly, at a pace similar to that of climate warming and drying, and are paying off their climatic debts continuously.","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":"8 12","pages":"2159-2160"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142440237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Rapid shifts in grassland communities driven by climate change","authors":"Kai Zhu,&nbsp;Yiluan Song,&nbsp;Josephine C. Lesage,&nbsp;Justin C. Luong,&nbsp;James W. Bartolome,&nbsp;Nona R. Chiariello,&nbsp;Joan Dudney,&nbsp;Christopher B. Field,&nbsp;Lauren M. Hallett,&nbsp;Michele Hammond,&nbsp;Susan P. Harrison,&nbsp;Grey F. Hayes,&nbsp;Richard J. Hobbs,&nbsp;Karen D. Holl,&nbsp;Peter Hopkinson,&nbsp;Loralee Larios,&nbsp;Michael E. Loik,&nbsp;Laura R. Prugh","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02552-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41559-024-02552-z","url":null,"abstract":"Many terrestrial plant communities, especially forests, have been shown to lag in response to rapid climate change. Grassland communities may respond more quickly to novel climates, as they consist mostly of short-lived species, which are directly exposed to macroclimate change. Here we report the rapid response of grassland communities to climate change in the California Floristic Province. We estimated 349 vascular plant species’ climatic niches from 829,337 occurrence records, compiled 15 long-term community composition datasets from 12 observational studies and 3 global change experiments, and analysed community compositional shifts in the climate niche space. We show that communities experienced significant shifts towards species associated with warmer and drier locations at rates of 0.0216 ± 0.00592 °C yr−1 (mean ± s.e.) and −3.04 ± 0.742 mm yr−1, and these changes occurred at a pace similar to that of climate warming and drying. These directional shifts were consistent across observations and experiments. Our findings contrast with the lagged responses observed in communities dominated by long-lived plants and suggest greater biodiversity changes than expected in the near future. Plant community responses to climate change tend to be lagged in forests, but could be faster in grasslands. Here, the authors integrate long-term experimental data with &gt;1 million occurrence records for &gt;300 species, finding grassland community shifts towards species associated with warmer and drier conditions at a pace that aligns with that of climate change.","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":"8 12","pages":"2252-2264"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02552-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142440261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The global distribution and drivers of wood density and their impact on forest carbon stocks","authors":"Lidong Mo,&nbsp;Thomas W. Crowther,&nbsp;Daniel S. Maynard,&nbsp;Johan van den Hoogen,&nbsp;Haozhi Ma,&nbsp;Lalasia Bialic-Murphy,&nbsp;Jingjing Liang,&nbsp;Sergio de-Miguel,&nbsp;Gert-Jan Nabuurs,&nbsp;Peter B. Reich,&nbsp;Oliver L. Phillips,&nbsp;Meinrad Abegg,&nbsp;Yves C. Adou Yao,&nbsp;Giorgio Alberti,&nbsp;Angelica M. Almeyda Zambrano,&nbsp;Braulio Vilchez Alvarado,&nbsp;Esteban Alvarez-Dávila,&nbsp;Patricia Alvarez-Loayza,&nbsp;Luciana F. Alves,&nbsp;Iêda Amaral,&nbsp;Christian Ammer,&nbsp;Clara Antón-Fernández,&nbsp;Alejandro Araujo-Murakami,&nbsp;Luzmila Arroyo,&nbsp;Valerio Avitabile,&nbsp;Gerardo A. Aymard,&nbsp;Timothy R. Baker,&nbsp;Radomir Bałazy,&nbsp;Olaf Banki,&nbsp;Jorcely G. Barroso,&nbsp;Meredith L. Bastian,&nbsp;Jean-Francois Bastin,&nbsp;Luca Birigazzi,&nbsp;Philippe Birnbaum,&nbsp;Robert Bitariho,&nbsp;Pascal Boeckx,&nbsp;Frans Bongers,&nbsp;Coline C. F. Boonman,&nbsp;Olivier Bouriaud,&nbsp;Pedro H. S. Brancalion,&nbsp;Susanne Brandl,&nbsp;Francis Q. Brearley,&nbsp;Roel Brienen,&nbsp;Eben N. Broadbent,&nbsp;Helge Bruelheide,&nbsp;Filippo Bussotti,&nbsp;Roberto Cazzolla Gatti,&nbsp;Ricardo G. César,&nbsp;Goran Cesljar,&nbsp;Robin Chazdon,&nbsp;Han Y. H. Chen,&nbsp;Chelsea Chisholm,&nbsp;Hyunkook Cho,&nbsp;Emil Cienciala,&nbsp;Connie Clark,&nbsp;David Clark,&nbsp;Gabriel D. Colletta,&nbsp;David A. Coomes,&nbsp;Fernando Cornejo Valverde,&nbsp;José J. Corral-Rivas,&nbsp;Philip M. Crim,&nbsp;Jonathan R. Cumming,&nbsp;Selvadurai Dayanandan,&nbsp;André L. de Gasper,&nbsp;Mathieu Decuyper,&nbsp;Géraldine Derroire,&nbsp;Ben DeVries,&nbsp;Ilija Djordjevic,&nbsp;Jiri Dolezal,&nbsp;Aurélie Dourdain,&nbsp;Nestor Laurier Engone Obiang,&nbsp;Brian J. Enquist,&nbsp;Teresa J. Eyre,&nbsp;Adandé Belarmain Fandohan,&nbsp;Tom M. Fayle,&nbsp;Ted R. Feldpausch,&nbsp;Leandro V. Ferreira,&nbsp;Leena Finér,&nbsp;Markus Fischer,&nbsp;Christine Fletcher,&nbsp;Lorenzo Frizzera,&nbsp;Javier G. P. Gamarra,&nbsp;Damiano Gianelle,&nbsp;Henry B. Glick,&nbsp;David J. Harris,&nbsp;Andrew Hector,&nbsp;Andreas Hemp,&nbsp;Geerten Hengeveld,&nbsp;Bruno Hérault,&nbsp;John L. Herbohn,&nbsp;Martin Herold,&nbsp;Peter Hietz,&nbsp;Annika Hillers,&nbsp;Eurídice N. Honorio Coronado,&nbsp;Cang Hui,&nbsp;Thomas Ibanez,&nbsp;Nobuo Imai,&nbsp;Andrzej M. Jagodziński,&nbsp;Bogdan Jaroszewicz,&nbsp;Vivian Kvist Johannsen,&nbsp;Carlos A. Joly,&nbsp;Tommaso Jucker,&nbsp;Ilbin Jung,&nbsp;Viktor Karminov,&nbsp;Kuswata Kartawinata,&nbsp;Elizabeth Kearsley,&nbsp;David Kenfack,&nbsp;Deborah K. Kennard,&nbsp;Sebastian Kepfer-Rojas,&nbsp;Gunnar Keppel,&nbsp;Mohammed Latif Khan,&nbsp;Timothy J. Killeen,&nbsp;Hyun Seok Kim,&nbsp;Kanehiro Kitayama,&nbsp;Michael Köhl,&nbsp;Henn Korjus,&nbsp;Florian Kraxner,&nbsp;Dmitry Kucher,&nbsp;Diana Laarmann,&nbsp;Mait Lang,&nbsp;Simon L. Lewis,&nbsp;Yuanzhi Li,&nbsp;Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez,&nbsp;Huicui Lu,&nbsp;Natalia V. Lukina,&nbsp;Brian S. Maitner,&nbsp;Yadvinder Malhi,&nbsp;Eric Marcon,&nbsp;Beatriz Schwantes Marimon,&nbsp;Ben Hur Marimon-Junior,&nbsp;Andrew R. Marshall,&nbsp;Emanuel H. Martin,&nbsp;James K. McCarthy,&nbsp;Jorge A. Meave,&nbsp;Omar Melo-Cruz,&nbsp;Casimiro Mendoza,&nbsp;Irina Mendoza-Polo,&nbsp;Stanislaw Miscicki,&nbsp;Cory Merow,&nbsp;Abel Monteagudo Mendoza,&nbsp;Vanessa S. Moreno,&nbsp;Sharif A. Mukul,&nbsp;Philip Mundhenk,&nbsp;María Guadalupe Nava-Miranda,&nbsp;David Neill,&nbsp;Victor J. Neldner,&nbsp;Radovan V. Nevenic,&nbsp;Michael R. Ngugi,&nbsp;Pascal A. Niklaus,&nbsp;Petr Ontikov,&nbsp;Edgar Ortiz-Malavasi,&nbsp;Yude Pan,&nbsp;Alain Paquette,&nbsp;Alexander Parada-Gutierrez,&nbsp;Elena I. Parfenova,&nbsp;Minjee Park,&nbsp;Marc Parren,&nbsp;Narayanaswamy Parthasarathy,&nbsp;Pablo L. Peri,&nbsp;Sebastian Pfautsch,&nbsp;Nicolas Picard,&nbsp;Maria Teresa F. Piedade,&nbsp;Daniel Piotto,&nbsp;Nigel C. A. Pitman,&nbsp;Lourens Poorter,&nbsp;Axel Dalberg Poulsen,&nbsp;John R. Poulsen,&nbsp;Hans Pretzsch,&nbsp;Freddy Ramirez Arevalo,&nbsp;Zorayda Restrepo-Correa,&nbsp;Sarah J. Richardson,&nbsp;Mirco Rodeghiero,&nbsp;Samir G. Rolim,&nbsp;Anand Roopsind,&nbsp;Francesco Rovero,&nbsp;Ervan Rutishauser,&nbsp;Purabi Saikia,&nbsp;Christian Salas-Eljatib,&nbsp;Philippe Saner,&nbsp;Peter Schall,&nbsp;Mart-Jan Schelhaas,&nbsp;Dmitry Schepaschenko,&nbsp;Michael Scherer-Lorenzen,&nbsp;Bernhard Schmid,&nbsp;Jochen Schöngart,&nbsp;Eric B. Searle,&nbsp;Vladimír Seben,&nbsp;Josep M. Serra-Diaz,&nbsp;Douglas Sheil,&nbsp;Anatoly Z. Shvidenko,&nbsp;Ana Carolina Da Silva,&nbsp;Javier E. Silva-Espejo,&nbsp;Marcos Silveira,&nbsp;James Singh,&nbsp;Plinio Sist,&nbsp;Ferry Slik,&nbsp;Bonaventure Sonké,&nbsp;Enio Egon Sosinski Jr.,&nbsp;Alexandre F. Souza,&nbsp;Krzysztof J. Stereńczak,&nbsp;Jens-Christian Svenning,&nbsp;Miroslav Svoboda,&nbsp;Ben Swanepoel,&nbsp;Natalia Targhetta,&nbsp;Nadja Tchebakova,&nbsp;Hans ter Steege,&nbsp;Raquel Thomas,&nbsp;Elena Tikhonova,&nbsp;Peter M. Umunay,&nbsp;Vladimir A. Usoltsev,&nbsp;Renato Valencia,&nbsp;Fernando Valladares,&nbsp;Peter M. Van Bodegom,&nbsp;Fons van der Plas,&nbsp;Tran Van Do,&nbsp;Michael E. van Nuland,&nbsp;Rodolfo M. Vasquez,&nbsp;Hans Verbeeck,&nbsp;Helder Viana,&nbsp;Alexander C. Vibrans,&nbsp;Simone Vieira,&nbsp;Klaus von Gadow,&nbsp;Hua-Feng Wang,&nbsp;James V. Watson,&nbsp;Gijsbert D. A. Werner,&nbsp;Florian Wittmann,&nbsp;Hannsjoerg Woell,&nbsp;Verginia Wortel,&nbsp;Roderick Zagt,&nbsp;Tomasz Zawiła-Niedźwiecki,&nbsp;Chunyu Zhang,&nbsp;Xiuhai Zhao,&nbsp;Mo Zhou,&nbsp;Zhi-Xin Zhu,&nbsp;Irie C. Zo-Bi,&nbsp;Constantin M. Zohner","doi":"10.1038/s41559-024-02564-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41559-024-02564-9","url":null,"abstract":"The density of wood is a key indicator of the carbon investment strategies of trees, impacting productivity and carbon storage. Despite its importance, the global variation in wood density and its environmental controls remain poorly understood, preventing accurate predictions of global forest carbon stocks. Here we analyse information from 1.1 million forest inventory plots alongside wood density data from 10,703 tree species to create a spatially explicit understanding of the global wood density distribution and its drivers. Our findings reveal a pronounced latitudinal gradient, with wood in tropical forests being up to 30% denser than that in boreal forests. In both angiosperms and gymnosperms, hydrothermal conditions represented by annual mean temperature and soil moisture emerged as the primary factors influencing the variation in wood density globally. This indicates similar environmental filters and evolutionary adaptations among distinct plant groups, underscoring the essential role of abiotic factors in determining wood density in forest ecosystems. Additionally, our study highlights the prominent role of disturbance, such as human modification and fire risk, in influencing wood density at more local scales. Factoring in the spatial variation of wood density notably changes the estimates of forest carbon stocks, leading to differences of up to 21% within biomes. Therefore, our research contributes to a deeper understanding of terrestrial biomass distribution and how environmental changes and disturbances impact forest ecosystems. 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.","PeriodicalId":18835,"journal":{"name":"Nature ecology & evolution","volume":"8 12","pages":"2195-2212"},"PeriodicalIF":13.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02564-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142436280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}