Why trees and shrubs but rarely trubs?

M. Scheffer; R.O.H. Vergnon; J.H.C. Cornelissen; S. Hantson; M. Holmgren; E.H. van Nes; C. Xu

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2014.06.001

Why trees and shrubs but rarely trubs?

M. Scheffer, R.O.H. Vergnon, J.H.C. Cornelissen, S. Hantson, M. Holmgren, E.H. van Nes, C. Xu

Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › Academic › peer-review

51 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

An analysis of the maximum height of woody plant species across the globe reveals that an intermediate size is remarkably rare. We speculate that this may be due to intrinsic suboptimality or to ecosystem bistability with open landscapes favouring shrubs, and closed canopies propelling trees to excessive tallness.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	433-434
Journal	Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Volume	29
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2014.06.001
Publication status	Published - 2014

Keywords

savanna
forest
transitions
height

Access to Document

10.1016/j.tree.2014.06.001

EARLYWARNING: Generic Early Warning Signals for Critical Transitions
1/06/11 → 31/05/16
Project: EU research project

Cite this

@article{1cb1f78283c04971a1da6356a7605ff3,

title = "Why trees and shrubs but rarely trubs?",

abstract = "An analysis of the maximum height of woody plant species across the globe reveals that an intermediate size is remarkably rare. We speculate that this may be due to intrinsic suboptimality or to ecosystem bistability with open landscapes favouring shrubs, and closed canopies propelling trees to excessive tallness.",

keywords = "savanna, forest, transitions, height",

author = "M. Scheffer and R.O.H. Vergnon and J.H.C. Cornelissen and S. Hantson and M. Holmgren and {van Nes}, E.H. and C. Xu",

year = "2014",

doi = "10.1016/j.tree.2014.06.001",

language = "English",

volume = "29",

pages = "433--434",

journal = "Trends in Ecology and Evolution",

issn = "0169-5347",