The Relationship Between Maturation Size and Maximum Tree Size From Tropical to Boreal Climates

ABSTRACT The fundamental trade‐off between current and future reproduction has long been considered to result in a tendency for species that can grow large to begin reproduction at a larger size. Due to the prolonged time required to reach maturity, estimates of tree maturation size remain very rare and we lack a global view on the generality and the shape of this trade‐off. Using seed production from five continents, we estimate tree maturation sizes for 486 tree species spanning tropical to boreal climates. Results show that a species' maturation size increases with maximum size, but in a non‐proportional way: the largest species begin reproduction at smaller sizes than would be expected if maturation were simply proportional to maximum size. Furthermore, the decrease in relative maturation size is steepest in cold climates. These findings on maturation size drivers are key to accurately represent forests' responses to disturbance and climate change. The trade‐off between growth and reproduction in trees suggests that larger species should reproduce later. However, our synthesis reveals that the largest species begin reproducing at smaller sizes than expected, challenging this assumption. This non‐proportional trade‐off provides new insights into forest dynamics and species coexistence in the face of climate change.