Significant gaps remain in understanding the response of plant reproduction to environmental change. This is partly because measuring reproduction in long‐lived plants requires direct observation over many years and such datasets have rarely been made publicly available. Here we introduce MASTREE+, a data set that collates reproductive time‐series data from across the globe and makes these data freely available to the community. MASTREE+ includes 73,828 georeferenced observations of annual reproduction (e.g. seed and fruit counts) in perennial plant populations worldwide. These observations consist of 5971 population‐level time‐series from 974 species in 66 countries. The mean and median time‐series length is 12.4 and 10 years respectively, and the data set includes 1122 series that extend over at least two decades (≥20 years of observations). For a subset of well‐studied species, MASTREE+ includes extensive replication of time‐series across geographical and climatic gradients. Here we describe the open‐access data set, available as a.csv file, and we introduce an associated web‐based app for data exploration. MASTREE+ will provide the basis for improved understanding of the response of long‐lived plant reproduction to environmental change. Additionally, MASTREE+ will enable investigation of the ecology and evolution of reproductive strategies in perennial plants, and the role of plant reproduction as a driver of ecosystem dynamics.
We examined short- and long-term changes in precipitation event types using instrumental (1940–2018) and tree-ring (1790–2018) data from North Carolina, USA. We documented the amount and frequency of summer (July–September) precipitation events using daily weather station data. Stationary front precipitation (SFP) represented 71% of total summer rainfall and SFP and convective uplift combined (i.e., quasi-stationary precipitation, QSP) represented 87%. SFP (r = 0.52, p < 0.01) and QSP (r = 0.61, p < 0.01) precipitation reconstructions from a montane longleaf pine latewood chronology both recorded significant declines during 1940–2018, matching the instrumental record. Conversely, no significant change in either SFP or QSP occured during the full reconstruction indicating the instrumental decline was unmatched throughout 1790–1939. Our method demonstrates that variations in latewood growth can be attributed to specific precipitation event types and that the relative contribution of each event type can be quantified over a multi-century period.
Coastal forests are highly vulnerable to disturbances from tropical cyclones (TCs), yet the long-term impacts of storm surges on tree growth remain understudied. This study examines the relationship between TC-induced storm surges and annual tree-ring growth in Pinus elliottii at three coastal sites along the northern Gulf of Mexico. Using dendrochronological methods, we analyzed total ring width, earlywood, and latewood growth patterns to assess suppressions in response to past TC activity. Our results indicate that storm surge events consistently cause growth suppression, with recovery periods averaging two to three years. However, suppression patterns vary by site, with trees in more protected locations displaying stronger correlations with TC storm surge events, while those in chronically stressed environments exhibit frequent growth limitations independent of TCs. For example, only 38% of suppression events at the unprotected Gulf State Park correspond with TC storm surge events, and this increases to 67% at the protected Weeks Bay NERR site. Additionally, latewood ring width corresponds with TC storm surge events more than total or earlywood ring width. These findings highlight the complexity of TC impacts on coastal tree growth, emphasizing the importance of site-specific factors such as topographic position and hydrological conditions. Understanding these interactions is critical for improving paleotempestology reconstructions and informing forest management strategies in coastal environments facing increasing TC activity due to climate change.