Beyond species means - the intraspecific contribution to global wood density variation.

ABSTRACT: Wood density is central for estimating vegetation carbon storage and a plant functional trait of great ecological and evolutionary importance. However, the global extent of wood density variation is unclear, especially at the intraspecific level. We assembled the most comprehensive wood density collection to date, including 109 626 records from 16 829 plant species across woody life forms and biomes (GWDD v.2, available here: doi: 10.5281/zenodo.16919509). Using the GWDD v.2, we explored the sources of wood density variation within individuals, within species and across environmental gradients. Intraspecific variation accounted for c. 15% of overall wood density variation (SD = 0.068 g cm^-3). Variance was 50% smaller in sapwood than heartwood, and 30% smaller in branchwood than

SUBMITTER: Fischer FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12917463 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature