ArticleNature plants2019
Nutrient scarcity as a selective pressure for mast seeding.
Article in Nature plants, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Global patterns in the predator satiation effect of masting: A meta-analysis.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2022Pooled it
- Differences in stem traits mediate the variation in trait relationships of grasses and non-grasses.Oecologia · 2026Article
- Flowering and Flower Maturation in Valley OakEcology and evolution · 2026Article
- Do savanna trees mast? Phenological dynamics of flowering and fruiting in savanna tree species.Oecologia · 2025Article
- No evidence of carbon storage usage for seed production in 18 dipterocarp masting species in a tropical rain forest.Oecologia · 2024Article
- Relatives reproduce in synchrony: kinship and individual condition shape intraspecific variation in masting phenotype.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Mast seeding is stronger in taller plants.Frontiers in plant science · 2024Article
- Evolution of masting in plants is linked to investment in low tissue mortality.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Masting is uncommon in trees that depend on mutualist dispersers in the context of global climate and fertility gradients.Nature plants · 2023Article
- Correlation between airborne pollen data and the risk of tick-borne encephalitis in northern Italy.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- MASTREE+: Time-series of plant reproductive effort from six continents.Global change biology · 2022Article
- Large investment of stored nitrogen and phosphorus in female cones is consistent with infrequent reproduction events ofFrontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- Macroevolutionary consequences of mast seeding.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Natural disturbances and masting: from mechanisms to fitness consequences.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Review
- An assessment of temporal variability in mast seeding of North American Pinaceae.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Studying the genetic basis of masting.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- The effects of ENSO and the North American monsoon on mast seeding in two Rocky Mountain conifer species.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- The ecology and evolution of synchronized reproduction in long-lived plants.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Review
- Climate change and plant reproduction: trends and drivers of mast seeding change.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
- Fire history and weather interact to determine extent and synchrony of mast-seeding in rhizomatous scrub oaks of Florida.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 10 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Mast seeding is one of the most intriguing reproductive traits in nature. Despite its potential drawbacks in terms of fitness, the widespread existence of this phenomenon suggests that it should have evolutionary advantages under certain circumstances. Using a global dataset of seed production time series for 219 plant species from all of the continents, we tested whether masting behaviour appears predominantly in species with low foliar nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations when controlling for local climate and productivity. Here, we show that masting intensity is higher in species with low foliar N and P concentrations, and especially in those with imbalanced N/P ratios, and that the evolutionary history of masting behaviour has been linked to that of nutrient economy. Our results support the hypothesis that masting is stronger in species growing under limiting conditions and suggest that this reproductive behaviour might have evolved as an adaptation to nutrient limitations and imbalances.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.