ArticleThe New phytologist2021
Why trees grow at night.
Article in The New phytologist, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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
59 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Meta-analysis of the impact of future climate change on the area of woody plant habitats in China.Frontiers in plant science · 2023Pooled it
- Wood Formation Modeling - A Research Review and Future Perspectives.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Pooled it
- Elevated CO2 buffers negative impacts of heat stress on short-term growth adjustments of 180-year-old Quercus robur.Tree physiology · 2026Article
- Temporal decoupling between photosynthetic carbon assimilation and wood formation in a temperate forest: implications for source-sink dynamics.The New phytologist · 2026Article
- When the night is not long enough: soil drying constrains nighttime tree rehydration, setting a physical limit to stomatal regulation.Tree physiology · 2026Article
- Employing a Hysteresis Approach to Analyze Shifts in Tree Physiological Thresholds in Response to Drought.Plant, cell & environment · 2026Article
- Growth patterns and climate sensitivity differ for understory and canopy trees.Tree physiology · 2026Article
- Water Limits Radial Tree Growth More Than Light in an Everwet Subtropical Forest.Global change biology · 2026Article
- From microscopic movements to forest-scale insights: the Nordic Dendrometer Meeting and the emergence of the Global Dendrometer Network.Tree physiology · 2026Article
- Frequency-dependent climate sensitivity of sub-daily radial growth of tree stems at the dry Arctic treeline.Tree physiology · 2026Article
- Rising tree mortality in France is associated with distinct seasonal climate anomalies.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Decoupled carbon assimilation and growth responses to aridity in temperate deciduous oaks.Science advances · 2026Article
- Diameter-driven variation in wood CO2 efflux across the stems and crowns of three temperate broadleaf tree species.Tree physiology · 2026Article
- Shaping future forests: how can ecophysiology support climate-smart forest management?The New phytologist · 2026Review
- Article
- Age-related changes in Populus euphratica forests alter the structure and function of rhizosphere bacterial communities.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2026Article
- Legacies from early-season hot drought: how growth cessation alters tree water dynamics and modifies stress responses in Scots pine.Plant biology (Stuttgart, Germany) · 2026Article
- Drought-induced delays in stem hydraulic development shape gas exchange and growth recovery in Douglas fir.Plant physiology · 2026Article
- On growth and flow: hydraulic aspects of aboveground meristems.The New phytologist · 2026Review
- Wood type influences tree responses to recurring hot and dry summer tree water deficits across European forests.European journal of forest research · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The timing of diel stem growth of mature forest trees is still largely unknown, as empirical data with high temporal resolution have not been available so far. Consequently, the effects of day-night conditions on tree growth remained uncertain. Here we present the first comprehensive field study of hourly-resolved radial stem growth of seven temperate tree species, based on 57 million underlying data points over a period of up to 8 yr. We show that trees grow mainly at night, with a peak after midnight, when the vapour pressure deficit (VPD) is among the lowest. A high VPD strictly limits radial stem growth and allows little growth during daylight hours, except in the early morning. Surprisingly, trees also grow in moderately dry soil when the VPD is low. Species-specific differences in diel growth dynamics show that species able to grow earlier during the night are associated with the highest number of hours with growth per year and the largest annual growth increment. We conclude that species with the ability to overcome daily water deficits faster have greater growth potential. Furthermore, we conclude that growth is more sensitive than carbon uptake to dry air, as growth stops before stomata are known to close.
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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.