Bark is a vital and very visible part of woody plants, yet only recently has bark characteristics
started to be considered as key traits structuring communities and biomes. Bark thickness is …

Climatic gradients such as latitude and elevation are considered primary drivers of global
biogeography. Yet, alongside these macro‐gradients, the vertical space and structure …

Global variation in total bark thickness (TBT) is traditionally attributed to fire. However, bark
is multifunctional, as reflected by its inner living and outer dead regions, meaning that, in …

Widespread fire exclusion and land-use activities across many southeastern United States
forested ecosystems have resulted in altered species composition and structure. These …

Most biological structures carry out multiple functions. Focusing on only one function to
make adaptive inferences overlooks that manifold selection pressures and tradeoffs shape …

Fire is integral to the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems of the southeastern USA and is a
strong selective force on plant species. Among woody plants, oak species (Quercus spp. L) …

Bark is a structure involved in multiple physiological functions, but which has been
traditionally associated with protection against fire. Thus, little is known about how the …

The bark fulfils several essential functions in vascular plants and yields a wealth of raw
materials, but the understanding of bark structure and function strongly lags behind our …

Fire affects numerous aspects of plant growth and anatomy, particularly in those species
adapted to persist in fire‐prone environments. A key aspect of tree survival is rapid …

Bark thickness is ecologically crucial, affecting functions from fire protection to
photosynthesis. Bark thickness scales predictably with stem diameter, but there is little …