A head start in the seed decides which beech trees are still standing 25 years later

In a German forest, some beech trees are 15 metres tall and thriving while their same-age neighbours have quietly vanished. A team led by Christian Ammer at the University of Göttingen followed the trees for 25 years and found the contest was partly decided before it began: seedlings that started even slightly bigger — often from slightly bigger seeds — held their advantage for decades. Published in the Journal of Ecology, the finding gives foresters a practical clue for helping woods adapt as the climate shifts: give the strongest starters room to grow.

SDG 15 · Life on land — Mechanism: tech innovation