DOI: 10.5061/dryad.d2680
title: Data from: Trade-offs between growth rate, tree size and lifespan of mountain pine (Pinus montana) in the Swiss National Park

description: A within-species trade-off between growth rates and lifespan has been
 observed across different taxa of trees, however, there is some
 uncertainty whether this trade-off also applies to shade-intolerant tree
 species. The main objective of this study was to investigate the
 relationships between radial growth, tree size and lifespan of
 shade-intolerant mountain pines. For 200 dead standing mountain pines
 (Pinus montana) located along gradients of aspect, slope steepness and
 elevation in the Swiss National Park, radial annual growth rates and
 lifespan were reconstructed. While early growth (i.e. mean tree-ring width
 over the first 50 years) correlated positively with diameter at the time
 of tree death, a negative correlation resulted with lifespan, i.e. rapidly
 growing mountain pines face a trade-off between reaching a large diameter
 at the cost of early tree death. Slowly growing mountain pines may reach a
 large diameter and a long lifespan, but risk to die young at a small size.
 Early growth was not correlated with temperature or precipitation over the
 growing period. Variability in lifespan was further contingent on aspect,
 slope steepness and elevation. The shade-intolerant mountain pines follow
 diverging growth trajectories that are imposed by extrinsic environmental
 influences. The resulting trade-offs between growth rate, tree size and
 lifespan advance our understanding of tree population dynamics, which may
 ultimately improve projections of forest dynamics under changing
 environmental conditions.
description: Data1This file contains 5
 columns (variables) x 23956 rows (excluding the first row, which contains
 the header with the variable names). The data were used to plot the
 development of DBH (diameter at breast height) inside bark with tree age
 classified by early growth and colored by lifespan (Figure 1 in Bigler
 2016).Data2This file contains 13
 columns (variables) x 160 rows (excluding the first row, which contains
 the header with the variable names). The data were used to create: (1) a
 boxplot with DBH (diameter at breast height) inside bark versus categories
 of early growth (Fig. 2a in Bigler 2016); (2) a boxplot with lifespan
 versus categories of early growth (Fig. 2b in Bigler 2016); (3) pairwise
 scatter plots between lifespan, early growth, DBH inside bark and
 topographical variables (S1 Fig. in Bigler 2016); and (4) a scatter plot
 between early growth and lifespan (S3 Fig. in Bigler 2016). The data were
 further used to estimate linear mixed-effects models for predicting
 lifespan of mountain pines (Tables 1 and 2 in Bigler
 2016).Data3This file contains 5
 columns (variables) x 24546 rows (excluding the first row, which contains
 the header with the variable names). The data were used to plot
 establishment and mortality dates classified by early growth and colored
 by lifespan (Figure 3 in Bigler 2016) and to plot plot-specific
 variability of early growth (S2 Fig.). The year of establishment was
 estimated as the formation year of the first tree ring (corrected for
 missed rings between pith and first tree ring on the core). The year of
 mortality was estimated by the formation year of the last tree ring on the
 core. Due to the occurrence of partial cambial mortality, the year of
 mortality was only approximated (see Bigler & Rigling
 2013).