Tree longevity is thought to increase in growth-limiting, adverse environments, but a quantitative assessment of drivers of global variation in tree longevity is lacking. We assemble a global database of maximum longevity for 739 tree species and analyse associations between longevity and climate, soil, and species' functional traits. Our results show two primary pathways towards long lifespans. The first is slow growth in resource-limited environments, consistent with the "adversity begets longevity" paradigm. The second pathway is through relief from abiotic constraints in productive environments. Despite notable exceptions, long-lived gymnosperms tend to follow the first path through slow growth in cold environments, whereas long-lived angiosperms tend to follow the second ("productivity") path reaching maximum longevity generally in humid environments. For angiosperms, we identify two mechanisms for increased longevity under humid conditions. First, higher water availability increases species' maximum tree height which is associated with greater longevities. Secondly, greater water availability increases stand density and inter-tree competition, limiting growth which may increase tree lifespan. The documented differences between gymnosperm and angiosperm longevity are likely rooted in intrinsic differences in hydraulic architecture that provide fitness advantages for gymnosperms under high abiotic stress, and for angiosperms under increased productivity or competition.

British Columbia Ministry of Forests Prince George BC Canada

Center of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture University of São Paulo Piracicaba Brazil

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Michigan Technological University Houghton MI USA

CREAF Bellaterra Spain

Department of Agriculture and Forest Science Università della Tuscia Viterbo Italy

Department of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune India

Department of Botany St Joseph's College Devagiri Calicut Kerala India

Department of Botany University of São Paulo Institute of Biosciences São Paulo SP Brazil

Department of ecological and biological science Università della Tuscia Viterbo Italy

Department of Ecology Evolution and Marine Biology University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA

Department of Forest Resources University of Minnesota St Paul MN USA

Department of forestry and renewable forest resources University of Ljubljana Ljubljana Slovenia

Department of Geography Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences University of Tartu Tartu Estonia

Department of Geography University of Victoria Victoria BC Canada

Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center Logan UT USA

Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences Czech University of Life Sciences Prague Czech Republic

Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia České Budějovice Czech Republic

Fenner School of Environment and Society The Australian National University Canberra ACT Australia

Forest and Soil Ecology Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL Birmensdorf Switzerland

Gymnosperm Database Olympia WA USA

Harvard Forest Harvard University Petersham MA USA

ICREA Barcelona Spain

Independent Scholar Maynard MA USA

Institute for Global Change Biology University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA

Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences Třeboň Czech Republic

Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia Manaus AM Brazil

Laboratorio de Dendrocronología e Historia Ambiental IANIGLA CONICET Mendoza Argentina

Laboratorio de Dendrocronologia Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales Agricolas y Pecuarias Gomez Palacio Mexico

Laboratory of Tree Ring Research University of Arizona Tucson AZ USA

Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts Direction de la recherche forestière Quebec city QC Canada

Natural Resources Institute Finland Rovaniemi Finland

Physical Geography University of Passau Passau Germany

Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative Geography and Environmental Studies University of Regina Regina Canada

Research Center of Forest Management Engineering of State Forestry and Grassland Administration Beijing Forestry University Beijing China

Rocky Mountain Research Station USDA Forest Service Ogden UT USA

Rocky Mountain Tree Ring Research Fort Collins CO USA

School of Earth and Environment University of Leeds Leeds UK

School of Geography University of Leeds Leeds UK

University of Nevada Reno Reno NV USA

University of Northern British Columbia Faculty of Environment Prince George BC Canada

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