Data and code for "The intrinsic coordination of tree growth strategy and wood decomposability"

Plant functional traits control plant detritus decomposition via so called “afterlife effects”. While plant traits vary between species due to different growth strategies, it remains poorly understood how tree growth strategies and decomposition rates are directly related. We hypothesize that tree species with a fast growth strategy (i.e., fast-growing, light-demanding and high-mortality) are characterized by higher wood decomposition rates than species with a slow growth strategy. By replicating wood decay experiments of 120 tree species in a subtropical forest, we found that deadwood of fast-growing species had higher decomposition rates and higher probability of termite colonization than slow-growing species. Notably, tree growth rate predicted 8-month decomposition rates better than wood traits, and had comparable effects as wood traits on 16-month decomposition rates. Our study highlights the intrinsic coordination between tree growth and wood decay and suggests that increased forest productivity may be accompanied by accelerated carbon emissions from deadwood pools.