High intraspecific growth variability despite strong evolutionary heritage in a neotropical forest

Individual tree growth is a key determinant of species performance and a driver of forest dynamics and composition. Previous studies on tree growth unravelled the variation in species growth as a function of demographic trade-offs that are partially predicted using functional traits. They have explored the environmental determinants of species growth potential and the variation of intraspecific growth over space and time due to environment and biotic factors. However, variation in individual growth within species remains underexplored for a whole community and the relative role of species’ evolutionary heritage and of local environments remains unquantified. Here, based on 36 years of diameter records for thousands of mapped individuals belonging to 138 species, we assessed individual tree growth potential in a local neotropical forest community in the Amazon basin. We further related variation in individual growth potential with taxonomic levels, local topography, and neighbourhood crowding, before exploring species growth potential link to functional traits and distribution along the phylogeny. We found that most of the variation in growth potential was individual, and that taxonomic structure explained a third of the observed variation. Species growth potential was phylogenetically conserved with positive conservatism up to the genus level in the vast majority of species. Functional traits of roots, wood and leaves together predicted species growth potential. Phylogeny suggested joint selection of species’ growth strategies and associated functional traits during convergent evolutions. Finally, neighbourhood crowding had a significant effect on individual growth potential, although much of this inter-individual variation remains largely unexplained and the underlying ecological and evolutionary factors are still little explored. The high intraspecific variation observed could allow individuals in these hyperdiverse ecosystems to respond to the variable light and competitive conditions offered by successional niches during forest gap dynamics.