Comment on essd-2026-226
Abstract
Abstract. Global forest assessments assist climate policy development, ecosystem science, and conservation planning, yet they rely on biomass and canopy data that do not explicitly represent the stand structural attributes derived from tree diameter measurements. This limits the ability to compare size-related structure and within-stand heterogeneity at large spatial scales. Here we present a global, spatially explicit dataset of stand-level tree diameter structure for forest cover in 2020 at 0.027° (~3 km) resolution, based on 1,203,524 georeferenced forest inventory plots comprising 54.6 million trees (≥10 cm DBH) integrated with more than 50 environmental and satellite-derived covariates into machine learning models. The dataset provides the first globally consistent maps of three complementary diameter-based metrics: arithmetic mean diameter (Dmean), quadratic mean diameter (Dqm), and the coefficient of variation of diameter (Dcv), representing average tree size, large-tree dominance, and within-stand size variability, respectively. Model performance of the ecozone-specific Random Forest framework ranged from R² = 0.41–0.82 (RMSE = 3.91–4.63 cm) for Dmean, R² = 0.43–0.83 (RMSE = 4.38–5.27 cm) for Dqm, and R² = 0.47–0.62 with (RMSE = 0.10–0.13) for Dcv across different forest ecozones. By jointly quantifying central tendency and variability in tree size, the dataset revealed spatial patterns of forest structural organization not captured by existing biomass or canopy-height products. It provides a consistent baseline for cross-biome comparison of forest structure, supporting parameterization and evaluation of vegetation and Earth system models, while offering an independent benchmark for remotely sensed structural proxies. Furthermore, it enables spatial assessment of stand structural attributes, including large-tree dominance and structural complexity, facilitating integration of diameter-based structure into global analyses of carbon dynamics and ecosystem functioning.
Authors 100
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Purdue University West Lafayette
Affiliation as printed
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Global Forest Watch, World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, USA
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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Forestry Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
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National Academy of Sciences · Duke University
Affiliation as printed
Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC, USA
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King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
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BRANCH Institute, Zug, Switzerland
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
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Affiliation as printed
GIP Ecofor, Paris, France
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GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences
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GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg 14473, Germany
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African Institute for Mathematical Sciences · Stellenbosch University
Affiliation as printed
African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cape Town, South Africa
Department of Mathematical Sciences, Stellenbosch, South Africa
National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences, Stellenbosch, South Africa
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Universitat de Lleida · Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia
Affiliation as printed
Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences and Engineering, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), 25280 Solsona, Spain
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United States Army · U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
Affiliation as printed
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Environmental Laboratory, Forest Ecosystem Dynamics Team, USA
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United States Army · U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
Affiliation as printed
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Environmental Laboratory, Forest Ecosystem Dynamics Team, USA
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United States Army · U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center
Affiliation as printed
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Environmental Laboratory, Forest Ecosystem Dynamics Team, USA
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Wageningen University & Research
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Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Universiti Malaysia Sarawak · University of KwaZulu-Natal
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation (IBEC), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville 3209, South Africa
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Purdue University West Lafayette
Affiliation as printed
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
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Purdue University West Lafayette
Affiliation as printed
Department of Civil and Construction Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
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Russian Academy of Sciences · Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center · Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences · Sukachev Institute of Forest
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Sukachev Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center”, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
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Russian Academy of Sciences · Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center · Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences · Sukachev Institute of Forest
Affiliation as printed
Sukachev Institute of Forest, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center”, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
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University of Minnesota · University of Michigan
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Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, USA
Institute for Global Change Biology, and School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Centre for Climate Resilience, University of Augsburg, Universitätsstrasse 12a, 86159 Augsburg, Germany
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Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja
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Laboratorio de Ecología Tropical y Servicios Ecosistémicos (EcoSs Lab), Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja, Ecuador
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Affiliation as printed
School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Universidade de Brasília · Université de Montpellier · Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · Forests and Societies · Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane
Affiliation as printed
Cirad, UMR EcoFoG (AgroParistech, CNRS, INRAE, Université des Antilles, Université de la Guyane), Campus Agronomique, Kourou, French Guiana
Cirad, UPR Forêts et Sociétés, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
University of Brasilia, Department of Forestry, Brasília, Brazil
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Affiliation as printed
Forestry Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
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Purdue University West Lafayette
Affiliation as printed
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
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Purdue University West Lafayette
Affiliation as printed
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
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University of Udine · University of Palermo
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Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Animal Sciences, University of Udine, Udine, Italy
National Biodiversity Future Centre (NBFC), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
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Czech University of Life Sciences Prague · Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany
Affiliation as printed
Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague 6–Suchdol, Czech Republic
Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Dukelská 135, 379 01 Třeboň, Czech Republic
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University of California, Los Angeles
Affiliation as printed
Center for Tropical Research, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Université Nangui Abrogoua, Unité de Formation et de Recherche en Sciences de la Nature, 02 BP 801 Abidjan 02, Laboratoire d’Écologie et du Développement Durable (LEDD), Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
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Université Officielle de Bukavu
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Université Officielle de Bukavu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo
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Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the Temperate Zones, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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Independent researcher, Ispra, Italy
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Universidad Nacional Experimental de los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora · Jardín Botánico de Bogotá José Celestino Mutis
Affiliation as printed
Jardín Botánico de Bogotá José Celestino Mutis, Cl. 63 #68-95, Bogotá DC, Colombia
UNELLEZ-Guanare, Programa de Ciencias del Agro y el Mar, Herbario Universitario (PORT), Mesa de Cavacas, estado Portuguesa 3350, Venezuela
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Laboratory of Applied Ecology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 526, Cotonou, Benin
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School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
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Forest Research Institute, Braci Leśnej 3, Sękocin Stary, 05-090, Poland
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Universidade Federal do Acre, Campus de Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil
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University of Liège · Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech
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TERRA Teaching and Research Centre, Gembloux Agro Bio-Tech, Université de Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
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Affiliation as printed
Q-ForestLab, Department of Environment, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Agricultural Research & Education Organization · Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands
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Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran
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Royal Museum for Central Africa
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Service of Wood Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
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Universidade Federal de Lavras
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Universidade Federal de Lavras, Departamento de Ecologia e Conservação, Lavras, Brazil
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Piramal School of Educational Leadership, India
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Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology
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CSIR–Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur (H.P.) 176061, India
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Institut National pour l’Etude et la Recherche Agronomiques, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
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Forestry expert, Via Unione Sovietica 105, Grosseto, Italy
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Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement · UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations · Institut de Recherche pour le Développement
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AMAP, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Montpellier, France
CIRAD, UMR AMAP, F-34398 Montpellier, France
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Mbarara University of Science and Technology
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Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda
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Isotope Bioscience Laboratory (ISOFYS), Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
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University of Liège · Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech
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TERRA Teaching and Research Centre, Gembloux Agro Bio-Tech, Université de Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
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Siberian Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia
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Wageningen University & Research
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Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands
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Université du Québec à Montréal
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Centre for forest research, Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, Canada
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Royal Museum for Central Africa
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Climate Risk Assessment Center, Brussels, Belgium
Service of Wood Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
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Affiliation as printed
Center for Carbon Research in Tropical Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
Department of Forest Sciences, "Luiz de Queiroz" College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil
Re.green, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Manchester Metropolitan University
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Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
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Bioeconomy Science Institute, Lincoln, New Zealand
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Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango
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Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, México
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Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango
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Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, México
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School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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School of Biological Sciences and Interdisciplinary Institute, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil
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Department of Spatial regulation, Institute of Forestry, GIS and Forest Policy, Belgrade, Serbia
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Chinese Academy of Sciences · Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden
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Center for Integrative Conservation & Yunnan Key Laboratory for Conservation of Tropical Rainforests & Asian Elephant, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, P.R. China
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Ontario Forest Research Institute · Lakehead University
Affiliation as printed
Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1, Canada
Ontario Forest Research Institute, Ministry of Natural Resources, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
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Ontario Forest Research Institute
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Ontario Forest Research Institute, Ministry of Natural Resources, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
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CREA – Research Centre for Forestry and Wood, Arezzo, Italy
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Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, University of Buea, Buea, Cameroon
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Czech Academy of Sciences, Global Change Research Institute · Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research
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Global Change Research Institute CAS, Brno, Czech Republic
IFER – Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research, Jílové u Prahy, Czech Republic
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Grupo de Servicios Ecosistémicos y Cambio Climático, Corporación COL-TREE, Medellín, Colombia
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Universidade Federal do Pará, Instituto de Geociências, Rua Augusto Correa, 01, CEP 66075-110, Belém, Pará, Brasil
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
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Forestry Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, Italy
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SRM University, Andhra Pradesh · SRM University
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Centre for Geospatial Technology, SRM University-AP, Amaravati, India
Terrestrial Ecology and Modelling (TEaM) Lab, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, SRM University-AP, Amaravati, India
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Affiliation as printed
Biology Department, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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Wageningen University & Research
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Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
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Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences · Viện Nghiên cứu Lâm sinh
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Silviculture Research Institute, Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences, Hanoi, Vietnam
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University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice · Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany
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Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, CZ-370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic
Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Dukelská 135, 379 01 Třeboň, Czech Republic
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Affiliation as printed
Institute of Forestry, Belgrade, Serbia
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University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Harold L. Lyon Arboretum, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, USA
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Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)
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Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais, São Paulo, Brazil
Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil
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Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny
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Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny (INPHB), Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire
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Affiliation as printed
Ashoro Research Forest, Kyushu University, 1-85 Kita 5, Ashoro, Hokkaido 089-3705, Japan
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Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity · University of La Serena
Affiliation as printed
Departamento de Biologia, Universidad de La Serena, Chile
Instituto de Ecologia y Biodiversidad, La Serena, Chile
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Queen Mary University of London · Institute of Entomology · Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre
Affiliation as printed
Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
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Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco
Affiliation as printed
Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Department of Forest Science, Avenida Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, Recife, PE, Brazil
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University of Michigan · Bijagual Ecological Reserve
Affiliation as printed
Bijagual Ecological Reserve, Sarapiquí, Costa Rica
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
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Affiliation as printed
Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38098 San Michele all’Adige (TN), Italy
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University of Johannesburg · Université de Parakou · University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Affiliation as printed
African Centre for DNA Barcoding, Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, University of Johannesburg, APK Campus, Johannesburg, South Africa
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Laboratoire d’Etude sur la Dynamique des Populations (PopDYN), Faculté d’Agronomie, Université de Parakou, Parakou, Benin
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Affiliation as printed
Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences (BiGeA), Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
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Affiliation as printed
Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38098 San Michele all’Adige (TN), Italy
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Instituto de Geociencias · Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
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Instituto de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Campus Juriquilla, Qro., Mexico
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Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango · University of Oxford · Imperial College London
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Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Facultad de Ciencias Forestales y Ambientales, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, México
Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Affiliation as printed
Université du Burundi, Faculté d’Agronomie et de Bio-Ingénierie, Centre de Recherche en Sciences des Productions Animales, Végétales et Environnementales (CRAVE), B.P. 2940 Bujumbura, Burundi
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Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Affiliation as printed
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Affiliation as printed
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement · Forests and Societies
Affiliation as printed
CIRAD, Forêts et Sociétés, F-34398 Montpellier, France
Forêts et Sociétés, Univ Montpellier, CIRAD, Montpellier, France
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Royal Museum for Central Africa · Ghent University
Affiliation as printed
Ghent University, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Laboratory of Wood Technology, Ghent, Belgium
Service of Wood Biology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
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Tokyo University of Agriculture
Affiliation as printed
Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan
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Institute of Dendrology · Poznań University of Life Sciences · Polish Academy of Sciences
Affiliation as printed
Institute of Dendrology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Parkowa 5, 62-035 Kórnik, Poland
Poznań University of Life Sciences, Department of Game Management and Forest Protection, Wojska Polskiego 71D, 60-625 Poznań, Poland