Causes and consquences of synchronized reproduction in plants

Masting and fire-stimulated flowering: Twin flames in the study of synchronized reproduction?

Synchronized but episodic reproduction is prevalent among long-lived plant species across terrestrial worldwide. The causes and consequences of such synchronized reproductive variation has been the focus of two distinct subdisciplines: the fields of masting and fire-stimulated flowering. In a 2024 paper (Beck et al. 2024, Ecology), my colleagues and I explored parallels between the fields of masting and fire-stimulated flowering and concluded that a synthesis of these fields and their complementary insights could advance the study of synchronized reproduction.