The growth−survival and stature−recruitment trade-offs structure the majority of tropical forests.

All species must balance their allocation to growth, survival and recruitment. Among trees, evolution has resulted in different strategies of partitioning resources to these key demographic processes, i.e. demographic trade-offs. It is unclear whether the same demographic trade-offs structure tropical forests worldwide. Here, we used data from 13 large-scale and long-term tropical forest plots to estimate the principal trade-offs in growth, survival, recruitment, and tree stature at each site. For ten sites, two trade-offs appeared repeatedly. One trade-off showed a negative relationship between growth and survival, i.e. the well-known fast−slow continuum. The second trade-off distinguished between tall-statured species and species with high recruitment rates, i.e. a stature−recruitment trade-off. Thus, the fast-slow continuum and tree stature are two independent dimensions structuring most tropical tree communities. Our discovery of the consistency of demographic trade-offs and strategies across forest types in three continents substantially improves our ability to predict tropical forest dynamics worldwide.